Alabama safety Jaylen Key has gone from UAB to the starting in the backfield of Nick Saban’s final team at Alabama and now onto the New York Jets. He is also going to be honored in a week-long celebration in Newport Beach, CA, as Mr. Irrelevant for what is known as Irrelevant Week, an annual ceremony for the last player taken in the NFL Draft.
The ceremony will take place the end of June.
“We’re excited to celebrate our first Irrelevant Jet player and bring him out to Newport Beach,” Irrelevant Week CEO Melanie Salata Fitch said. “When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way!”
What might come off as a joke to some is actually a serious event that goes back to 1986. It was started by NFL alum and philanthropist by Paul Salata in 1976. Irrelevant Week involves a banquet and – of course – a trip to Disneyland.
The banquet is called the Lowsman Banquet and Mr. Irrelevant is handed the Lowsman Trophy, which looks like the Heisman Trophy except the players is fumbling a football.
Okay, so it’s not all serious. There are definitely some tongue in cheek moments to Irrelevant Week. That’s part of the fun of it, for those in attendance and Mr. Irrelevant himself.
Like most Mr. Irrelevants, Key is no fumbling, stumbling player. He started all but two games Saban’s and finished with 60 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one pass defensed.
The most relevant Mr. Irrelevant is 2022’s Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, who in consecutive seasons has quarterbacked the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game and in the Super Bowl.
Fitch, daughter of Salata, is the CEO of Irrelevant Week. Through the years, Irrelevant Week has raised more than $1 million for charities across Southern California including Orange County Youth Sports Foundation (OCYSF), Serving Our Youth (SOY), and Serving People in Need (SPIN).
There’s more at mrirrelevant.org.