The schedule is set for Red Murdock to be treated like a “super VIP.” As Mr. Irrelevant, he will take the helm of a sailboat, be taught how to surf and be a special guest at Disneyland and at a Los Angeles Angels game.

The linebacker was taken with the No. 257 and final pick by the Broncos in the NFL draft in April, making him Mr. Irrelevant. He will be honored after arriving in Newport Beach, Calif., on June 24 until he flies out on June 28.

“This is great,” Melanie Salata Fitch, CEO of Irrelevant Week, told The Denver Gazette on Monday night. “It’s all about celebrating the underdog and celebrating Red and making him feel special. The community here is ready to embrace him.”

Mr. Irrelevant celebrations began in Newport Beach in 1976 when Fitch’s father, Paul Salata, who died in 2021 at age 94, sought a way to celebrate the underdog. So, after some pondering, he came up with the idea of the honoree being the last player selected in the NFL draft.

It will mark the 51st straight year of Irrelevant Week in the city just south of Los Angeles. Fitch had told The Denver Gazette after Murdock was selected out of the University at Buffalo on April 25 there was some thinking of having the celebration in Denver before that idea was scrapped.

“The local community really wants it here and they really wanted to celebrate him here,” she said.

Fitch outlined what Murdock’s visit will entail following his flight into John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif., the week after the Broncos conclude offseason drills with a June 16-18 mandatory minicamp. She spoke on the phone to Murdock for a half hour Monday, her first conversation with him since she had an in-person meeting after announcing his selection at the draft in Pittsburgh.

After he shows up June 24, Murdock will get the Lowsman Trophy, which goes annually to Mr. Irrelevant, and the key to the city of Newport Beach at an arrival party at The Cannery Newport Beach, a fancy restaurant. There will be a pub crawl that night involving local residents.

On June 25, Murdock will get surfing lessons in the Pacific Ocean and there will be a beach party and a barbecue with inner-city kids in the Los Angeles area being among those invited. Murdock will get presents and throw out footballs. Then there will be a sailing race that concludes at the exclusive Balboa Yacht Club.

Fitch said Murdock doesn’t know how to swim and doesn’t even own a swimsuit. But Fitch said his surf lessons will be in shallow water because “we don’t want to lose him.”

“We’ll give him the helm for a while in the sailing race, but it is a real race on a 50-foot sailing boat,” Fitch said. “The guys on the boat will be dressed like cowboys because of the Broncos.”

On June 26, Murdock will be a guest at nearby Disneyland on his all-expenses-paid trip.

“It’ll be like he’s the MVP of the Super Bowl,” Fitch said. “He’ll have fun with Mickey Mouse.”

On June 27, Murdock will go to the Balboa Fun Zone, an amusement park in Newport Beach, and play arcade games, both new and old, and ride a Ferris wheel. That night, he will be a special guest at Angel Stadium when the home team faces the Athletics.

“Red told me he’s never seen a Major League Baseball game,” Fitch said. “He’ll get to see batting practice and visit the clubhouse and will be featured during the game (including on the videoboard). He won’t throw out the first pitch because that would be relevant.”

Fitch said tight end Dallen Bentley, drafted by the Broncos with the next-to-last pick at No. 256, asked Murdock if he could join him as a guest in Newport Beach. But Fitch said that idea was rejected unless he wants to pay his own way.

“He was the last relevant guy drafted,” Fitch said. “So we can’t have any relevant selections.”

Fitch said Murdock was looking forward to the events when the two talked Monday.

“He was excited. He was upbeat,” Fitch said of the Petersburg, Virginia, native whose given first name is Khalil. “I asked him why he’s called Red and he said he got that nickname as a baby because he had red hair and freckles.”

Fitch said Murdock was asked what kind of food he wants during his visit and it took some prodding to get an answer.

“He’s kind of shy,” she said. “He’s not used to being treated like a super VIP. He said he likes strawberry lemonade, so I said, ‘We’ll have that for you.’ He said, though, he didn’t want any pork or olives.”

Fitch said Murdock likes sushi, so that likely will be on the menu.

Murdock will become the second Broncos player to be whisked to Newport Beach for several days of frivolity after being drafted as Mr. Irrelevant. The first was quarterback Chad Kelly in 2017.

Kelly recently told The Denver Gazette it was a “cool event” and he got a watch from the NFL and a personal letter from commissioner Roger Goodell. And, yes, those presentations are also in the works for Murdock’s visit.