After the season, officials at the Mid-American Conference, of which Western Reserve was a member, ruled that Lahr and other players who had served in the war could have an extra year of eligibility to play football. Lahr had exhausted his eligibility by playing in 1942, 1946 and 1947, but was not expected to have enough course credits to graduate until 1949. Lahr, however, decided to forgo his extra year at Western Reserve and signed with the Cleveland Browns, a professional team in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) coached by Paul Brown. Lahr was also selected by the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers late in the NFL draft.