Story of the NFL Draft & Economic Impact

Read about the money behind the NFL Draft and how it got started.

Author

Jaxon Curtis
April 23, 2024

The NFL Draft is happening this week. The location for this year is Detroit, MI. It’s now a three-day annual event that has turned into a massive business and TV spectacle. But in 1980, things started to change.

Photo from the 1980 NFL Draft held at the New York Sheraton Hotel ballroom.

In 1980, the “annual player selection meeting” was first televised on ESPN. This meeting had been going on for 44 years with zero TV coverage. ESPN was considered a six-month startup. NFL owners were actually against the idea of showing the public. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle was a little worried but didn’t want to turn down the opportunity. And the result? 4 million people tuned in. Last year, the NFL Draft had 54.4 million viewers.

Dallas was the first city to host the NFL Draft inside an NFL stadium.

After 15 years of the NFL Draft being held in hotel ballrooms, it was relocated to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. Now the draft is held in a different U.S. city each year. If cities are interested in hosting, they must submit bids and then all 32 NFL owners vote on it. Next year the draft will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Currently, the NFL Draft is one the largest sporting events (with zero live sports). The total economic impact from the NFL Draft is staggering for host cities. Here’s a quick breakdown since 2017:

2017 - $95 million (Philadelphia)

2018 - $125 million (Dallas)

2019 - $224 million (Nashville)

2020 - Virtual Draft (due to COVID-19)

2021 - $42 million (Cleveland, slightly affected by COVID-19)

2022 - Undisclosed revenue (Las Vegas)

2023 - $164 million (Kansas City)

Rendering for the NFL Draft in Detroit.

Total economic impact focuses on employment, household income, economic output (sales of goods and services), and value added.

This year, the projected total economic impact for Detroit is to exceed $160 million. Revenue will stem from hotel bookings, restaurants, merchandise, shopping, and taxes to name a few. Keep in mind it’s free to attend the three-day event.

Anderson Economic Group (based out of East Lansing) estimates 255,000 visitors for the draft. They also assume $35 million will be spent by visitors and a $62 million investment from the NFL.