It's time to bring the NFL draft back to Radio City in New York City
The NFL draft has become so much more than what it actually is, which is nothing but a roster transaction. But with it comes all sorts of hope and hype for the season to come. Fan bases will claim offseason victory based solely on the idea that the 21-year-old kid their team selected in the […]
The NFL draft has become so much more than what it actually is, which is nothing but a roster transaction. But with it comes all sorts of hope and hype for the season to come. Fan bases will claim offseason victory based solely on the idea that the 21-year-old kid their team selected in the first round will make all the difference in turning a six-win team into a Super Bowl champion.
It’s magical thing to watch a team’s hopes and dreams ebb and flow with each pick. There are countless mock drafts to comb through and tons of differing opinions on one player based on measurables, game tape, and the ever-changing eyeball test.
But the NFL has tried to turn the draft into something else, and it is time to end the experiment. It’s time for the NFL to put the draft back where it belongs at Radio City Music Hall.
It was announced today that the NFL is putting the 2026 NFL draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This will come one year after it will go to Green Bay, Wisconsin. This is after years in Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit, Las Vegas and Nashville. Apart from Vegas and Nashville, these aren’t towns that should be hosting such an event.
It’s nothing against the cities, they are fine towns (I have been to all of them). They are just not event destinations, and they shouldn’t be treated as such. I know that is going to hurt a lot of feelings, but frankly I don’t care. I’m sure the NFL draft shouldn’t be Pittsburgh the way I’m sure the Super Bowl shouldn’t be in New York.
It’s also nothing against the fans of these cities. Browns, Lions, Packers and Steelers fans are some of the bests in the country, but that’s not the point. The point is kids don’t dream of having their name called and walking across Hart Plaza in Detroit when their life dream comes true. They want the grand stage. They want Radio City.
Don’t believe me? Just 13 prospects attended the draft in person to learn which of the league’s 32 teams will select them. That’s down from 17 in 2023 and 21 in 2022. Back in 2014, the last time the draft was in New York, there was a record 30 prospects in attendance at Radio City Music Hall. Why? Because they all dreamed of being on that stage, in that arena, in that city. Nobody dreams of walking down a stage erected at Lambeau Field to hold up a Jaguars jersey. Might as well stay home and have mom’s home cooking.
The fact is that there are event cities and there are not event cities, and it has nothing to do with local fan bases. The Super Bowl should be played at max of six or seven venues that rotate. The draft should be the same. Sorry Pittsburgh, you didn’t make the cut.
The NFL placates these places with the draft because they don’t want to give them a Super Bowl (and they shouldn’t). It’s a slight of hand trick the NFL uses to make cities forget that they aren’t built to hold the biggest event in the country.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. If Detroit shouldn’t get the draft, how did they break the attendance record? I went to the draft in Detroit. It was not fun. It was thousands of people drinking in the street and standing for hours way too far away to see anything but the big screens. It was cold. It was hard to get to the bathroom. It was the football equivalent of New Year’s Eve in Times Square. That isn’t what the draft is. It’s become a made for TV version of the event.
At the draft in Radio City, there were real fans who got lucky enough to get a seat to watch the event. They gave you a real reaction because they were passionate enough to get into the arena. The people we saw on TV in each team’s section when they picked were chosen for being caricature of the fan base and they cheered no matter what. They were essentially actors playing the role of “happy for my team fan” in the NFL’s production of the NFL Draft. I mean, Broncos fans cheered Bo Nix? It was fake. Fugazi.
The NFL Draft isn’t about the fans. It’s about the young men who just realized their dreams. And we are doing them a disservice by sending them to cities they frankly likely have zero desire to visit. The draft should be held at an indoor venue with some gravitas in a city that is made for such events.
Bring the draft back to Radio City where it belongs and leave it there. The future NFL draft picks will thank you.
