NFL Events

It probably won't surprise anybody reading this to hear that I have absolutely no interest in the NFL Draft.  I did enjoy the movie Draft Day.  But the real one?  No.  I can't remember the last time I watched any part of an actual NFL Draft, let alone the hours and hours over three days it has become.  (Seriously, why is it so long?!)

Part, if not all of the reason, is because I'm not a fan of top-level college football.  And, since I don't care--at all--I have little to no idea who even the best players are, let alone the random offensive lineman from Missouri who the Lions might take in the fifth round.  And I'm certainly not spending hours creating and updating my mock drafts (which has somehow turned into a full-time job for draft analysts).

I also have a really hard time getting amped up for guys who may or may not even make the team.  They're just way too much of an unknown.  I don't even watch the NFL preseason.  Once the season's ready to start and we know who's actually on the team, then I'll care.  Until then, I'm good.

For the record, I couldn't give two hoots about the NBA Draft, either...for the opposite reason!  I enjoy college basketball (and I sure see enough of it live during the season), but I don't care at all about the NBA.  Nor do I have any idea who all of the international players that get drafted are.  So, while I at least somewhat care where the NFL rookies end up, I'm completely indifferent when it comes to the NBA.  But that's just me.

And, even though the NFL Draft isn't my cup of tea, I do realize that some people live for it.  Whether it's because they're fans of a particular college team (or college football in general) and want to see where their guys go or they're desperate to see their NFL team improve or a combination of both, they're all about the NFL Draft and will intently watch all three days.  Or even go to the Draft in person.

After holding the Draft in New York for years, the NFL started taking it on the road in 2015.  Which is one of the smartest things the league has ever done!  Since the 2020 Draft was held virtually because of the pandemic (I might've watched a little bit of that one just to see how the virtual draft would work out), it's been to Cleveland and Las Vegas.  This year, it's in Kansas City, and next year's NFL Draft will be in Detroit.

Moving the Draft around gave the NFL an opportunity to bring it to the people instead of making the fans go to New York.  It's also a chance to showcase different cities.  Because of when the game is played, the Super Bowl rotation is limited to the same handful of places.  But the NFL Draft is in late April, not mid-February, so they don't need to worry about making sure it's in a warm-weather location or dome.  It can be held anywhere!

Literally any team in the NFL can host the Draft.  Which means that between the Super Bowl and the Draft, every team gets the opportunity to host one of the league's two major events.  More importantly, every NFL city will get the chance.  Not just to benefit from the exposure the event brings, but the revenue that is generated from all the fans coming into town.  And that's really the biggest impact.

The NFL Draft has become an event.  It's probably the second-biggest day on the football calendar, behind only the Super Bowl.  And I do get why.  It brings the fanatical college football faithful and the passionate NFL fans together.  It's something they look forward to from the second the final whistle of the Super Bowl sounds, and it fills the football fix during that months-long void between the end of the season in February and the start of the next season in September (the XFL and USFL don't count).

All credit for that goes to both the NFL and ESPN.  In the early days of ESPN, when they were just desperate for any sort of programming, Pete Rozelle said, "Sure, you can broadcast the Draft."  He thought they were crazy!  Now, the NFL Draft is on three different channels over three days, with the first round broadcast in prime time (to massive ratings).  And it's always highly anticipated.  Which says a lot about how much it's evolved since that first televised Draft in the early 80s.

What's crazy, though, is that the NFL Draft is no longer the only offseason "event" people look forward to.  The NFL has really turned into a year-round sport.  And it's all because of the way they've set up the offseason calendar.  There's basically made it so that there's something scheduled every month, which is a guaranteed way of keeping people talking about the NFL all year long.

In March is the start of free agency and the Combine.  Then the Draft is in April.  The schedule used to be released before the Draft, but they've moved it to May and turned it into an event of its own.  Minicamps and OTAs are in June.  It's really only July where there's any sort of "dead" period, but don't be surprised if teams turn that into some sort of fan festival around the start of training camp.  And, of course, the preseason is in August, which resets the entire calendar for the next season.

Which is all a testament to how ridiculously popular the NFL is!  It's clearly America's No. 1 sport right now, and it's smart to capitalize on that by turning everything that happens in the offseason into an "event."  Some, admittedly, are bigger than others.  And the NFL Draft is the biggest of those.

If the interest in the NFL Draft wasn't what it is, the league never would've turned it into an event.  But that's exactly what it is.  They took the power of the NFL, the power of college football, and bored, rabid fans who've been deprived of football, and created a Super Bowl-type atmosphere at the end of April.  And fans just eat it up!  (Not me, but lots of other fans.)