Menu
Events and Attractions

For NFL draft, a stage for every team

Next week’s NFL draft may be moving to Chicago after five decades in New York, but it also is relocating to every NFL market — at least for Day Three.

On that Saturday, the teams in their home market will announce their fourth- through seventh-round picks, with the draft’s main stage in Chicago silent, only open for fans to snap some selfies. The shift comes as the league looks to reinvent the draft, already a mega-TV show with 45 million viewers over the three days last year, into a big on-the-ground marketing event.

In Chicago, it is the first draft fan festival, spread over an area the size of eight football fields. In the home markets, goosed by the spectacle of announcing picks, each team is hosting a fan party on the final day. By contrast, last year only four teams hosted Saturday draft day events.

The NFL is expecting 100,000 fans for its free football festival in Chicago’s Grant Park. Draft selections will be made at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University for the first two days.
Renderings: COURTESY OF NFL
Since 2010, the NFL draft has spanned three days, with first-round picks on a Thursday night, second- and third-round picks Friday night, and the remainder on Saturday. Prior to 2010, the draft started on a Saturday, so attracting large crowds to draft parties of hometown fans was easier for clubs than it became on a Thursday night.

The NFL is trying to drive local interest to the weekend again this year.


“The shift to Saturday: It is a great day, an easier day, to get fans out and opportunities for families,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL senior vice president, events.

The Saturday opportunities stem in part from the league in October selecting Chicago to host this year’s draft over Los Angeles.

“It was driven by us as part of the L.A.-Chicago decision,” O’Reilly said. “The choice was not only about the location, but how can we elevate the draft overall.”

Day Three of the draft has long been a sleepy one, with its New York venue — Radio City Music Hall most recently — sparsely populated as selections were called out to a few die-hard fans and a general lack of interest, particularly when compared to the draft’s opening day when interest is highest and commissioner Roger Goodell makes the announcements. On Day Two this year each team will have a legend make at least one of the announcements from the Chicago stage.

Many teams for their hometown announcements on Day Three are running contests for fans to win the chance to announce the pick. The Jaguars, for example, deployed a contest called You Make the Pick to select fan winners. Rounds four and five will be made from EverBank Field, and the next two in London at the Sky Sports studio as part of a show hosted by former Jacksonville defensive lineman Marcus Stroud. The Jaguars play an annual game in London.

Three clubs — Oakland, Tennessee and Seattle — are having their events on military bases.

“[Commercially] it allows them to sell against the media opportunities that come with making these announcements on Day Three,” O’Reilly said.

NFL Network plans to deploy crews to all 32 team events, though not all the picks will be broadcast.

“[One] pick from Rounds 4-7 [will be] broadcast live on NFLN, all others being broadcast via NFL Now and NFL.com [and] club assets,” said Jacksonville Jaguars spokesman Dan Edwards via email.

O’Reilly said many teams will continue to have first-night draft parties, as they have in the past, though many of those are geared toward VIPs and special guests.

In Chicago, the NFL is expecting 100,000 fans for its free three-day football festival in Grant Park, complete with football fields, team fan caves and a bevy of sponsor locations. A concert will cap off the three days, with NFL planning to announce the act this week.

In all, 34 NFL sponsor brands are scheduled to have a presence at the draft event, up from 24 last year. Oikos is presenting sponsor of the event, with its moniker part of the event name: Draft Town presented by Oikos Triple Zero. The NFL also is planning a bigger hospitality effort, though seating in the theater holding the draft is smaller than in years past, down more than 2,000 seats, or 35 percent from last year at Radio City. Draft selections will be made at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago for the first two days of the draft, with the football festival going on outside.

If Chicago performs well as a host, it’d be in good standing to get the event again, O’Reilly said — though ultimately, he foresees a bidding process for the draft akin to how Super Bowl hosts are selected.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2015/04/20/Events-and-Attractions/NFL-draft.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2015/04/20/Events-and-Attractions/NFL-draft.aspx

CLOSE