Now that the NFL has realized that it can do with the draft what it does with the Super Bowl, cities are lining up to get a chance to host the league’s annual offseason tentpole event.
Via Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, the number of locations interested in hosting the draft exceeds 20.
“We have gone out multiple times to all 32 clubs to get their expression of interest in hosting the draft,” NFL senior V.P. of events Peter O’Reilly told Kaplan. “The number of interested . . . markets are 23, which is inclusive of Canton.”
For now, the NFL pays most of the freight when it comes to hosting the draft. As more cities compete for that privilege, the league could soon dictate terms, like it does with the Super Bowl.
The draft also could be hosted in a given year by several different cities. That’s a possibility the league has mentioned in the past. As interest grows, it makes even more sense to consider it.
New York City had a hammerlock on the draft from 1965 through 2014. In 2015 and 2016, the draft was held in Chicago. This week, the draft will be held in Philadelphia.