2027 NFL Draft in Washington, D.C., Expected to Draw 1 Million Fans

The 2027 NFL Draft is officially headed to Washington, D.C. 

U.S. President Donald Trump made the announcement Monday afternoon from the Oval Office at the White House, alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Commanders owner Josh Harris, and Washington, D.C., mayor Muriel Bowser.

The three-day event will be held across the District’s most iconic landmarks, including the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is expected to draw “well over a million people,” Goodell said. That would blow by the record of 775,00 fans who attended the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. 

“The draft is a celebration of one of our country’s most cherished cultural institutions, and the annual highlights for football fans everywhere,” Trump said. “Everyone in the world is going to be watching. We look forward to welcoming people from across the nation, from all over the world.”

Goodell echoed those sentiments. “We think we can have a tremendous impact on this community,” he said. “And it will not just be an event; it will be something that will show the world how far the nation’s capital has come and where it’s going.”

Harris presented Trump with a Commanders jersey and thanked him for his efforts around the draft and last week’s news of the Commanders sealing a $3.8 billion deal to build a new domed stadium on the grounds of the long-abandoned RFK Stadium.

Around the Nation

Washington, D.C., had been seen as a favorite to land the 2027 NFL Draft. The 2026 event will be held in Pittsburgh. 

Last month’s draft in Green Bay, the NFL’s smallest market, drew 600,000 fans, which was more than double predraft projections.

The Bills have publicly said they are interested in bringing the 2028 or 2029 NFL Draft to Buffalo, after the franchise’s new $2 billion–plus stadium opens in 2027.