• Loading stock data...
Sunday, July 13, 2025

How Cleveland Kept the NFL Draft Rolling Despite COVID-19

  • In 2021, the NFL Draft was in jeopardy due to the pandemic — but the city of Cleveland made the best of it.
  • Cleveland managed to attract 50,000 people per day to the 2021 Draft
An overall view of the stage before the 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For many years, the NFL was content to make its annual Draft the media event of its offseason, attracting millions of viewers each year through its broadcasts on ESPN and NFL Network from the comforts of its home in New York City.

But in 2015, the league left New York City for a two-year stint at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago — and since 2017, it has been on the road, turning the NFL Draft into a traveling festival that attracts hundreds of thousands of fans to a different city each season.

“The draft was a TV show,” Greater Cleveland Sports Commission SVP of business operations Mike Mulhall told Front Office Sports. “Once the NFL took it on the road, they started to understand the property that they had.”

It’s a property that has proved unstoppable — even in the most extenuating circumstances.

A general view while the Dallas Cowboys make their pick during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas.

Nobody Wanted To Show The NFL Draft. Now It Owns TV.

Televising it was once a preposterous idea. Now it’s the gold standard.
April 22, 2023

Around 2017 — the year the league experimented with its first true roadshow in Philadelphia — it asked NFL cities for proposals on where to host future drafts.

Cleveland applied for the privilege but was denied on its first try, as its ambitious plan to host the first two days in the city and the third day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in nearby Canton was deemed too logistically difficult.

Mulhall and his team attended the drafts in Philly, Arlington, and Nashville to learn how to run the event. With that research in mind, Cleveland applied again and was awarded the 2021 Draft.

From there, GCSC raised the $4 million necessary to cover the obligations requested by the NFL. It received contributions from the state of Ohio’s major sporting event grant program, corporate partners, and, of course, from the hometown Cleveland Browns.

With a lakefront venue by the Browns’ stadium secured, Cleveland was ready to show the world what it could do with an NFL Draft — until the world stopped in March 2020.

‘Making Lemonade’

As in every sector of society, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a massive wrench into the NFL Draft’s plans for two years.

In 2020, commissioner Roger Goodell famously hosted the event from his basement in Bronxville, New York, delaying the initial live event in Las Vegas to 2022.

But in 2021, with vaccine rollouts just getting underway, the league decided to move ahead with its original plan of being in-person — presenting a massive challenge to Mulhall’s team in Cleveland.

“Honestly, six, eight weeks out, we didn’t know if we were going to have an in-person event, which was really, really tough,” says Mulhall. “With how volatile that situation was in those days, we had to have a plan A, B, C, and D.”

GCSC closely aligned with state and local officials about what it would need to do to run the event as safely and smoothly as possible.

  • Attendees in the draft theater had to prove they were fully vaccinated.
  • The event had to time out entrances onto the grounds to get everyone in, but not at once to avoid crowding.
  • Several COVID-era restrictions were lifted around that time, which was a big help, according to Mulhall.
Bryce Young NFL Draft.

Bryce Young Proves It Pays to Play At Alabama

Bryce Young and Will Anderson continues Alabama tradition.
April 27, 2023

The Commission also had difficulty securing the music acts that have become staples of the event, as “no one was touring or practicing” at the time, per Mulhall. However, they were ultimately able to book rock group Kings of Leon to put on a spirited show for the smaller, passionate contingent that showed up.

“One of the biggest disappointments from our standpoint is we felt we were really well positioned to have a massive audience,” Mulhall says, noting that several NFL cities are within realistic driving distance of Cleveland.

Still, despite the restrictions and limited entertainment options, Cleveland managed to attract 50,000 people per day to the 2021 Draft (for reference, this year’s event in Kansas City is projected to attract 300,000 people over three days).

Cleveland’s Draft also generated an estimated $42 million in economic impact after it was conservatively projected for $100 million before the pandemic hit.

It shows just how much staying power the NFL’s traveling roadshow has — and how it can only continue to grow as cities vie to one-up each other each year.

“It was a lot of work on our part, on the Browns’ part, on the city of Cleveland, and the NFL,” says Mulhall, “but I think we did a really good job of making lemonade out of lemons.

“It was a major source of pride for our city to be able to host it.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL

30 NFL Second-Rounders Still Unsigned With Camps Set to Open

Saturday is the earliest rookie report date for training camp.

Najee Harris Contract Situation Unclear Following Fireworks Injury

The running back signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Chargers in March.
Jeff Kaplan

Letting PE Invest in Family-Owned Teams Is a ‘Watershed’

Liquidity gives owners greater flexibility to manage salary cap.

NFL Likely to Stay With CBS, Targeting Mass Renegotiation in 2029

The league instead looks toward a broader set of contract opt-outs.

Featured Today

May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.
July 12, 2025

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.
July 11, 2025

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
Apr 6, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; The LIV Golf logo is on display along the 10th hole during the second round of LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Doral.

LIV Golf’s New Leadership Reapplies for World Ranking Points

The league’s first attempt was denied in 2023.
Stephen Curry celebrates after sinking the winning putt during the final round of the American Century Celebrity Championship golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nev., Sunday, July 16, 2023.
July 10, 2025

Golf’s Hottest Celebrity Tournament Keeps Getting More Exclusive

The American Century Championship tees off at Lake Tahoe on Friday.
July 11, 2025

All-Star Game Returns to Atlanta With Big Plans After 2021 Exit

The league’s jewel event is set to be a global showcase for The Battery.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Bruce Meyer and Tony Clark of the MLBPA
July 10, 2025

MLB, Players’ Union Spar Over Salary Cap As Labor Fight Looms

The MLB Players Association’s No. 2 executive outlines what he sees owners doing.
May 28, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
July 10, 2025

How Does the NBA Salary Cap Work?

The NBA salary cap gives teams a spending limit for their rosters.
Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell during the NFLPA press conference at the Super Bowl LIX media center at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
July 10, 2025

NFLPA Head Has Side Hustle With PE Firm That Can Invest in..

The NFLPA’s executive director is embroiled in multiple controversies.
July 10, 2025

Murphy: Club WC Snags Won’t Derail Biggest Event ‘in Human History’

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium is the concluding site of both FIFA events.