NFL Draft Round 1 Draws 13.6M Viewers, Second-Highest Ever

Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft was the second-most-watched Day 1 of the draft ever, according to the NFL.

Per the league’s numbers, the first round averaged 13.6 million viewers—an 11% increase from last year’s 12.3 million—across television and online platforms. The draft is airing on NFL Network, ESPN, ABC, and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.

Since first airing the draft on ESPN in 1980, the NFL Draft has become the most-watched event of its kind. The closest competitor, the NBA draft, averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC and ESPN in 2024. 

While most fans watch on television, the NFL also welcomed about 205,000 fans to watch the draft live in Green Bay, well short of the record set last year by Detroit, which brought in 275,000 fans for Day 1 and 775,000 total fans across all three days. But Green Bay is no Detroit; it’s the league’s smallest market, with a population of around 105,000. 

Broadcasters may have benefited from the slide of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was not selected in the first round (and remained undrafted through three rounds after Day 2). Many outlets projected Sanders as a first-round pick, though murmurings that he would slip imbued the day with some drama.

After big-name players like Miami QB Cam Ward and Heisman Trophy winner—and Sanders teammate—Travis Hunter were snagged early on, viewers were left hanging as to when Coach Prime’s son would be taken.

That left the league star power and a storyline going into Day 2—one that even President Donald Trump noticed. “What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” he posted on Truth Social before Friday’s second round.