By GRANT TIGHE
The NFL Draft is arguably the biggest non-game sporting event of the year in American sports. It was always held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City until 2014, but now the NFL rotates it between host cities which have hauled in $500 million in economic impact since this change. The seven-round event is broadcasted on multiple stations including ESPN, ABC, and the NFL Network. There is always a spectacle made of the top players in the green room and cameras in the in-house draft parties for them.
The NFL Draft is clearly superior to the three other major sports in basketball, baseball, and hockey. Why is that?
In the NFL, there is no minor league associated with it that players may go to develop. It’s NFL or bust. The MLB has Minor League Baseball, the NBA has the G League, and the NHL has the American Hockey League.
In the MLB, there are 40 rounds, and every player starts off in the minor leagues to develop before getting to the majors. Only 66% of first-round picks make it to play for a major league team and from 1981-2020 17.6% of drafted players made the major league.
Due to the smaller rosters, the NBA Draft only has two rounds. Many top players start and play significant minutes for their teams immediately, but a portion of the players sign two-way contracts that make them play for both their G-league affiliate and NBA team. Due to the shorter draft and fewer players drafted, the NBA Draft can be less exciting than the NFL Draft.
The seven-round NHL Draft is probably the closest thing to the NFL as many of the first-round selections can be on the team right away. It also differs from the NFL as many players selected in the later rounds may opt to stay where they are currently playing. If they don’t like where they are drafted, they don’t have to sign a contract. The American Hockey League can also take in some of the players and develop them as well.
NFL teams don’t have a minor league they can send players to, they either make their team or they cut them. This can make drafting players more exciting since most of them will be on the team for at least their first year. The later rounds can also mean something in the NFL Draft, as there are many examples of players drafted in the later rounds being all-stars such as George Kittle, Tom Brady, Tyreek Hill, etc.
Hutchinson with Michigan in 2021
The NFL Draft also comes at a time of the year when there are not a whole lot of major sporting events on television. It comes a month after the major college sporting season ends with March Madness. The NBA Playoffs are just getting started, the MLB season is in its early stages and it’s the end of the NHL season when people are getting ready for the playoffs. It also comes at the midway point of the NFL offseason at 105 days into the 238-day offseason between the Super Bowl and Opening Night.
Lastly, football is the highest viewed and most popular American sport. Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 was one of the highest viewed sporting events ever with 114.4 million viewers. For comparison, Game Six of the Bulls vs Jazz in 1998 drew 35.9 million viewers, MLB is at recording some of its lowest ratings ever in the history of the sport and the highest-rated NHL game drew 8.72 million viewers in the 2019 Stanley Cup final between the Blues and the Bruins.
Football is dominant for viewership in America right now and it is clear in the extravagant NFL Draft. It generates months of buzz and creates many jobs for insiders and experts like Mel Kiper, Todd McShay and Daniel Jeremiah who constantly scout players and create mock drafts. There is no other sport that can compare to it and it is evident when people watch that the NFL Draft is different than all the other American sports drafts.