Abdimalik Mohamed, sports editor

For many years, the NFL Draft was held in New York City. From smoke-filled boardrooms to Radio City Music Hall, the NFL Draft has long been a massive TV event, drawing millions of viewers on TV and thousands in person. It has always been one of my favorite days in the sports calendar year because it instills hope into every NFL fan and it shines a ray of optimism on your team while watching people fulfill their dreams. 

The event started in 1935 due to Philadelphia Eagles owner and future NFL Commissioner Bert Bell. “Bell proposed a smarter and more balanced way of distributing college stars within the league-instead of the first come, free-for-all, where owners just offered the most money to the best college players leaving school,” according to Pro Football Journal. I think that this was a genius idea for the owners, but not so much for the players, because they don’t have a say in where they go. A lot of people don’t agree with the draft format in general, but it is what it is, and as a viewer it is incredibly exciting to watch. 

As the years have gone by, the draft has grown and expanded, and in 1980 it started to air on television. It was presented by ESPN which was a relatively new TV station at the time and they were looking to put their stamp on an event. According to the New York Times, “In 1980, seven-month-old ESPN was in only four million homes,” a fact that really caught my eye. Considering the year and the amount of television there was in the country at the time, the fact that ESPN was in only four million homes is really remarkable. Magazines were a huge help at the time, showing the college prospects at a time when you couldn’t go on YouTube and watch every single player that your team drafted.

As I mentioned earlier, the NFL Draft was just a ballroom meeting at first, a bunch of football executives making selections amongst themselves. However, as the years went on, more and more people wanted to see how the sausage was made. It first went to the New York Sheraton Hotel, then to Radio City Music Hall and since 2015, teams bid on hosting the NFL Draft in their respective markets each year. It really has a cool flavor to it now as opposed to 10-15 years ago because the teams and cities really make it their own. Many decorate the stage in their own team colors, which is awesome. Another thing that has been awesome is the growing expansion of the fans and their involvement, with crowds growing every year until this year’s expected turnout of over 250,000 people for the three day event. The NFL has really made this an event for the fans, I am really excited to see where it goes from here.