The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books.
And after Detroit's record-setting attendance for its first draft, expectations for future hosts are elevated.
Each year, the NFL rotates the annual event to different cities across the country.
Here’s a look at the 2025 host, plus information about past and future sites:
Where was the 2024 NFL Draft held?
The 2024 NFL Draft took place in Detroit, Mich.
Events were held in the downtown area surrounding Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza.
NFL
Who will host the 2025 NFL Draft?
Next year, the draft stays in the NFC North with another first-time host: Green Bay, Wis.
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The Green Bay Packers are the NFL's third-oldest franchise, but they have never had the event in their city. The closest it came was in 1940, when the draft took place in nearby Milwaukee.
How does the NFL decide where to hold the draft?
Just like any other major event, think the Olympics or World Cup, cities across the country bid to host the draft and the NFL votes on a winner. The vote comes down to the owners of the 32 NFL teams, and they are generally voted on two years in advance.
This process is relatively new to the NFL, as the draft was previously held annually in New York City. That all changed in 2015 when the draft moved to Chicago after 50 consecutive years in New York. Since 2016, the draft site has changed every year.
What city has hosted the most NFL drafts?
As you might’ve guessed, New York has hosted the most NFL drafts with 57 – including a 50-year stretch from 1965 to 2014. Philadelphia, which hosted the first NFL draft in 1936, has hosted the second-most with 12. Here’s the full list of cities that have hosted the event:
- New York City, 57 (1937, 1939, 1945-47, 1952, 1955, 1965-2014)
- Philadelphia, 12 (1936, 1949-50, 1953-54, 1956-61, 2017)
- Chicago, 10 (1938, 1942-44, 1951, 1962-64, 2015-16)
- Milwaukee, 1 (1940)
- Washington D.C., 1 (1941)
- Pittsburgh, 1 (1948)
- Los Angeles, 1 (1956, rounds 1-3 were in Philly before rounds 4-30 were in L.A.)
- Dallas, 1 (2018)
- Nashville, 1 (2019)
- Virtual, 1 (2020 due to COVID-19)
- Cleveland, 1 (2021)
- Las Vegas, 1 (2022)
- Kansas City, 1 (2023)
- Detroit, 1 (2024)
Future NFL Draft host cities for 2025 and beyond
Two future draft sites has been announced at this time: Green Bay and Pittsburgh.
The Steel City will stage the 2026 draft after last hosting way back in December of 1947.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article was first published in April 2023.
