SKOL! 2028 NFL Draft Heads to Minnesota. The NFL announced at its Spring League Meeting on Tuesday that the host site for the 2028 NFL Draft will be in Minneapolis. This will be the first time the league’s draft will be hosted by Minneapolis and the Minnesota Vikings. The selection marks the third time in four years that an NFC North team will host the league’s draft gala. The Detroit Lions hosted the draft in 2024, and the Green Bay Packers hosted it in 2025.
Vikings Win, Skol! 2028 NFL Draft Heads to Minnesota
“Minnesota knows how to show up for big moments, and we’ve experienced it firsthand,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Working with the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Sports and Events, we look forward to bringing the 2028 NFL Draft to this great community, driving positive economic impact throughout the region, and hosting an incredible event for fans and the next generation of the NFL.”
SKOL! 2028 NFL Draft Heads to Minnesota, a team of committees set to make preparations
The 2028 NFL Draft Local Organizing Committee, Minnesota Sports and Events, Meet Minneapolis, Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, and the Minnesota Vikings will collaborate on the draft’s events. Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf, who is also an honorary co-chair of the 2028 NFL Draft Local Organizing Committee, is proud of the opportunity to showcase how the collection of entities will deliver an outstanding event.
Rodger Goodell congratulates Minnesota on being awarded the 2028 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/r5cA54xdcu
— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) May 19, 2026
“For three days, Minnesota will become the center of the football world. The 2028 NFL Draft will give us an opportunity to showcase not just U.S. Bank Stadium, but the energy, hospitality, and pride that define Minneapolis-St. Paul and the entire state and region. We have no doubt the community will deliver a world-class event that is unique to Minnesota.”
Washington, D.C., will host the draft in 2027, with the draft’s sites to include multiple landmarks, including the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue.
The 2026 draft in Pittsburgh saw the league set its all-time attendance mark for the event, with 805,000 fans attending the three-day event outside Acrisure Stadium, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
The NFL Draft was conducted in New York City from 1965-2014, with Radio City Music Hall the primary venue in the final years. The league moved the draft to Chicago for two years before deciding to rotate the host city each year, beginning in 2017.
.@JFowlerESPN provides an update from the NFL league meetings on international games, the host site of the 2028 NFL Draft and the 2030 Super Bowl 🏈 pic.twitter.com/ACsovOzBIW
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 19, 2026
NFL Draft Locations 2015-2028
- 2027: Washington, D.C. (Plans to include the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue)
- 2026: Pittsburgh, PA (David L. Lawrence Convention Center outside Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 2025: Green Bay, WI (Lambeau Field, Titletown USA district, and the Resch Center)
- 2024: Detroit, MI (Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit, half a mile from Ford Field)
- 2023: Kansas City, MO (Outside of Union Station)
- 2022: Las Vegas, NV (Caesars Forum Paradise on the Las Vegas Strip)
- 2021: Cleveland, OH ( North Coast Harbor, just outside FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns)
- 2020: Virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Conducted from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s basement)
- 2019: Nashville, TN (Broadway Street, downtown Nashville)
- 2018: Arlington, TX (AT&T Stadium(home of the Dallas Cowboys)
- 2017: Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
- 2016: Chicago, IL (Auditorium Theatre)
- 2015: Chicago, IL (Auditorium Theatre)
The NFL Draft has not always been the marquee event it has become in recent decades. For instance, in the league’s first draft, less than a third of the players drafted made it on NFL rosters.
NFL Draft Locations 1936-2014
- 1965-2014: New York City, NY
- 1962-1964: Chicago, IL
- 1956-1961: Philadelphia, PA
- 1955: New York City, NY
- 1953-1954: Philadelphia, PA
- 1952: New York City, NY
- 1951: Chicago, IL
- 1949-1950: Philadelphia, PA
- 1948: Pittsburgh, PA
- 1945-1947: New York City, NY
- 1944: Philadelphia, PA
- 1942-1943: Chicago, IL
- 1941: Washington, DC
- 1940: Milwaukee, WI
- 1939: New York City, NY
- 1938: Chicago, IL
- 1937: New York City, NY
- 1936: Philadelphia, PA
NFL Draft Attendance Numbers
- 2026: Pittsburgh, PA (805,000)
- 2025: Green Bay, WI (600,000)
- 2024: Detroit, MI (775,000)
- 2023: Kansas City, MO (312,000)
- 2022: Las Vegas, NV (300,000)
- 2021: Cleveland, OH (160,000)
- 2020: (Virtual)
- 2019: Nashville, TN (600,000)
- 2018: Arlington, TX (200,000)
- 2017: Philadelphia, PA (250,000)
- 2016: Chicago, IL (225,000)
- 2015: Chicago, IL (200,000)
Main Photo: [Kirby Lee] – Imagn Images
