President Donald Trump, the NFL and Washington, D.C. are getting ready for a million football fan march. During a joint press conference at the White House on Monday, May 5, Trump announced that the NFL draft will be coming to the National Mall in 2027.
Why did the NFL choose Washington for the 2027 draft?
“The draft is a celebration of one of our country’s most cherished cultural institutions and the annual highlights for football fans everywhere,” Trump said. “Everyone in the world is going to be watching.”
Trump made the announcement from the Oval Office, flanked by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris, among other officials.
The NFL draft is big business. The league wrapped up its 2025 event in Green Bay on April 26. According to the league and Nielsen, TV ratings were the second highest on record, only behind 2020, and 600,000 fans were on site, which tripled Green Bay’s population over a three-day period.
Detroit holds the attendance record of 750,000 people in 2024, but Commanders owner Josh Harris expects to break that record with the nation’s capital as the background.
“To host the NFL draft in 2027 on the Mall – I believe we’ll get over a million people, and it’s going to be an amazing day,” Harris said. “It’ll showcase what Washington’s all about, but it’ll also showcase what our country is all about. Washington is the gateway city to our country, and it’ll be an amazing day, and we can’t wait to get started.”
What about Trump’s history of clashing with the NFL?
The president has a history of sparring with the NFL. During his first term, he called on owners to fire players who were kneeling during the national anthem. More recently, he criticized the Commanders’ name change and shared some advice via social media for the teams that didn’t draft Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
On Monday, however, everyone was on the same page. Goodell repeatedly thanked the president for working on a trade agreement between the league and Canada, the new Commanders stadium site and the NFL draft announcement.
“We not only believe it’s a great site, we believe it’s consistent with what the president said, which is investing in our communities, investing specifically here in the nation’s capital. One that I grew up here in Washington, D.C., and is particularly important,” Goodell said. “We think we can have a tremendous impact on this community, and it will not just be an event; it will be something that will show the world how far the nation’s capital has come and where it’s going.”
When will the new Commanders’ stadium be built?
Goodell, Harris and Mayor Bowser last week announced a $3.6 billion deal to replace the crumbling RFK Stadium with a new 65,000-seat complex. If approved by the D.C. city council, the complex could be open for the 2030 season. Trump also approved that deal on Monday.
“It’s going to be an architect’s dream,” Trump said. “Whoever the architect has chosen and the owner, it’s going to be something special. I think it’s going to be great for the area. Going to be, it will be top of the line. I know these people very well, and they only know about top of the line.”
Since 2015, the NFL draft has been held in different cities each year, bringing great commercial success and fan approval. Next year’s event will take place in Pittsburgh. Then, as they say, Washington, D.C., will be on the clock, ready to host a million football fans.
