With the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wis., ready to kick off, the league’s attention will soon turn to the 2026 event, which will be hosted in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.
The Pittsburgh draft will incorporate elements of Acrisure Stadium, home of the Steelers, and Point State Park, a downtown park at the confluence of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.
From 1965 to 2014, the NFL Draft was held in New York City, though it grew each year, eventually moving from a smoky hotel conference room to Radio City Music Hall. In 2015, the event hit the road, beginning in Chicago for two years and since making stops in Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City and Detroit. The draft negotiates with prospective host cities directly and does not conduct an auction-like process.
Fans have followed the rotating host cities, and the 2024 draft in the Motor City set an attendance record with more than 700,000 fans over the three days.
Washington, D.C., and Denver have submitted bids to host the 2027 draft. Washington and Green Bay were finalists for hosting the 2024 draft before it was awarded to Detroit — and before the 2025 event was awarded to Green Bay.
Pittsburgh was announced as the 2026 host city in late May 2024, which could suggest an announcement for the 2027 host city in the next month.
(Photo: Perry Knotts / Getty Images)