Massive outdoor crowd forces NFL to cap general admission as draft fans take over Detroit and set new attendance record
The NFL keeps getting bigger.
So does the NFL Draft.
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What used to occur in a hotel room with names written on a blackboard has become a massive three-day event televised on multiple networks at once.
The draft keeps getting larger and larger -- and so do the crowds.
With the NFL turning its annual college player selection process into an outdoor event that alternates host cities, fans have turned what used to be mostly TV-only into a huge in-person party.
More than 275,000 fans attended the first round on Thursday in downtown Detroit, watching Caleb Williams go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons stun the league by drafting Michael Penix Jr., after recently signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a $180 million contract.
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The huge crowd set a NFL Draft record, breaking the all-time day one mark of 200,000 set in 2019 by Nashville, Tenn.​
The overwhelming crowd was so large that general admission entrance on Friday as the event reached max capacity.
It was the second day in a row that the draft reached its maximum allowed crowd, as Lions fans and general NFL supporters stood outside to watch players announced on a far-away stage and oversized screens.
More than 700,000 fans attended the three-day event.
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The draft has become a full-fledged party for NFL fans, while the league has turned what used to be a down time on the annual calendar into one of the highlights of the football year.
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First-round coverage of the draft was seen by an average audience of 12.1 million viewers across ESPN, NFL Network, ABC, ESPN Deportes and digital channels.
That audience represented a six percent increase compared to the 2023 draft.
The presence of Taylor Swift supporting Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs helped Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas become the most-watched TV broadcast (123 million viewers) since the Moon landing in 1969.
Less than three months later, the power of the NFL drew more than 275,000 fans to Detroit in April, just to be part of an outdoors event that they could have easily watched on TV.
Players regularly become emotional when they're drafted -- Williams cried when watching a video message from his mom.
Fans also love watching NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell give out hugs to pro football's newest names.
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