The Cowboys are one of the contenders to host the 2018 NFL Draft. (Getty)
While the NFL has not made an official announcement on the 2018 NFL Draft location, there has been a good deal of information released. According to NFL.com, 14 cities have made proposals to be considered for next year’s draft.
In early April, ESPN’s Field Yates reported Dallas is the favorite to host the NFL draft in 2018.
“Dallas has emerged as a favorite to host the 2018 NFL draft at the Cowboys’ new training facility in Frisco, Texas, league sources told ESPN…Philadelphia is also in contention, while Kansas City and Green Bay are considered long shots. An official decision on the 2018 draft site is not expected to be made until after this year’s draft,” Yates wrote on ESPN.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell disputed the report during draft week and mentioned there are 14 cities competing to host the event. Goodell spoke with NFL.com about the bidding process.
I don’t know who came up with that, but there are 14 cities here that wouldn’t agree with that. They really love the draft. I think they see the opportunity here. There’s a lot of competition for this, and I think Philadelphia has raised the bar. One of the things we want to take from this experience is to see what went well, see what went wrong and see what we can improve on. Other cities are obviously watching. There are 14 here and we’re going to raise the bar. So I think the bids will change in the next couple of weeks.
NFL Network’s Mike Mayock suggested Philly host the event again during the live broadcast of this year’s draft, but Mayock is a bit biased as a Philadelphia native. Philadelphia became the first city to the host the event outside all three days of the draft, including the first round which is normally held in an auditorium. The Philadelphia Eagles tweeted the city had set an attendance record on the opening day of the draft with over 100,000 people.
Philly represented last night. #NFLDraft record crowd of over 100,000 fans.
Now let’s top it on Day Two.
The Star-Telegram reported Jerry Jones is “envious” of the scene Philadelphia created with the draft and really wants the Cowboys to play a part in hosting the 2018 draft.
Philly represented last night. #NFLDraft record crowd of over 100,000 fans.
Now let’s top it on Day Two.
I could have never dreamed the draft would be what it is today when you look back years ago, but it is. That’s made it even more exciting, particularly for that [host] fan base.
I like the practice of moving the draft around to the cities in the NFL and letting our cities and fans participate in this aspect of the thing. I’d love tangibly for our fans to get to participate in that by having the draft here in the Dallas area.
While it has not been formally announced, the 2018 NFL Draft is expected to be April 26-28 next year. It is typically held during the final week of April. Heavy will continue to update you on the 2018 location as more info is released.
Check out Heavy’s first 2018 NFL mock draft as we identify the top prospects in next year’s draft.
