The National Football League (NFL) will bring its marquee offseason event — the 2027 NFL Draft — to Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump announced Monday during a press conference from the Oval Office. This marks the first time the draft will be held in the U.S. capital since 1940.
Set to unfold over three days on the National Mall, the draft is expected to attract over one million visitors, according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. That would surpass the previous attendance record of 775,000, set in Detroit in 2024.
Calling the draft a “celebration of one of our country’s most cherished cultural institutions,” Trump praised the NFL’s role in American society, standing beside Goodell and newly minted Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris, who gifted the president a Commanders jersey emblazoned with “Trump” on the back.
The announcement follows a major development for Washington’s NFL franchise — a deal with the District of Columbia to return to the RFK Stadium site, their historic home from 1961 to 1996. The new stadium is projected to open in 2030, rekindling memories of the team’s golden era.
The NFL Draft has been a traveling spectacle since 2015, when it ended its decades-long residency in New York City. The 2025 edition will take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin, followed by Pittsburgh in 2026.
President Trump, who made headlines in February by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl, has had a long, often fraught relationship with the league. In the 1980s, he bought into the now-defunct United States Football League (USFL) and pushed to challenge the NFL head-on. His first term in office was also marked by a public battle with the league over players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
Despite their differences, Goodell reiterated in February that the league remains committed to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a stance that contrasts with Trump’s recent calls to dismantle such corporate programs.
The 2027 NFL Draft will be part of a blockbuster period for U.S. sports, as the nation also prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup (alongside Mexico and Canada) and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
