ESPN's Adam Schefter makes prediction for future NFL Drafts

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter has indicated fans should get used to annual drafts remaining festival-like events from now on. 

"Not only is the NFL moving cities, going to a different city every year, but I believe that we’ve seen the last—for the foreseeable future—of the indoor drafts," Schefter explained during his podcast, per Jordan Bondurant of the Barrett Sports Media website. "Because there are too many people that want to be there. They can’t stick it inside anywhere. It’s got to be outside with hundreds of thousands of people." 

According to Pete Grathoff of The Kansas City Star, NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy said this year's draft, which ran from April 27-29 in Kansas City, attracted roughly 312,000 fans. Kansas City Sports Commission and VisitKC president and CEO Kathy Nelson previously estimated 300,000 people would attend the draft. 

It was learned in March 2022 that the 2024 draft will take place in Detroit. Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports said in a piece published Monday that the Green Bay Packers "have long been the favorite to land the 2025" draft. The location for that event should be revealed during the upcoming owner's meetings that get underway on May 22. 

New York City hosted drafts from 1964 through 2014 before the league made such events road shows. The days of Radio City Music Hall serving as the home for any draft appear well in the past. 

"We may see it in Green Bay in future years at some point, where they use Lambeau Field," Schefter continued. "...It’s become the offseason Super Bowl—the NFL’s Coachella—where cities that wouldn’t be awarded a Super Bowl, like Green Bay because there aren’t enough hotels and nobody wants to travel to Green Bay in February. This has become the NFL’s answer to say, well we’re not going to give you the Super Bowl, but we are gonna give you this draft. And the cities, I believe, love that." 

It's thought the Cleveland Browns not having a roof on their stadium is one reason the city can't win the rights to host a Super Bowl. However, Cleveland served as the home of the 2021 draft.