NEW YORK — Shedeur Sanders’ drop led to record ratings for the third and final day for the NFL draft, while the average of 7.5 million viewers per day made it the second-most watched draft on record.
Saturday’s telecast of Rounds 4 through 7 — Sanders was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round — was the most watched on record. It averaged 4.3 million viewers on ESPN, ABC, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes and digital channels. That was a 43% increase over 2024.
The total number of viewers was up 27% over last year, and the three-day total trailed only the 2020 draft.
Round 1 coverage Thursday averaged 13.6 million viewers across all channels — an increase of 11% over 2024 and the second most-watched Day 1 on record. Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday averaged 7.5 million viewers — up 48%.
NFL officials announced Saturday that the total attendance in Green Bay ended up at 600,000 — more than doubling forecasted estimates for the event.
Green Bay couldn’t match the record announced attendance of over 775,000 for last year’s draft in Detroit, but it matched the second-highest total since the NFL moved the draft out of New York and started sending it to various locations in 2015. The 2019 draft in Nashville, Tennessee, also had a reported total attendance of 600,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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