It’s official: the NFL Draft is coming to D.C. in 2027!
President Donald Trump announced Monday at the White House that the Draft will be in DC in two years, with the event centered on the National Mall in the shadow of the Washington Monument.
“Thousands of fans will come from across the country,” President Trump said. “The Draft is a celebration of one of our country’s most cherished cultural institutions, and this will bring jobs and tourism to the heart of our Capital.”
“Just a week ago in Green Bay, we had over 600,000 people attend, and we had over 800,00 in Detroit – and we think we can have well over a million here in 2027,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell added. “We believe it’s an investment in this city, where I grew up here in D.C., and we think it will have a tremendous impact on the community.”
This will be the first time DC has hosted the draft since it began rotating through NFL cities in 2015; the event was at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall from 1965-2014, but since, it has been hosted in nine different cities – most recently Green Bay, and then Pittsburgh in 2026 ahead of D.C.
“We are delighted to be here with the Commanders, the NFL, and the President to make this very exciting announcement,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “We believe in investing in sports because they have helped us transform neighborhoods, and the NFL bringing this event to the nation’s capital will help us fill hotel rooms and our restaurants, and people from all 50 states will come to enjoy our beautiful city.”
“To host the NFL Draft in 2027, on the Mall, I believe we’ll get that million people, and it will showcase what Washington is all about,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said. “But, it will also showcase what our country is all about, and we can’t wait to get started.”
The announcement comes one week after the District and the Commanders announced a plan for the team to build a new stadium at the RFK site, one that will cost about $4 billion all told in construction and infrastructure, and is planned to be completed in time for the 2030 season.
Goodell was at that announcement, and later said that the new stadium would ‘dramatically increase’ the potential of a Super Bowl in the DMV, and President Trump mentioned the RFK deal in his announcement.
“Last month the Commanders and DC government announced the deal, and I don’t think there’s a better site anywhere in the world than that site,” Trump said. “(Josh Harris) is a very successful guy and there’s a reason for it – these announcements are great for the NFL, but also advance the mission of making Washington, D.C., safe and clean and beautiful.”