Numerous sources familiar with the NFL’s thinking consider Minneapolis-St. Paul a clear favorite to win hosting rights to the 2028 NFL Draft. The NFL’s events committee is scheduled to meet next week to discuss the matter, with an ownership vote expected at their May 19-20 meeting in Orlando.
In March, the Vikings and Minnesota Sports and Events announced a bid, with a plan that would make U.S. Bank Stadium the center of the draft weekend, with events also in St. Paul, the Mall of America and the Viking Lakes development around the team’s Eagan HQ. While NFL officials believe the modern Draft is best suited for cities without Super Bowl aspirations, and Minneapolis has hosted two Super Bowls before, nobody expects a third in the foreseeable future. The Vikings and NFL declined to comment.
Also, sources said, it’s possible the NFL looks to award two drafts at the same time, or in relatively short order. If that happens, some sources said Cincinnati has the inside track for 2029, but there is less clarity around whether the NFL is prepared to do that now. Commissioner Roger Goodell told Pat McAfee last week “we’re going to probably have to start allocating the drafts a little further in advance” due to the event’s size. Nothing is final, sources cautioned, and the Minnesota selection could still change in the weeks before a vote.
The traveling NFL Draft routinely draws hundreds of thousands of fans to a free, festival-like environment that comes at an opportune time for weather in most of the country, making it an ideal platform for civic promotion. It’s also a highly flexible event, capable of being customized to lots of stadium area and civic footprints. Ten teams had representatives at last weekend’s Draft in Pittsburgh to learn and develop their own hopes of hosting, Goodell said.
The only future draft with an identified host is 2027, when the Commanders and D.C., will host on the National Mall. Along with Washington, Minneapolis and Cincinnati, seven other cities participated in that meeting Goodell referenced: Baltimore, Buffalo, Charlotte, Houston, Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Seattle. However, neither Charlotte nor Jacksonville could host in 2028 due to major renovation projects at their respective stadiums.
