Television audiences for this year’s NFL Draft fell by 12% compared to 2025, with an average of 6.6 million people tuning in across the three-day event, Front Office Sports reported.
The decline from last year’s average of 7.5 million viewers still left the 2026 draft as the third most-watched since the NFL moved to its current three-day structure in 2010. Coverage aired on ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network, plus various streaming platforms.
The all-time viewership record remains with the 2020 draft, which drew 8.4 million viewers when it was conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
First-round coverage on Thursday saw a smaller decline of 3%, attracting 13.2 million viewers compared to 13.6 million who watched in 2025.
Though television numbers dropped, the event broke attendance records with 805,000 people gathering in Pittsburgh over the three days. This surpassed the previous in-person record of 775,000 attendees set in Detroit during 2024.
