More than 700,000 fans attend NFL draft event in Detroit
DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft has a new attendance record after more than 700,000 fans flooded downtown Detroit for the three-day event.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer broke the news Saturday at Campus Martius Park.
“We have shown the world what the Motor City is all about,” Whitmer said.
While it will take years to know if this week’s picks panned out, there’s no doubt that Detroit made the most of an opportunity to host hundreds of thousands of fans and show 50-plus million viewers the new-look city.
Motown beat Music City’s three-day attendance record of 600,000 set in 2019, when fans filled Broadway in Nashville.
The NFL did not charge fans to attend the event in Detroit, though the visitors and area residents were expected to generate more than $160 million in economic impact at sold-out hotels, packed bars and restaurants and retail stores in the heart of downtown.
Twenty-plus teams are engaged in talks with the league to host a future draft, which is of particular interest in colderclimate cities that probably can’t expect to get a Super Bowl.
Green Bay is on the clock as next year’s host.
This year’s edition kicked off with a very Detroit opening on Thursday night that included rap icon Eminem on stage with Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, along with current Lions stars Jared Goff, Aidan Hutchinson and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Chicago, as expected, drafted Southern California’s Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall. The Bears took Iowa punter Tory Taylor on Saturday in the fourth round.
“Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here,” Taylor said Williams wrote to him in a text message.
Williams was the first of a record five quarterbacks picked among the top 10, including Atlanta’s surprising selection of Michael Penix Jr. a month after giving Kirk Cousins a big contract. With Denver drafting Bo Nix out of Oregon at No. 12, a mark was matched for signalcallers selected in the first round.
In all, a record-setting 23 offensive players were drafted in the opening round.
In Detroit, the crowd cheered each time the Lions made a pick or when a Michigan player was selected.
The national-title winning Wolverines had the most players drafted, starting with Minnesota moving up to take quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 overall.
Michigan finished with 13 players drafted, trailing the total of just three schools since the draft went to seven rounds in 1994, including Georgia’s 2022 national championship team that had a record 15 players picked.