Philadelphia hosted the 2017 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh will get its turn nearly 10 years later. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro believes in attendance, the Steel City will top the City of Brotherly Love.
Speaking at a Thursday press conference one day after the NFL officially awarded the 2026 NFL Draft to Pittsburgh, Shapiro and company set high expectations for the event.
“Philly hosted a few years ago,” Shapiro said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “They had a quarter million people. And let me say, and I mean no disrespect to Philly. I love Philly. But this is going to do even better in terms of numbers than Philadelphia. You heard Art Rooney [II] say this yesterday. This will be the largest event Pittsburgh has ever hosted. And we are ready.”
Pittsburgh mayor Ed Gainey took it a step further, predicting seven figures of people will visit the city over the draft’s three days.
“Everybody wants to talk about numbers. Here’s my number. I predict we have over a million people come to our city,” he said. “That’s right. I’m predicting that we have a million people come to our city.”
Gainey explained Steelers fans from all over the country will see the draft as the perfect chance to come home. Those who watched the team’s string of success from John Stallworth’s Super Bowl touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams to James Harrison’s 100-yard pick-six versus the Arizona Cardinals.
For decades, the NFL held the draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. But after the event was booked during one draft slot, threatening to push the draft from late April to June, the league decided to take it on tour. Philadelphia was one of the first cities to host after the league’s decision, the location for the 2017 event and the first to be held outdoors. It was a success, a quarter-million attending over the three-day span. Finances also proved fruitful with $56 million generated in direct spending and nearly $100 million in overall economic impact. VisitPittsburgh CEO Jerad Bachar believes the draft will generate $120-165 million for the city.
The 2017 draft was good for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Steelers came away with a strong class, headlined by OLB T.J. Watt. They also selected WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, CB Cam Sutton, and RB James Conner. Metrically, it was Colbert’s third-best draft class.
Since, the draft has only ballooned in money and viewership. Detroit re-wrote the record books with 775,000 attending over the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday rounds. Pittsburgh thinks it can top that.
The 2026 draft will be the second one Pittsburgh has ever held. The first came in December 1947 for the 1948 draft. Held at the Fort Pitt Hotel, the Washington Redskins selected Alabama back Harry Gilmer with the first overall pick. The Steelers’ first selection was Texas QB Bobby Layne. He refused to play for the Steelers and was quickly traded to the Chicago Bears. Layne would eventually return to Pittsburgh, traded by the Lions to the Steelers in 1958.
