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President Donald Trump announced Monday that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Washington Commanders team owner Josh Harris and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
“The draft is a celebration of one of our country’s most cherished cultural institutions, and the annual highlights for football fans everywhere,” Trump said. “Everyone in the world is going to be watching.”
“The draft has really become one of the great entertainment and sports events,” Goodell said. “Over a week ago in Green Bay, we had over 600,000 people attend. The year before, in Detroit, we had close to 800,000. … We believe we’ll be well over a million when we come here to D.C. in 2027.
“Not only do we believe it’s a great site, we believe it’s consistent with what the president said, which is investing in our communities and investing specifically here in the nation’s capital. … We think we can have a tremendous impact on this community. It will not just be an event. It will be something that will show the world how far the nation’s capital has come and where it’s going.”
One million people could attend the event over the three days in Washington. Over 600,000 people last month attended the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The 2026 NFL Draft is scheduled for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The news comes after Trump celebrated a $4 billion stadium deal last month that will return the District of Columbia’s NFL team within the city’s limits.
“I am thrilled to announce that the Washington Football Team will be returning to our Nation’s Capital! The new Stadium Deal is a HUGE WIN for Washington, D.C., and for the Team’s incredible fan base,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“It will also boost Economic Development, create more Jobs and, hopefully, lead to less Crime in the area. We are making Washington, D.C., GREAT AGAIN, one step at a time!” he continued.
The new 65,000-seat stadium is set to be built at the team’s former RFK Stadium, where the team played its home games until 1996. The proposed stadium is estimated for completion in 2030.
The proposed plan will include approximately $1.1 billion from the city over eight years. The development would extend beyond the stadium, including housing development in the surrounding neighborhoods.
