The 2025 edition of the annual NFL Draft has become one of the most-watched ever on US TV as the drama surrounding now-Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders translated into major viewer numbers.
Sanders, who many projected to be drafted within the first two rounds (particularly early in the first by many), slid to the final day (the selection process for the American football league runs for three days in process), being drafted in the fifth round, 144th pick overall, after multiple days of intense scrutiny at the event in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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Day One (April 24) of the draft, which solely featured the first round of drafting, averaged 13.6 million viewers across its runtime on Disney-owned sports network ESPN, Spanish-language ESPN Deportes, national network ABC, and also on the NFL’s own NFL Network arm, as well as on digital channels.
That figure is up 11% on the first round of the 2024 draft, which drew average viewership of 12.3 million, and makes it the second most watched draft Day One of all time after the 2020 edition, which serves as an outlier due to being one of the only sports-related broadcasts occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Sanders effect permeated the following day too, with viewership of rounds two and three of the draft up a bumper 40% year-on-year on the 2024 edition, averaging 7.3 million viewers across all platforms, once again the second-biggest draft day two of all time behind only 2020 once more.
Sanders, the star quarterback at the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 US collegiate conference, was a major TV draw during his college career thanks to his father, Buffaloes head coach (and NFL icon) Deion Sanders) and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, who was picked second overall in the 2025 draft, as Sanders’ teammate.
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By GlobalDataIn-person attendance at the draft was also high, with 205,000 in attendance for the first round, down from the 275,000 in Detroit in 2024 but still the second highest attended of all time.
