INDIANAPOLIS — As the 2022 NFL Combine is heating up this week, its future home is up for grabs and the Dallas Cowboys are firmly in the bidding process to bring the annual event to North Texas.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent confirmed bids from Dallas, Los Angeles and Indianapolis are in consideration for the 2023 combine.
Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said the organization wants to be at the top of the list in bringing the event to the local market, where it could be held at either the team headquarters at The Star in Frisco, their home venue of AT&T Stadium in Arlington or a combination of both locations.
"We'll be competitive and want to host," Jones said. "It's great for our fans to have it in our market and have the experience of being around it. I think it's a positive thing. I think [they] can't get enough of football and the NFL, and I think it's great for them to see these young players in our market, and I think it would be a great experience."
The Cowboys' desire to bring the multi-day event to North Texas isn't new. Back in 2018, about two months after the team hosted that year's NFL Draft, the organization made no secret about its intention to get the combine.
"Yes, I believe we can have the combine here," said Jerry Jones Jr., an executive vice president with the team, at the opening of a sports therapy and research facility at The Star.
Like Indianapolis, which has held the combine since 1987, Dallas offers a convenient centralized location in the middle of the country for teams and prospects.
But on June 24 the NFL sent a memo to all of its 32 teams that the league would accept bids to host the combine from 2023-28.
"The League, in concert with the Combine Executive Committee, is considering ways to grow the Combine as a tentpole event, while at the same time enhancing the prospect experience and partnership," the memo read.
It's unknown when the winning 2023 bid will be announced.
Usually held from the end of February into early March, the combine gathers more than 300 NFL draft prospects for a four-day series of medical, physical and mental testing. Potential draftees also go through interviews with NFL clubs and the media.
