The 2024 NFL Draft could be a league-defining one.
There are a slew of star quarterbacks at the top, including projected first overall pick Caleb Williams, who many are saying could become a generational player in the NFL.
The NFL Draft — which begins on April 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network — provides an opportunity for NFL teams to bolster their roster with young talent, but it also has a slew of off-the-field effects.
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The NFL has made the draft a three-day spectacle that rakes in tens of millions of viewers and brings in a ton of fans to the host city. Here are just some of the business-related topics that surround the NFL Draft.
Draftees are receiving life-changing money (How much exactly?)
Getting drafted to play sports professionally is not just the fulfillment of a dream, but, in the case of players getting drafted to one of the major sports leagues, it tends to come with a contract worth millions of dollars.
More often than not, that's life-changing money for the draft picks. It may seem a little less so now because the NCAA has allowed college athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness since July 2021 — and Williams notoriously has lived in a penthouse apartment in Los Angeles while being a college player for USC.
But even projected Top 10 pick Rome Odunze explained that he never received millions to play in college, so his and the 256 other players who will be picked in the 2024 NFL Draft are about to see a complete lifestyle shift because of their new financial stability.
According to Spotrac, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which will go to the Chicago Bears, will receive a contract worth $38.5 million That comes over four years, putting the average annual value at over $9.6 million.
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The first pick makes nearly $2 million more than the second pick – which will be made by the Washington Commanders – who will receive a little under $36.9 million, which is an annual salary of $9.2 million.
There are 32 picks in the first round — which is technically one per team, though trades affect which teams make each selection — and the drop off in salary to be made by the No. 1 pick and the No. 32 pick is massive.
The No. 1 pick actually makes over three times more than the final pick of the first round, who is set to make about $12.1 million over four years, or $3.04 million annually.
And falling out of the first round also takes a huge chunk out of a player's salary. The No. 33 pick in the draft, which is the first pick of Day 2 of the draft, makes $9.9 million in total — over two million less than the person picked right before him.
Mr. Irrelevant — the term given to the last player selected in the seventh round, which this year is pick No. 257 by the New York Jets — is still going to be a millionaire based on his contract of $4.1 million, or about 1.025 million annually.
However, not all of the late round picks make the final roster, so those players will need to secure one of the 53 roster spots on their team to ensure themselves of those millions.
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The NFL Draft is not a game — but it still brings in millions of viewers.
There are zero total snaps of the football during the NFL Draft. Unless you count the highlights of all the draftees from their college games — in which case, there are a ton.
But there are no live ones. And yet the NFL Draft draws more viewers than most of the championship games of other major sports leagues.
Last year's NFL Draft averaged six million viewers across the three days — but had 11.29 million on Day 1 across the three channels. That Day 1 total is higher than the number of fans who watched the 2023 MLB World Series, and was around the average of all five games of the 2023 NBA Finals.
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The draft saw its viewership explode in 2020, hitting over 15 million, but that was during the start of the pandemic when there was an unprecedented lack of sporting events.
It will be interesting to see whether this year's draft will bring in more viewers considering the strong quarterback field that also includes LSU's Jayden Daniels, UNC's Drake Maye, and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. There are also big name teams picking at the top outside of the Bears as the New England Patriots hold the third selection, while the New York Giants have the sixth pick in the draft.
Will you watch the NFL Draft?
— TheStreet (@TheStreet) April 25, 2024
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The NFL has turned the draft into a spectacle, even in person
Detroit is the host city for this year's NFL Draft, and the city is expecting over 300,000 people at Campus Martius on the Detroit Riverfront over the next three days.
According to consulting firm Anderson Economic Group, the city is "expected to exceed $160 million" in net economic effect, which is inline with the $164.3 million that was generated in Kansas City from last year's draft.
The Draft used to be exclusively held at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, but since 2015, it has expanded to other NFL team's cities and has turned into a tentpole event that cities could bid on similar to the Super Bowl or NBA All-Star Game.
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