Three major networks submit bids for broadcast rights to 2026 NFL Draft

Aside from the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft may just be the biggest television ratings draw in professional sports.

The event has aired on ESPN since it started being televised in 1980, but according to John Ourand of Puck , that could be changing in 2026 as ESPN, Fox and YouTubeTV have all submitted multiyear bids to the NFL for the broadcast rights to the draft in 2026 and beyond.

The Sports Business Journal also reported that NFL chief media & business officer Brian Rolapp and NFL media EVP & COO Hans Schroeder are spearheading the negotiations with several more bidders, including Amazon and NBC, expected in the next several weeks.

The NFL Draft has averaged 6.2 million viewers over the last six years, and the 2024 Draft averaged 5.7M viewers across streams on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network. That number is down 3% from 2023’s average audience of 5.9M viewers but better than 2022’s 5.2M.

The 12.1M viewers who tuned into the first round in 2024 were the most of any Round 1 in the last three years.

Though more bidders will likely be getting involved, ESPN is considered the front-runner given the network’s 44-year history as the event’s broadcast rights holder. Many credit ESPN for turning the NFL Draft into the must-see spectacle it’s become and launching the careers of notable draft analysts like Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Matt Miller and others.

Given the draft has always been available on cable for the last four decades, if either Amazon or YouTubeTV wins the draft’s broadcast rights, it could signal a sizable shift in the future of NFL streaming and how consumers access their NFL content.