The Chicago Bears have hosted the last two editions of the NFL Draft, but with the annual selection show headed elsewhere, one of the team’s biggest rivals is looking to land the hosting rights in the future.
The Green Bay Packers play in the smallest market in the NFL, but that isn’t stopping them from trying to land the draft between 2019 and 2021, according to the team’s owners.
Packers Team President Mark Murphy told stockholders at the team’s annual meetings that the team is looking to host one of those three drafts, and although the 2017 draft (likely to be held in Philadelphia) isn’t on the table, the team is hopeful that they can lure the selection show to northern Wisconsin.
The NFL began moving the draft around in 2015 after many years of hosting the event in New York City. Chicago was the first city to get the draft after the move, hosting it both in 2015 and 2016. Now the league is looking to capitalize on the draft’s popularity by hosting a bidding process similar to that of the Super Bowl, which rotates cities on a yearly basis.
There’s no definitive word on when the NFL will hear bids or make decisions on future drafts, but it is interesting that Green Bay, which is two hours away from another major city, could conceivably make a run at hosting such a big event.
