The NFL draft put up gigantic TV ratings.
Starting Thursday and ending Saturday, the 2020 virtual draft was watched by a total of 55 million on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network, according to a release from the league. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
That’s a 35% increase from the draft last year!
“Draft-A-Thon LIVE” helped raise $6.6 million during 2020 @NFLDraft, contributing to the collective total of more than $100 million raised by the NFL Family to support COVID-19 relief efforts #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/iruJXheBGI
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) April 26, 2020
Do we think it’s safe to say people are missing sports? I think it’s safe to say people are desperate as all hell for sports to return.
I was also super excited for the draft. I was super pumped to finally have the ball rolling on something, and the virtual draft was pretty fun.
View this post on Instagram
It was much smoother than I expected it to be. It also felt so damn good to just kick back with a beer and watch some live sports content.
I know it wasn’t an actual game, but it didn’t matter. Last Thursday night felt like the Super Bowl. America desperately needed something to celebrate during the coronavirus pandemic, and the NFL Draft came through in the clutch.
We’re talking about more than 50 million people watching over three days! The numbers are pornographic. If you’re an NFL executive or involved with one of the networks, you have to be super happy with these numbers.
View this post on Instagram
If the draft put up these numbers, then the actual games in the fall are going to blow the roof off. I can’t wait to see it.