The NFL Had Disappointing 2026 Draft TV Ratings
The 2026 NFL Draft has come and gone and while there was no shortage of surprises as far as the selections went, the biggest surprise might have been a disappointing final ratings number.
On Monday, the NFL announced that 13.2 million viewers tuned in to the NFL Draft. While it's an impressive number compared to most other sporting events, it's a decline from last year's mark of 13.6 million viewers and well shy of the record-setting mark of 15.5 million set in 2020.
What makes the decline in ratings even more inexplicable is that the NFL Draft is available on more platforms than ever. The draft was shown on ABC, ESPN, the NFL Network, the ESPN app and YouTube among others.
According to ProFootballTalk, the draft even fell well short of the weekly average viewer count of Thursday Night Football, which is a Prime Video exclusive product.
"While 13.2 million in today's fractured environment is nothing to sneeze at (especially in comparison to the live audiences generated by other sports), it's more than two million below the 2025 weekly average for Thursday Night Football, which is televised not by a three-letter network but by Prime Video," PFT's Mike Florio wrote on Tuesday.
"Put simply, the performance of the draft does not match the relentless hype that is devoted to it."
Reasons?
So why the decline? A number of NFL fans had different reasons ranging from displeasure at the league's current business practices to a lack of storylines to get invested in and more:
"I believe the decline will continue as the NFL continues to try to raise profits as the expense of a decreasing workforce," one user on X mused.
"Very little star power this year. Mendoza is boring and the overall class felt ho hum. I'll bet next year's draft will break records," wrote another.
"I think it's harder for the average fan to keep up with the collegiate players. NIL has caused players to transfer more and more and the average fan just can't keep up with it. They aren't familiar with as many players as in years past and tune out," a third wrote.
Do you think the NFL Draft is waning in fan interest?
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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 10:26 AM.