There will be no bro hugs between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and players at this month’s NFL draft. There will be no shots of anxious players waiting in the greenroom with their families and agents, no pictures of draftees commemorating the moment with Goodell, no irate mobs of jersey-clad Jets and Eagles fans jeering the latest dubious decisions by their front offices.
Faced with the coronavirus crackdown, the NFL audibled to a “fully virtual” draft, which will take place April 23-25. Rather than gathering in Las Vegas and team facilities for the draft, Goodell instructed officials of the league’s 32 teams to run the draft remotely from their homes. Even Goodell will be announcing picks from his home. Like other businesses, the NFL already has some experience operating in the virtual world; league offices have been closed since March 13, and all club facilities were closed March 26. In an unprecedented move, the NFL will hold a “mock draft” to stress-test its virtual draft technology prior to the real deal.
Team officials, unable to hold workouts with draft targets, have had to resort to virtual predraft meetings with players. Even the networks are ad-libbing in these strange times. ESPN and the NFL Network, which normally air competing draft coverage, will jointly produce this year’s coverage from ESPN’s studios in Connecticut, with some on-air talent on-site and the rest working remotely.
This NFL draft might be virtual and oddly similar in its execution to the fantasy football drafts of the league’s passionate fan base, but it’s the closest thing the country has had to a real sporting event in nearly six weeks. In any other year, the draft is a chance for the NFL to maintain fan interest during the offseason, with months of multimedia coverage leading up to the actual event.
This month’s draft is much more than that. It’s a much-needed break from the daily tedium of coronavirus briefings. Over the past six weeks, we’ve missed, among other things, March Madness, the Masters, the start of the baseball season, and the end of the NBA regular season. Instead, we’ve been sequestered in our homes, battered by a daily news cycle detailing a sudden spike in illnesses, deaths, unemployment, and bankruptcies. Televised sports normally provide an escape from real-world problems, but all we’ve had are replays of games played years ago, virtual auto racing, and “horse” shootouts by NBA players. We could use a break, and, hopefully, the draft will provide it.
This year’s draft, however, will deprive the NFL, its broadcasters, and the city of Las Vegas of a major business opportunity.
The three-day spectacle last year averaged a record 6.1 million viewers across ABC, ESPN’s channels, and the NFL Network, 11% higher than in 2018. The NFL takes the draft on the road, with last year’s event in Nashville drawing an estimated 600,000 fans. This year’s draft was supposed to be a celebration of the Raiders’ first season in Las Vegas, complete with a red carpet, live music, and the interactive NFL Draft Experience. Now, Sin City won’t have a chance to host the draft until 2022 at the earliest.
NFL teams, which are used to their fans gathering for annual draft parties, have had to invent a new playbook on the fly. At press time, several teams told the Washington Examiner that they still were finalizing draft plans, but there’s only so much they can do. The New Orleans Saints, for example, wanted to base their draft operations at Dixie Brewery, with team officials but no fans. But Goodell told the Saints, who’s head coach, Sean Payton, contracted coronavirus and has since recovered, that the staff would have to work the draft remotely from their homes.
More likely, teams will opt for something similar to the Washington Redskins’ virtual draft party, with coaches, players, and celebrities doing interviews on social media. The Buffalo Bills are holding sweepstakes, with one of the prizes being the chance to be on the phone with general manager Brandon Beane when he calls in the team’s first-round selection.
The NFL, which has arranged for 58 collegians to participate in the virtual draft, will use the TV coverage to raise money for six charities fighting the spread of coronavirus. The league also is working with EA Sports to create virtual draft experiences, which could include prospects walking across the stage to meet Goodell. So, the commissioner might yet get his bro hugs, at least in the virtual world.
Martin Kaufmann has covered sports for more than two decades, including 16 years as senior editor at Golfweek.
