Shedeur Sanders' NFL Draft drama drives up TV ratings

Shedeur Sanders' dramatic drop contributed to a massive television ratings boost for the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Colorado quarterback was a projected top-five pick and eventually plummeted all the way to the fifth round, causing a stir with many commenting about the situation. However, in the wake of the historic drop came a ratings boost.

The first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night averaged 13.6 million viewers across television and digital platforms, according to the league and Nielsen. It was the second-most watched first round on record. The record-holding 2020 draft was an outlier, however, as it occurred amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was one of the few live sports telecasts in weeks.

The numbers from Friday night's coverage (Rounds 2 & 3) averaged 7.4 million viewers, up 40 percent from 2024 according to Nielsen. That ranks second all-time for Day 2 draft coverage behind the 8.2 million viewers in 2020. 

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Figures for the individual networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and NFL Network) were not immediately available. The draft was televised on four networks as well as being available online. It is an 11% increase over last year, which averaged 12.3 million.

The Cleveland Browns ended Sanders' long wait on Saturday, trading up to take the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and Heisman finalist with the 144th overall pick. 

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As for on site, the three-day draft drew 600,000 fans to Green Bay, second only to the 775,000 in downtown Detroit in 2024. Next year's draft will be held in Pittsburgh starting April 23, 2026.