Cincinnati is making a strong play to host the NFL Draft, and the Queen City might just have the winning ticket for 2029.
According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, citing multiple sources, Minneapolis-St. Paul is the frontrunner to land the 2028 NFL Draft, while Cincinnati has the "inside track" for the following year's event in 2029. The NFL's events committee is set to meet next week to discuss potential host cities, with a vote expected at the owners' meeting scheduled for May 19-20 in Orlando.
This news comes as no surprise to those following the league's evolving approach to the draft. Commissioner Roger Goodell recently told ESPN's Pat McAfee that the NFL will "probably have to start allocating the drafts a little further in advance" due to the enormous scale of the event. Sources indicate the league may even award two drafts at once or in quick succession, which would explain the simultaneous buzz around both Minneapolis and Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh just set a new attendance record with 805,000 fans flooding the area around Acrisure Stadium for the 2025 draft, proving that this free, festival-like spectacle continues to grow. While Pittsburgh staged its draft right next to the Steelers' home turf, past events have embraced downtown settings—a flexibility that plays to Cincinnati's strengths.
Though specific plans for a Cincinnati draft haven't been unveiled, the city's Banks district—the prime real estate between Paycor Stadium and Great American Ball Park—was designed with large-scale events like this in mind. It's a natural fit for the kind of immersive fan experience the NFL Draft has become, routinely drawing hundreds of thousands to a celebration of football.
The draft has been on a Midwest tour of late, with stops in Kansas City (2023), Detroit (2024), Green Bay (2025), and now Pittsburgh (2026). Next year's event heads to Washington, D.C., hosted by the Commanders at the National Mall. Cincinnati originally explored bids for 2027 and 2028 but wisely shifted focus to 2029—a move that now appears to be paying off.
Goodell noted that 10 teams sent representatives to Pittsburgh to study how to host the draft, underscoring how coveted this event has become. For Cincinnati, the inside track to 2029 represents more than just a chance to welcome football fans—it's an opportunity to showcase a city built for big moments.