NFL Breaking Draft Attendance Record While Viewership At Home Also High

You're apparently loving the 2024 NFL draft so far.

That's not an opinion but rather a statement of fact based on the early numbers coming out of Detroit of fan interest in the event.

DETROIT - A young fan holds up a sign for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye after Maye was taken third overall during Day 1 of the NFL Draft on April 25 at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit, MI. (Photo by John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Draft Viewership Is Up

Round One coverage of the first round was seen by an average audience of 12.1 million viewers Thursday night across ESPN, NFL Network, ABC, ESPN Deportes and digital channels.

That's an increase of 6 percent versus Round One of the 2023 NFL Draft, which scored 11.4 million viewers and was the highest Round One viewership since 2021. 

The NFL Thursday night’s coverage had a total unduplicated audience of 34.3 million viewers. That's the highest since 2021.

DETROIT - The Denver Broncos pick Oregon QB Bo Nix with the twelfth overall pick during Day 1 of the NFL Draft on April 25 at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. (Photo by John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Record Attendance In Detroit

This draft is also doing record business at its venue in Detroit.

On Thursday night, more than 275,000 fans attended Round 1 in Detroit. That broke the all-time Day One draft record of 200,000 set in Nashville in 2019.

The unofficial count for Friday's attendance was anywhere between 200,000 and 230,000.