Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network was the first to report on Wednesday that the 2026 NFL Draft will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The NFL officially announced the news at their annual Spring League Meeting on Wednesday morning.
Pittsburgh will become the 10th different city to host the NFL Draft since 2015. The prior cities were Chicago, Philadelphia, Arlington, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Detroit. Green Bay is scheduled to host the 2025 NFL Draft.
The NFL Draft was held in New York from 1965 to 2014. Because of the tremendous growing popularity of the event, the league began to start moving the location starting in 2015.
Pennsylvania will celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026 as one of the original 13 colonies. The city of Pittsburgh had submitted bids to host the draft in either 2026 or 2027 before being selected as the draft’s host city.
Pittsburgh’s initial plan is to likely set up a draft stage and accommodations near Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This city also hosts the Pittsburgh Marathon and other major events around the usual time of the NFL Draft, possibly April 30 through May 2 in 2026.
Exact dates and specific location within Pittsburgh of the 2026 NFL Draft have yet to be officially announced.