Beyond Football: The Lasting Impact of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay

This past weekend, the NFL’s second-biggest event, the NFL Draft, touched down in Green Bay, Wisconsin, transforming the city into a football hub. From exciting trades to quarterback drama, the draft provided thrilling moments for fans both in-person and watching online. While the event marks a pivotal step in the 257 college athletes who achieved their dreams of playing in the NFL, it also serves as a powerful offseason showcase for the NFL brand.

In this article, I’ll explore how the NFL’s rotating draft format benefits both the league and the communities it visits. I’ll also highlight how Green Bay turned this year’s event into more than just a draft, creating an experience that will have a lasting impact on the local community.

How the NFL Draft Became the League’s Most Inclusive Marquee Event

Since leaving its longtime home in New York in 2015, the NFL Draft has evolved from a relatively quiet, insider-focused event into one of the most accessible and fan-driven spectacles in all of sports. Last year’s edition in Detroit shattered attendance records with over 775,000 fans. This year, the Draft headed to Green Bay, the league’s smallest market, and once again exceeded expectations, drawing over 600,000 attendees and more than doubling its original projections. What unfolded in Wisconsin perfectly captured the vision the NFL is building with its rotating draft model.

When Green Bay was first awarded the 2025 NFL Draft, there was understandable skepticism. With just 5,000 hotel rooms and a small, single-terminal airport, it didn’t exactly check the typical boxes for hosting a major sporting event. But this wasn’t a random decision, it was part of a much broader league strategy.

For years, the NFL has used the Super Bowl as a tool to incentivize cities to invest in new stadiums. The deal is simple: build a state-of-the-art venue, and you’ll get a Super Bowl, an event that can generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact. That’s how local governments often justify spending taxpayer dollars on stadium development.

But here’s the catch: nearly half of the league’s markets will never host a Super Bowl. Cold weather, outdoor venues, and hotel capacity constraints (the NFL requires at least 30,000 rooms) disqualify many cities from even being in the conversation.

That’s where Commissioner Roger Goodell saw an opportunity. If the Super Bowl couldn’t be a universal reward, why not the Draft?

Under Goodell’s leadership, the Draft hit the road, moving from a permanent home in New York City to cities across the country. The goal was to bring the league closer to its fans and communities, offering a more accessible and cost-effective alternative to the Super Bowl, and so far, it’s delivered.

The first night of the NFL Draft routinely draws more viewers than the NBA Finals or even a Stanley Cup Game 7. This remained true this year as 13.6 million people tuned in to watch Day 1 of the Draft this past Friday. For cities like Green Bay, markets that wouldn’t come close to hosting a Super Bowl, the Draft offers a meaningful alternative. 300,000 fans were expected in town this weekend, generating millions in new tax revenue and breathing energy into the local economy.

More importantly, the Draft gives each host city a chance to put its own unique stamp on the event. Green Bay fully embraced that opportunity, crafting a weekend filled with community-focused programming, local flavor, and a showcase of everything Wisconsin has to offer as a travel destination, all while going far beyond football.

How The Draft 2025 Powered Community Impact in Green Bay

The 2025 NFL Draft wasn’t just about building rosters and growing the NFL brand was also about building stronger communities. From honoring local traditions to advancing sustainability and student wellness, the NFL and Packers used the Draft stage to drive lasting impact across Wisconsin.

A Ride Through Tradition

In true Green Bay fashion, the Draft hosted a NFL Draft Bike Parade, a heartfelt tribute to one of the Packers most beloved traditions. For over six decades, young fans have pedaled alongside Packers players during training camp. On Saturday morning, kids ages 3–14 joined the parade route through the Draft campus, celebrating the Football traditions in Green Bay and getting kids out and active within the community!

You can learn more about the bike ride here!

Greener Events, Lasting Change

Throughout the Draft campus, sustainability took center stage. From donating reusable materials and leftover food to over 30 local organizations, to boosting recycling and compost efforts, the NFL minimized waste and maximized community benefit. Behind the scenes, staff tracked emissions and sorted materials to reduce landfill use, while carbon data gathered this year will help shape greener NFL events in the future.

You can learn more about the league's green initiatives here!

Fueling the Future

The league’s impact extended to the classroom through Taste of the Draft: School Nutrition Grants, presented by Schreiber Foods. Up to 90 Wisconsin schools will receive customized equipment to help serve nutritious meals to students, supporting milk, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. The program, launched alongside the first-ever Taste of the Draft culinary event, directly supports GENYOUth’s mission to combat student hunger.

You can learn more about the Packers community work here!

Together, these initiatives represent the heart of the Draft: a celebration of football’s future, powered by tradition, sustainability, and a commitment to community wellness.

Final Thoughts: A Blueprint for Purposeful Growth

The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay demonstrated that significant impact doesn’t require a big city. By embracing local culture, community traditions, and purpose-driven programming, the NFL and the Packers delivered a standout event. From economic boosts and national attention to sustainability and student nutrition, the weekend was a win for all involved. The success of the NFL Draft serves as a blueprint for other sports leagues to reassess their marquee event calendars and explore ways to create more continuity and lasting impact within their own events.