NFL announces dates for 2027 draft in DC

The NFL on Thursday announced its annual draft will take place from April 29 through May 1 of next year in Washington, D.C.

“Mark your calendars,” the league wrote on social platform X, sharing a photo of the Washington Monument surrounded by blooming Japanese cherry blossom trees. Peak bloom for cherry blossoms in D.C. this year was March 26 through April 2.

President Trump, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced last year the 2027 draft would take place on the National Mall. D.C. has hosted the draft once before — in 1940, at the Willard Hotel downtown.

The NFL is not the only sports league that either came or is coming to D.C. The UFC held a slate of fights on the White House lawn earlier this month, while the IndyCar series will hold a grand prix in August on streets near the National Mall.

Starting in 1964, the NFL held its draft in New York City for 50 years straight. But since 2015, the country’s most popular sports league has moved the spring event around the country, from Chicago to Philadelphia to Green Bay, Wis.

This past April’s draft took place in Pittsburgh, Pa., with a record 805,000 fans attending the festivities. At the White House last year, officials said they anticipate more than 1 million people to attend the 2027 draft in the nation’s capital.

D.C. will host the draft three years before the Washington Commanders are scheduled to return to the district, as major construction on a new stadium in southeast D.C. is set to begin later this year.

The new site, part of a $4 billion agreement between the organization and the district, will be located where Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium stood — the Commanders played there from 1961 through 1996.

The organization will cover $2.7 billion to build the stadium, while D.C. will provide $1.147 billion for other aspects of the project, which is expected to feature the construction of retail shops, restaurants and a multisport complex.

The Commanders, along with design firm HKS, released the first renderings of the stadium in January. The proposed stadium will be able to accommodate up to 70,000-plus people, according to the team.