Roger Goodell: 14 NFL Cities In Philadelphia Researching 2018 Draft Bids

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is hosting the NFL Draft this year for the first time since 1961, and representatives from 14 other NFL cities are in the City of Brotherly Love this week to scout and do research for potential bids for the 2018 draft, according to league commissioner Roger Goodell.

“I think we have 14 cities (here),” Goodell said Thursday at a Play Football Clinic on the site of the draft.

ESPN’s Field Yates reported earlier this month, citing league sources, that the Dallas Cowboys are the favorite to host the draft next year. Goodell refuted that report Thursday.

“Well I don’t know who came up with that,” Goodell said. “Fourteen cities wouldn’t agree with that. I think everybody really loves the draft and I think they see the opportunity here. There’s a lot of competition for this, and Philadelphia is raising the bar.

“One of the reasons why we want to wait through this experience is to see what went well, see what went wrong and see what we can improve on, most importantly. Other cities are obviously watching, there’s 14 here. They’re going to raise the bar. So, I think the bids will change in the next couple of months.”

New York City hosted the draft from 1965 to 2014, and Chicago hosted the last two years. With just three hosts (including Philly this year) over the last 50-plus years, it’s no surprise that more than 10 cities are interested in hosting a future draft.