*I’m just curious on why the NFL draft is suddenly a media event that regular people want to watch.*
Sam-way ahead of you. In the 70’s it was done on a Tuesday morning 7am PST. By 9am I’d go to school knowing the first 5 selections-only 5. In those days a lot of men would mysteriously call in sick for work on that particular day. The NFL took a while to know they had something. Then it was 3 rounds on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. Whole weekend spoken for. Then they sold out and went commercial like some rock stars.
1st round Thursday. Rounds 2 & 3 on Friday, all prime time. Lower the minutes between picks(long overdue). Move it out of NYC(closer to the fans). Milk the interest and the junkie follow. It’s now over the top but it is what it is.
Interesting. I was a big NFL fan for a while but never really got into the draft aspect of it. I’ll never forget when Tom Brady was picked in the 6th round however. Probably the best draft steal in NFL history!