The NFL will reportedly move the 2017 NFL Draft to the City of Brotherly Love after holding the event in Chicago the previous two seasons.
According to NJ.com, the 2017 NFL Draft will be moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the NFL begins to move the big event around after years hosting it in New York City. Chicago has hosted the event the past two years, and now the draft will be moving to the City of Brotherly Love.
The NFL has held off making the announcement official due to the Democratic National Convention, which takes place in Philadelphia this week.
The move to Philadelphia is an interesting one for the NFL, as Philadelphia fans are notorious for their ruthless treatment of opposition teams and fans. The Eagles will not have a first round pick in 2017, but we can expect their fans to be loud when their NFC East rivals, or anyone else they don’t like, make a pick.
There have been some conflicting reports about the location of the event, but Congressman Bob Brady has gone on the record saying the city will indeed host the draft and that it will be held on one of their parkways.
"“They are going to do it out in the open on the Parkway for three days. It’s a three-day draft,” Brady said to Wendy Ruderman of Philly.com. “They are going to build a stage, and I’m sure they are going to put up some type of enclosure in case it rains. But that’s what the NFL wanted. They wanted to do it right on the Parkway, I think, I don’t know but I would imagine, with the Art Museum as the backdrop. They wanted to come here and do that so we just had to guarantee them money.”"
Hosting the NFL Draft on a parkway seems like a ridiculous idea considering the other venues that could support the event. Travelers beware, Philadelphia will be a mess to navigate if Congressman Brady is right.