2020 NFL Draft: Dates, how and where to watch this year's virtual event, first in NFL history
The coronavirus pandemic has brought along some major changes to the world of entertainment and sports. With national and local restrictions in place, the immediate future of sports in the country has become quite uncertain and that's leading to some historic decisions being made.
This year, for the first time ever, the NFL Draft will be held virtually instead of at a physical location. While the event will be broadcast live, this is a pretty sobering reminder that the COVID-19 situation in the country is still extremely serious and not to be taken lightly.
We don't have any way of knowing whether the pandemic will have died down by the time the season begins but the draft will nevertheless be held in the hope that we can have a normal season of football in 2020. Here's everything you need to know about the event:
When will the 2020 draft be held?
Spread across three days and seven rounds, the 2020 NFL Draft will begin on April 23, Thursday, at 8 pm ET and go on till 12 pm ET on Saturday, April 25. Here's the official schedule:
Thursday, April 23: Round 1 - 8 pm ET
Friday, April 24: Rounds 2 to 3 - 7 pm ET
Saturday, April 25: Rounds 4 to 7 - 12 pm ET
Where will it be conducted?
As we mentioned earlier, this year's draft will be held completely remotely. All 32 NFL teams will take part in the virtual selection process from their homes and Commissioner Goodell will be announcing the picks from his home in New York.
The draft was initially supposed to be held in Las Vegas before the pandemic caused such a drastic change of plans. For 50 years straight, the event was held in New York City, most recently at Radio City Music Hall. Since 2015, the draft has been physically held at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, Philadelphia's Museum of Art, Arlington's AT&T Stadium, and Lower Broadway in Nashville.
Where to watch?
There are a number of options to view the draft, either on TV or via live stream.
ABC, ESPN, the NFL Network, and ESPN Deportes are going to be broadcasting the draft, as will CBS Sports HQ and CBSSports.com.
Radio coverage of the event will be provided by SiriusXM, Westwood One, and ESPN Radio.
