DETROIT – No matter what happens with the Lions over the next month, our most memorable football season will continue into the spring.
That’s because Detroit will host the 2024 NFL Draft April 25-27.
Related: Officials hold big event to reveal details of upcoming NFL Draft in downtown Detroit
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was in Detroit Wednesday, Jan. 17 to talk about what it means to the league and the city.
Detroit is one of the foundational NFL teams, much like the Red Wings are an Original Six NHL team. To Goodell, that means something special as he gets ready to host the draft, read the player’s names and get booed.
Speaking to Metro Detroit business leaders, he said the passion Michiganders have for the Lions is what makes the NFL Draft go.
He said it’s a major stage to sell a city like Detroit.
“We want you to do it Detroit-style,” Goodell said. “We want you to show what Detroit fans and the passion and the community and the downtown if that’s where the location is, and let people understand what Detroit’s all about. And you won’t get a bigger platform. Our draft here will probably reach 60 or 70 million people over the three days.”
Getting the 2024 NFL Draft requires major work -- like winning a Super Bowl -- and it took the Lions three tries to get the NFL’s attention.
“They believed that this community should be on this stage and they pursued it very aggressively,” Goodell said. “They brought the business community together along with the public sector and the leadership here has been extraordinary.”
Now, one of the traditions that’s grown as the draft has progressed over the years is fans heartily booing the commissioner. When Mike Tirico said Detroit fans wouldn’t boo him this year, Goodell said he hopes that doesn’t happen and that it would be disappointing if he didn’t get booed.