ESPN will be bringing football fanatics the NFL Draft for years to come, under a multi-year extension announced on Wednesday morning that continues a partnership between the network and draft that began in 1980.
The multi-year licensing agreement keeps that bond going between the NFL Draft and ESPN, which was the first network to televise the draft. This deal expands ESPN’s coverage of the event beginning with the 2026 NFL Draft, when Disney+ and Hulu will also be streaming ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes’s draft presentations.
There will be additional alternate NFL Draft presentations by ESPN that will be available on streaming platforms, along with a new daily show solely dedicated to the NFL Draft. The new show, airing on ESPN2 most days, will launch the day after the Super Bowl and run right through that year’s NFL Draft.
Among the other highlights of the deal are ESPN and ABC each producing telecasts for Rounds 1-3 of the draft on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, ESPN will continue to air Rounds 4-7, with ABC providing a simulcast of the network’s coverage.
Also, premier football shows like College GameDay and NFL Live will continue to broadcast on-site from the NFL Draft.
ESPN Radio will also continue to broadcast live from the draft.
Wednesday’s announcement comes on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement of ESPN acquiring NFL Network.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
