Pittsburgh to Host 2026 NFL Draft: A Celebration of Football History
The Steel City is gearing up to host the 2026 NFL draft, marking the first time the event will be held in Pittsburgh since the draft moved out of New York in 2015. The announcement was made at the NFL’s spring meetings, and Steelers team president and CEO Art Rooney II is thrilled to bring the draft to his hometown.
“The roots of pro football really are deep in our region, and so we plan to celebrate really the history of football: the Dan Marinos, the Joe Montanas that came from our area,” Rooney said.
Pittsburgh’s scenic skyline will be the backdrop for the 2026 NFL draft
The Steelers had submitted bids to host the draft in 2026 and 2027, and Commissioner Roger Goodell personally called Rooney, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and state legislators to inform them of Pittsburgh’s winning bid.
“We think it’ll be the largest visitor event in the history of Pittsburgh, hosting hundreds of thousands of people and really football fans from all over the country – certainly Steelers Nation from all over the country,” Rooney said. “We just look forward to hosting that, and it’ll be an exciting time.”
Hosting the draft is especially significant for an organization that prides itself on building its best teams through the draft.
“This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the greatest draft in [team] history, the 1974 Steelers draft, which produced five Hall of Famers,” Rooney said. “We do have a great tradition with the draft in our organization and think that’s a great part of hosting the draft. We will be celebrating all things in terms of some of the great players that were raised in Pittsburgh and played their early parts of their careers in Pittsburgh and just celebrations of all the various roots and history of the game.”
In 1974, Pittsburgh drafted wide receiver Lynn Swann in Round 1, linebacker Jack Lambert in Round 2, wide receiver John Stallworth in Round 4, and center Mike Webster in Round 5. They also signed safety Donnie Shell as an undrafted free agent. All five would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A look back at the Steelers’ rich draft history
Green Bay is slated to host the 2025 NFL draft, and Detroit hosted the 2024 edition last month, setting a record with more than 775,000 fans in attendance.
Pittsburgh is gearing up to break that record and make the 2026 NFL draft an unforgettable experience for football fans from all over the country.
