Green Bay’s Successful 2025 NFL Draft Will Lead To More Events In Small Market Cities

The 2025 NFL Draft in the NFL’s smallest market in Green Bay, Wisconsin proved to be an overwhelming success.

For the first time since the NFL draft began hosting in various cities in 2015, they held their annual event in Green Bay for the first time, the 69th-ranked media market in the country. That didn’t seem to matter as the 2025 NFL Draft drew 600,00 fans, tied for the second-highest total since the league went to its current format a decade ago.

For perspective, Nashville is the 26th-biggest market in the country and the 69th-ranked market tied it as the second-biggest draft week total since 2015. Green Bay’s event only trails Detroit’s 2024 NFL Draft event for total attendance, with the Motor City drawing in 775,000 total fans over its three-day event.

Green Bay’s attendance count for the draft — which was held right next to Lambeau Field, the second-oldest stadium in the NFL — saw it draw 205,000 fans on the first day, 175,000 fans for the second day and 220,000 on the final day. It’s worth noting that Thursday’s event had clear skies with a temperature that dipped below 50 degrees, Friday’s event was rain heavy and Saturday’s afternoon event was overwhelmingly sunny.

For perspective, the Green Bay’s metro area has a little over 330,000 people. By comparison, Detroit has more than 4.3 million residents in its metro area. That’s an insane turnout for Green Bay considering its population size.

Fans in attendance were treated to the opening of the draft which saw Packers greats such as Jordy Nelson, Clay Matthews, James Jones, Mason Crosby and Ahman Green (along with Green Bay fan Lil Wayne) ride bikes to the stage.

What made it even better was Matthews’ punch line of “Bears still suck!” to the Packers-heavy fan base at the event.

“Yeah, it’s fun to go out there with some of those guys,” said Nelson in a one-on-one interview right before an event with Sports Milwaukee in the aforementioned city. “It’s always great to see them and then have that experience. Obviously, Clay did his act and got some people rowdy, but it’s just a unique thing.”

The former 10-year Packers veteran and Super Bowl champion details how cool it was to be on the stage with the franchise greats, all of whom Nelson played with at one point in time. It’s worth noting that with the exception of Matthews, neither of those guys were first-round picks, meaning it was the first real experience of being on the draft stage for many of them.

“Obviously all of us had been drafted, but everyone in different rounds,” says Nelson. “I think all of us were probably at home (when we were drafted). Didn’t go on the draft stage, so to see that many people in one area for the NFL, they’ve done it right. It was just fun and a great way to interact with some fans.”

Milwaukee is the closest “big” city to Green Bay — it’s a little less than two hours south of Green Bay — and it’s actually just a mid-sized market as the 36th most populous designated market area in the United States. Many people who went to the draft flew in through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

The city may not be the size of Detroit — which is the 14th-ranked DMA in the country — but it has the epitome of a midwestern laid-back feel where the people are endearing and the pace feels just right.

“It’s the people,” says Nelson of why Green Bay and Milwaukee stand out compared to other cities. “It’s what everyone talks about when you get drafted to Green Bay and then when you get to experience it, I think everyone that came in for the draft experience, the hospitality when I got off the plane the other day, there were people waiting there at the end of the terminal handing out bags welcoming people to Green Bay.”

Nelson — who is originally from Kansas — further why Green Bay and Wisconsin’s “hospitality” makes it stand out compared to other NFL regions.

“Even Mason (Crosby) joked about it, that if you’re here long enough, you’ll get invited into the cottage up north,” says Nelson of his former kicker teammate, who also attended the event in Milwaukee. “The people are great. Obviously history of the Packers and the city of Green Bay and what the organization has done with the stuff around the stadium with Titletown and all that they’ve developed to create a great atmosphere and experience for all the fans — either Packers fans or visiting fans — when they come so it’s a great venue.”

Green Bay is the ninth different city to host the NFL draft since it moved to its current format. Many of those cities — Cleveland, Nashville, Kansas City, Philadelphia — along with Green Bay have never hosted a Super Bowl.

The NFL will host the draft in Pittsburgh next year, a city that has also never hosted the Super Bowl.

Nelson details how that is a big appeal for fans in these cities who might never get to witness a Super Bowl in person, However, they get the opportunity to witness the draft — a free admission event — which can be their “Super Bowl” in a way.

“I think the NFL is impressed with what they’ve got, a lot of people were happy with it,” says Nelson of the draft experience in Green Bay. “It’s a good idea with what the NFL is doing by taking the draft to places, especially places that aren’t probably going to be the host of the Super Bowl. It’s kind of their Super Bowl.”

It also doesn’t hurt that Milwaukee actually has things going on as a devoted sports city. They have the Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers as one of 31 cities in America with at least two sports teams in the four major sports pro leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL). The city recently completed a $456 million renovation of the Baird Center in 2024, which is located minutes from the Bucks’ Fiserv Forum arena.

The Baird Center hosted over 20 sporting events in 2024 and will host over 30 sporting events in 2025. The convention center also has 24 basketball courts, making it a prime location to host any type of major sport. During NFL draft week, the Baird Center was actually hosting the 2025 US Junior Nationals Girls’ Basketball Windy City Classic, the largest spring girls basketball recruiting event in the Midwest.

The Potawatomi Hotel & Casino also features a sports book situated just minutes from the Bucks’ Fiserv Forum.

According to Discover Green Bay, the NFL draft was anticipated to generate more than $90 million in revenue for the state of Wisconsin and $20 million locally. Considering the NFL’s popularity, especially when it comes to offseason events such as the NFL draft, it wouldn’t be a surprise if other smaller markets such as Indianapolis were to hold the draft in the near future.

It’s an automatic economic boost and makes an area that wouldn’t normally be considered a destination an immediate vacation hotspot.

Green Bay, Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin were a great host for the 2025 NFL Draft. Expect more smaller markets — even if they’re not grand in size — to host the NFL draft and become tourist hotspots in the process. As Nelson describes it best, the NFL draft becomes a “Super Bowl” type of events for these cities.