2026 NFL Draft heads to Pittsburgh with free fan access, TV times
Pittsburgh’s draft week opened with free fan access, four TV partners and seven rounds of picks spread across three days in the city’s biggest football event in generations.
The 2026 NFL Draft opened Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes, with streaming on NFL+, while fans in Pittsburgh could enter the Draft Experience for free by registering through NFL OnePass or NFL.com/DraftAccess.
The 91st edition of the draft was staged in the lots surrounding Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park, bringing the league’s annual talent showcase back to Pittsburgh for the first time since 1948. Over three days, the NFL scheduled 257 picks across seven rounds, with Round 1 on Thursday, Rounds 2-3 on Friday, April 24, and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 25.
Friday’s coverage was set for 7 p.m. ET, and Saturday’s coverage began at 12 p.m. ET, giving fans a clear national window for every stage of the draft. The free Draft Experience was open to all ages, a major draw for families and out-of-town visitors expected to fill the North Shore and downtown waterfront.
The scale of the event extended far beyond the stadium footprint. VisitPITTSBURGH said the draft was expected to bring between 500,000 and 700,000 fans to the city over the three-day run, a crowd size local officials have linked to the possibility that this could become the largest event in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania history. City leaders also tied the draft to broader downtown programming, including fan activations, recreation-center programming and NFL community events spread across Pittsburgh during draft week.
The league has also used the draft buildup to frame Pittsburgh through its football identity. Officials have leaned on the Steelers’ six Super Bowl titles, the Steel Curtain legacy and downtown artist-led activations that connect the event to the city’s sports and cultural brand. That branding push has matched the on-field stakes, with the league already awarding 33 compensatory picks to 15 teams and publishing the full order from Pick 1 through Pick 257.
For Pittsburgh, the draft has been more than a television event. It has become a citywide test of scale, logistics and civic pride, with Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park serving as the center of a national broadcast and a free public festival built for one of the biggest football crowds the region has ever seen.
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