Since 1980, ESPN has been the home of the NFL Draft.
And that won’t be changing anytime soon, with the Worldwide Leader in Sports announcing on Wednesday that it has reached a multi-year agreement to continue its NFL Draft coverage, as well as a separate licensing agreement to feature NFL content on its upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service, which will launch on August 21.
As far as the NFL Draft, the new agreement calls for ESPN and ABC to each produce telecasts for Rounds 1-3 on Thursday and Friday, as the network has done since 2019. ESPN will continue to air Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, with ABC simulcasting its coverage.
Additionally, ESPN will have the ability to add other alternate telecasts across streaming platforms for all seven rounds of the draft. ESPN football shows such as College GameDay and NFL Live will remain on-site from the NFL Draft, while ESPN Radio will continue its live broadcast of the event. ESPN also announced plans for a new daily NFL Draft show, which is expected to air on ESPN2 most days.
According to Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp, ESPN’s new NFL Draft deal will run through 2030, coinciding with the expiration of its current Monday Night Football deal. It’s currently unclear whether the NFL will be adding any other media rights partners for the draft.
ESPN & the @NFL reach 2 additional agreements!
🏈 ESPN’s @NFLDraft rights extended
🏈 NFL content & features added to ESPN’s upcoming Direct-to-Consumer serviceDetails: https://t.co/8fcG0KyM1g pic.twitter.com/9eNuzN7sms
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 6, 2025
As for the content licensing deal, “the agreement includes rights for additional NFL content for ESPN as well as robust interactive features to deepen the experience for fans,” according to a release. ESPN’s direct-to-consumer offering will stream select out-of-market NFL preseason games during the 2025 and 2026 seasons, while ESPN will also be able to sell and bundle NFL+ Premium with ESPN’s DTC service, giving fans the ability to watch NFL Network and NFL RedZone through NFL+ Premium.
News of the content licensing agreement comes hours after ESPN and the NFL officially announced their highly anticipated equity deal, which will see ESPN acquire multiple NFL Media properties, including the NFL Network, while the league will take a 10 percent stake in the Disney-owned cable channel. Suffice it to say, ESPN’s relationship with the NFL is only getting stronger, as the network continues to bulk up — and retain — some of its key offerings ahead of this month’s DTC launch.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.