Washington DC - President announced on Monday that Washington will host the 's 2027 Draft, in the latest sign of warming relations between the league and the US leader after decades of animosity.
US President Donald Trump joined by (L-R) White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Executive Director Scott Turner, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, announces that Washington, DC, will host the 2027 NFL Draft, during an event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday. © JIM WATSON / AFP
Trump, who made history in February by becoming the first sitting US President to , confirmed the plans in the Oval Office alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris.
"I'm pleased to reveal that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held right here, in our nation's capital, Washington DC, on the National Mall," Trump said.
"I don't think there's ever been anything like that. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be something that nobody else will ever duplicate."
The NFL draft is held over three days each year and sees the league's 32 teams take turns choosing the best players from US collegiate gridiron.
The draft is the biggest event of the NFL's off-season. Some 600,000 fans attended the three days of last month's NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
"We're honored to be here in the Oval Office and to have you announce the 2027 NFL Draft is a special treat," NFL chief Goodell said at Monday's event.
Monday's announcement was in stark contrast to the acrimony that has characterized Trump's over the years.
A football and a jersey honoring the 2027 NFL Draft, on the Resolute desk in the Oval Office as US President Donald Trump announces that Washington, DC, will host the 2027 NFL Draft, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday. © JIM WATSON / AFP
Trump has regularly sparred with the league ever since being blocked from joining the NFL in the early 1980s after his failed attempt to purchase the Baltimore Colts.
Trump's first presidential term witnessed a series of running battles against the NFL and its players, most notably following during the playing of the US national anthem in over .
Trump responded to that by stating that players who knelt during the anthem were "sons of bitches" who should be fired.
NFL chief Goodell criticised Trump's rhetoric as "divisive" and "disrespectful."
The controversy led to a wave of player protests across the NFL, with more than 200 players kneeling during the national anthem in solidarity with Kaepernick and in defiance of Trump's rhetoric.
More recently, Goodell has risked Trump's wrath by refusing to abandon , despite the current administration's calls for similar initiatives in government and elsewhere to be scrapped.
