Mike Greenberg urges the NFL to infuse suspense and boost ratings by introducing a drama-filled draft lottery.
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The NFL offseason has fans craving action, with many counting down to the return of football. The NFL has a relatively shorter schedule compared to other sporting leagues. Mike Greenberg feels that the governing body of the football league needs to do more to make the product more dramatic and widely appealing through TRP tactics.
On ESPN’s Get Up, Mike Greenberg floated a controversial idea, introducing a live draft lottery to the NFL, much like the NBA’s ping-pong ball spectacle. The NBA has such a system, where ping-pong balls decide the outcome of the top 10 picks of the upcoming draft. Weaker teams who failed to qualify for the playoffs land in the draft lottery.
Adam Schefter: NFL Draft Lottery would be a “home run.”
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) May 14, 2025
The system makes losing less valuable, as teams performing at the worst can still fail to land the number one pick. The current way of things with the NFL Draft is rightly based on the performance of teams. A team with the worst performance gets the first pick, and other picks are likewise allocated.
What Mike Greenberg has pitched is to add a layer of drama and uncertainty to the draft product of the NFL. He wants the National football league to have a product like the NBA and broadcast it for a broader viewership beyond the field.
Transparency Concerns Cloud NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA has had the draft lottery system since 1985. However, concerns have repeatedly emerged about the transparency of the process as well. Even during the 2025 Draft lottery, the Dallas Mavericks, who had a 1.8 percent chance of getting the number 1 pick, actually got it. To make matters worse, they were not even the worse performing team.
Mike Greenberg while advocating for NFL Draft Lottery system said, “A TV special where the NFL announces its draft order live. Imagine that. Or even better you don’t have to imagine it, the NBA just did it. Football needs a draft lottery. It would be great for the league. It would be great for the fans. Literally everyone would watch it.”
He added, “Imagine the 18 teams that missed the playoffs and all of the fans gathered around televisions waiting for the ping pong balls to do their things and the envelopes to be opened, and Arch Manning is playing the role of Cooper Flagg. The ratings would be ridiculous.”
NBA Draft lottery is one of the most widely watched off court events in pro basketball. If NBA has the TRP, NFL has an efficient system in the place. Teams who are genuinely struggling gets the top draft picks while Utah Jazz who had the worst seasonal record in the NBA landed a number 5 pick in the draft lottery.