Pittsburgh breaks all-time attendance record for NFL draft. Highlights from the 3-day event
The eyes of the football world were on Pittsburgh this past weekend as it played host to the 2026 NFL draft, and football fans from across the globe came to the Steel City, breaking the all-time attendance record.
The NFL said that a record 805,000 people attended the three-day event, breaking the record set by Detroit in 2024 when 775,000 fans attended.
Another record was set on Thursday during Round 1 with 320,000 fans in attendance.
For Pittsburgh, it was a moment to show the world what a great city it is.
"Hopefully it shows people that Pittsburgh isn't just a steel town from back in the day," Andy Hocroff said. "Hopefully, it shows them it's the real deal."
Pittsburgh Regional Transit helps reduce traffic
With so many people coming in and out of the city, Pittsburgh Regional Transit and city officials encouraged visitors to utilize public transit, going as far as to discourage people from driving.
"Do not drive that week," PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman said about a month prior to the draft.
Throughout the three-day event, PRT provided "Football Flyers" from park and rides across the region, and fans who jumped on the buses said it went smoothly.
"We were able to clear the North Side T platform about an hour after the Draft ended, and the Football Flyers cleared the vast majority of fans from the North Side about a half hour after that," PRT Deputy Chief Communications Officer Adam Brandolph said.
Two visitors from Arizona were in town for the draft, and during day one, they said their 45-minute ride from Monroeville Mall to the city went "fairly easy."
Governor Shapiro says Pittsburgh is "open for business."
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was in town for the draft and said that most of his time was spent trying to entice business leaders to invest in the city.
In a one-on-one interview with KDKA-TV, he said most of his time was spent courting companies to come to Pittsburgh.
"And what I hear over and over from them is, 'Wow, I had no idea Pittsburgh was like this,'" Gov. Shapiro said. "I think they have this idea of what Pittsburgh maybe used to be like, and they're not aware of all the changes and where the economy's growing and being reshaped. It's incredible to get their eyes open on it."
The governor also praised Pittsburgh Regional Transit for their efforts in getting people to and from the event, saying it did an "unbelievable job."
Music, block parties, and football celebrate Pittsburgh
It was more than just the NFL draft taking place in the city from Thursday to Saturday; several concerts, block parties, and other events made it a celebration of all things football and all things Pittsburgh.
Artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Bret Michaels, Kane Brown, Nelly, 2Chainz, and Steve Aoki performed around the city, and a Pitt Athletics Block Party was hosted across several days at the newly-opened Arts Landing downtown.
Fitness enthusiasts kicked off the final day of the draft with the PicksBURGH Draft Day 5K, which raced around all of the NFL draft sites in the city.
Steelers make 10 draft picks in the 2026 NFL draft
The Steelers were active from Thursday to Saturday, and coming into the draft, they had a league-high 12 picks.
Through trades, however, the Steelers ultimately only used 10 picks in total.
Overall, the Steelers made one pick in the first round, one pick in the second round, three picks in the third round, one pick in the fourth round, one pick in the fifth round, one pick in the sixth round, and two picks in the seventh round.
The full list of the Steelers' selections can be found here.
