NFL Draft Lottery Reportedly Not Under Consideration, Tanking Not Seen as Issue

Despite the excitement surrounding the recent NHL and NBA draft lotteries, the NFL is reportedly not considering moving to a lottery system to determine its draft order.

When asked Friday on Get Up if the NFL is discussing the idea of implementing a draft lottery, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano said the following:

"The answer I came up with is I don't think so at this point. They don't feel like they have a tanking problem that they need to address. Now, you know, would it be a fun offseason television event, and would that be appealing to the NFL? I think history tells us yes, but it doesn't sound like this is something that has ever been talked about at the competition committee level or certainly ever been brought to a vote. At this point, they like their draft."

The NFL draft order has been based on the teams' records from the previous year for decades with the worst team securing the No. 1 overall pick.

That was the case once again this year when the Tennessee Titans took Miami quarterback Cam Ward first overall after posting a 3-14 record in 2024.

The NFL is the only one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America that doesn't employ a lottery, as Major League Baseball began using one in 2023, joining the NHL and NBA.

It can be argued that this year's NHL and NBA draft lotteries were among the most exciting of all time due to the unexpected results.

Last week, the New York Islanders moved up 10 spots to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft despite having only a 3.5 percent chance to do so.

The 2025 NBA draft lottery was even more unexpected, as the Dallas Mavericks jumped 10 spots to secure the No. 1 overall pick with a 1.8 percent chance, which was the fourth-lowest probability ever for a team that got the top pick.

Assuming the Mavs take Duke forward Cooper Flagg, it could instantly put them back in championship contention with future Hall of Famers Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson already on the roster.

Some view draft lotteries as a deterrent to tanking since there is no guarantee that the worst team will get the top pick, but the bottom teams still have better odds, so the logic may be flawed.

An argument against a lottery is that it makes it even tougher for the cellar dwellers to get better. For example, the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards all won fewer than 20 games this season, and none are picking in the top three of the 2025 NBA draft.

Had the NFL done a lottery this year, the Titans could have dropped several spots and not had the opportunity to take a new franchise quarterback, which potentially may have set the franchise back for years.

To Graziano's point, an NFL draft lottery would be a huge television event for the league, so it may be something to ponder in the future, but given how popular the draft is without a lottery, it may not be needed.