Just like the NFL draft lays the groundwork for the future of the NFL, the league’s ownership meetings lay the groundwork for the draft itself — at least when it comes to its location. Until the early 2010s, of course, this wasn’t much of a question: every draft since the merger had taken place in New York City. However, the NFL, always in search of more public appeal revenue, decided to move the event around the country starting in 2015.
In 2015 and 2016, the draft therefore took place in Chicago. The following years, it moved to Philadelphia and the Dallas metro area before arriving in Nashville in 2019.