The 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay had a statewide economic impact of more than $104 million, beating pre-draft projections, according to new data from the local visitors bureau.
Discover Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday released the findings of an economic impact analysis. The visitors bureau used data from analytics platform Zartico and market research firm Sportsimpacts.
The draft was hosted in and around Lambeau Field in late April. Projections ahead of the draft estimated the event’s economic impact statewide would be $94 million, $10 million lower than the figure released Wednesday. The economic impact in Brown County was nearly $80 million, well over the original $20 million projection.
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“More of that money was spent in our region. But we were pretty close on projection for the state,” said Brad Toll, CEO of Discover Green Bay. “There was money being spent throughout our community. It wasn’t just at restaurants or hotels.”
Sportsimpacts found direct spending in Brown County came in at more than $43 million, with $63 million in direct spending statewide.
While Green Bay exceeded pre-draft expectations, direct and gross spending for the 2025 draft came in below the 2024 event in Detroit. Gross spending from Detroit’s draft last year totaled more than $127 million, according to Sportsimpacts.
Sportsimpacts also found more than 360,000 unique visitors attended the draft in Green Bay, above the 312,000 projection the city released last month. The NFL’s attendance projection from the event was more than 600,000 people, but that counts people who left and reentered the draft area multiple times.
“We are so proud of the overall success of the event, especially from a community and operation standpoint — everyone in this community stepped up,” said Gabrielle Valdez Dow, vice president of marketing and fan experience for the Packers. “Our fans showed up and surpassed all attendance projections, and we had record crowds throughout all the three days.”
Fans who attended overwhelmingly viewed both Lambeau Field and Green Bay in a positive light after their experience in the community, according to Sportsimpacts’ survey of draft attendees.
The survey showed almost 60 percent of attendees said Green Bay’s draft campus was “among the best,” and another nearly 24 percent viewed it as “above average.” More than 10 percent said it was just average and about 2 percent said it was below average.
More than 60 percent said the Green Bay region was an “excellent” host, roughly 28 percent called it “good,” more than 6 percent said it was either “average” or “below average” and roughly 2 percent said it was “poor.”
“The value of this event goes far beyond dollars and cents. It is all about learning,” said Jerry Lintz, board chair for Experience Greater Green Bay. “The study provides a road map to strengthen the community and to ensure that Green Bay continues to deliver unforgettable guest experiences.”
The NFL estimates the event had 7.5 million average television viewers across its three days, according to Discover Green Bay’s presentation. More than 13 million people watched the first night of the draft on television.
Preliminary estimates from the league also show the draft had 66 million social media interactions and 658.7 million video views on social media, according to Discover Green Bay.
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