For the third time in four years, the NFL Draft could be headed for a new city.
Pennsylvania congressman Bob Brady told Philly.com on Thursday that the draft is moving to Philadelphia for 2017. And you know what, it's the offseason, so we shouldn't be completely surprised that a member of the House of Representatives is possibly breaking NFL news.
The congressman said he got the news directly from Philly mayor Jim Kenney.
"The NFL wanted to come here, which is a good start," Brady told Philadelphia Inquirer. "I talked with the mayor. The mayor had a concern about money because he didn't want to put the city in debt, rightfully so, so we had to go around and see if we could get some people that would help finance it, and I think we were kind of successful."
The only problem with Brady's announcement is that the mayor's office says there's no deal yet.
"I can't speak for the congressman, but I can tell you that the city has definitely not been awarded the draft," a spokeswoman told the Inquirer.
An NFL spokesman also added that there are "no agreements with any cities to host future drafts."
If there's no deal in place, Brady has a lot details for something that's supposedly not happening. According to the congressman, most of the planning for the draft is already in place.
"They are going to do it out in the open on the Parkway for three days. It's a three-day draft," Brady said. "They are going to build a stage, and I'm sure they are going to put up some type of enclosure in case it rains. But that's what the NFL wanted. They wanted to do it right on the Parkway, I think, I don't know but I would imagine, with the art museum as the backdrop. They wanted to come here and do that so we just had to guarantee them money."
Brady also added that he was told that the city would have to pitch in roughly $5 million to hold the draft.
Although the league hasn't confirmed that Philly will host the draft, it wouldn't be a shock if it happens. Back in April, it was reported that Philadelphia was a front-runner to host the 2017 draft, something that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged at the time.
"I know they're interested in it," Goodell said in April. "And we're interested in Philadelphia, but among the other cities. We've got a lot of interest. We want to sit down after we're done and see what the best decision is for the NFL."
If the draft does move, it will be heading to its third location in four years. The draft was held in New York in 2014, before moving to Chicago for 2015 and 2016.
If Philly does host, it will mark the first time since December 1960 that the draft has been held in the city of Brotherly Love.
The good news for Eagles fans is that December 1960 also happens to be the last time that Philly won an NFL title. The bad news for Eagles fans is that if the draft's in Philly, they won't have a first-round pick to boo because the team traded their 2017 first-round pick to Cleveland so they could move up to the No. 2 spot in this year's draft.
