In comparison to other sports, the draft dominates

Last night, the NFL announced that, on average, 13.6 million people watched the first night of the draft.

While that number falls short of the typical regular-season prime-time game, it reflects dominance in relation to other sports.

Consider just a few examples.

First, the Sunday audience for the Masters — which was one of the most compelling final days of the tournament in years — averaged 13.0 million viewers.

Second, the 2024 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks averaged 11.2 million viewers.

The recently-completed NCAA men’s basketball tournament averaged 10.3 million.

While 13.6 million is still roughly 10 percent of the Super Bowl audience, it’s more than enough to prove that a football event that involves no actual playing of football can stand out from other actual sports.

What other sport can muster anything like that for something that doesn’t involve a game? It underscores the fact that the NFL is the king of all sports in America. And it helps explain why the NFL remains hellbent on world domination.