Boston reportedly the favorite to host the 2022 NFL Draft

According to at least one sports betting website, Boston is the favorite to host the 2022 NFL Draft over four other rival U.S. cities.

For 30 years, the NFL Draft moved around various U.S. cities. Whether it was New York City or Los Angeles, Chicago or Milwaukee, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, the annual event was always on the move, bringing all the players, coaches, owners, staffers, scouts, fans, and requisite fanfare wherever it went.

Then, for 50 straight years, the league planted a flag firmly in the soil of the Big Apple. Though the draft bounced around various venues and locations in the city, it was always in New York, from 1965 until 2014.

Perhaps recognizing the financial incentive in “taking the show on the road” – and in connecting with fans around the country up close and personal – the NFL decided to start visiting different cities with the NFL Draft the way it does the Super Bowl. First it was Chicago in 2015 and 2016; next it was Philadelphia in 2017; then it was Dallas in 2018; and finally, it was Memphis this year in 2019.

The league has already announced Las Vegas as its host next year in 2020, as well as Cleveland in 2021 and Kansas City in 2023. The one date it hasn’t announced yet? 2022.

Reportedly, the most likely reason for this delay is because the NFL “is still in negotiations with city officials” in the host town they’re attempting to lock in. Destinations that have been listed as possibilities include Denver, Detroit, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh… and Beantown itself.

Boston has somewhat surprisingly never hosted the NFL Draft. That’s only odd because almost every other major Northeastern or Midwest city has at some point, though the vast majority of them did so between 1936 and 1964. Of the list of probable cities for 2022, both Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. have technically hosted the NFL Draft in some capacity before.

Only Denver, Detroit, and Boston would be first-time hosts, and of those three locations, one could make a legitimate argument that Boston should be the selection. With all due apologies to Denver and Detroit sports fans (who are fantastic, by the way), Boston has something no other U.S. city can compete with over the past decade plus, and that’s championships. Though the majority of them have come via the Patriots, the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics have also chipped in with multiple titles of their own… helping to create a thriving sports community with a rabid, passionate fanbase.

Oddsmakers at “BetOnline” seem to agree with this assessment on some level at least: they have Boston listed as the heavy favorite to host the 2022 NFL Draft at 2/1. Washington D.C. follows at 5/2, Denver at 3/1, Detroit at 4/1, and finally Pittsburgh at 5/1.

Hopefully, whatever unresolved matters holding up a prospective agreement between the NFL and Boston will soon be taken care of, as bringing the 2022 Draft there would surely be a win-win for both parties.