NFL Draft 2026 Time and Date: How long does each team have to pick, can you watch in the UK?

Although thousands of players in the US collegiate system become eligible for the NFL draft every year, a limit to about 250 is imposed. Although Tom Brady was selected 199th overall in 2000, he went on to win seven Super Bowls and is in many ways considered to be the biggest steal in the NFL draft.

On April 16, 2025, it was 25 years since he was selected and the New England Patriots wrote on their website that “On this date 25 years ago, April 16, 2000, Tom Brady was selected in the 6th round NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. The 199th overall pick went on to win six Super Bowl championships in New England as he established one of the greatest careers in NFL history.”

An hour ago the Instagram account for NFL wrote: “IT’S DRAFT DAY‼️

“2026 NFL Draft — 8pm ET on NFLN/ESPN/ABC

“Stream on @NFLPlus.”

One fan wrote: “LET’S GO!!!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈,” whilst another said: “Tom Brady to enter a time machine and get picked 1st overall.”

How long does each team have to pick?

In the first round, the time is down from 10 minutes in 2025 to 8 minutes. In Round 2 each team has 7 minutes to pick, whilst in Rounds 3-6, each team has 5 minutes for standard and compensatory picks. In Round 7, each team has 4 minutes.

When and where does the NFL draft take place?

The NFL Draft 2926 takes place from Thursday April 23 to Saturday April 25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There are seven rounds, one is on Thursday, followed by two on Friday and the final four rounds take place on Saturday April 25.

Can you watch the NFL draft in the UK?

Yes, you can watch the NFL draft in the UK on Sky Sports. It is also possible with an NFL Game Pass via DAZN to stream it from 1am (BST) on Friday April 24 and midnight BST on Saturday April 25 followed by 5pm BST on the same day.

If you are based in the US, you can watch the NFL draft on NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, streaming options are available on ESPN+ and NFL+.