“NBA’s Falling Off Hard”: Sports Fans React to Shocking Viewership Comparison Between NFL Draft and NBA Finals

The 2025 NFL Draft has wrapped up, with day three concluding yesterday afternoon, and it delivered some headline-worthy storylines. A total of 257 players were selected, including Kobee Minor, who was chosen by the New England Patriots as Mr. Irrelevant — last pick for the year. Eyes will definitely be on him next season.

There were other big headlines, but none bigger than Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Once considered a potential No. 1 overall pick just months ago, Sanders slid to the fifth round, where he was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick. Interestingly, the Browns had drafted Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round with the 94th overall pick, well before Shedeur.

Other headlines in this year’s draft included the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up with the Browns at pick No. 2 to select Travis Hunter, Tyler Shough being the third quarterback drafted, Derrick Harmon’s emotional moment with his mother, and Cam Ward being selected No. 1 overall. Overall, it made for another exciting draft weekend, with many fans tuning in. The viewership numbers speak for themselves — in fact, they even outpaced those of major NBA events.

How big of a number are we talking about, and that’s even before the regular season kicks off? Well, the numbers show that the NFL is still the big dog on the block. As Adam Schefter reported, Green Bay saw 600,000 attendees over the three-day period, matching last year’s total in the hype-filled city of Nashville, Tennessee.

It didn’t stop there. According to a report from JPAFootball (via X), the NFL pulled in an average of 13.6 million viewers for round one of the 2025 Draft. Meanwhile, the peak average for the 2024 NBA Finals was 12.2 million — that’s 1.4 million less.

Sports fans reacted to the surprising viewership contrast between the two events on social media. Some fans pointed out how they think NBA viewership is declining, while others declared football as the best sport. A few also noted that Shedeur Sanders sliding in the draft played a big part in the surge of viewership this year.

“Makes sense, NBA’s falling off hard,” one guy wrote, while another penned, “Shedeur played a huuuge part.”

Makes sense, NBA’s falling off hard

— (@the_det_times) April 27, 2025

“NFL straight up belt to cheeks,” this internet user quipped. “We just wanted to watch Shedur NOT get drafted,” another remarked.

The 2026 NFL Draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, promising another exciting event packed with headlines and possibly even broken records. Who knows — maybe Arch Manning will slide to the fifth round too. Okay, that’s unlikely, but it would certainly create a headline just as attention-grabbing as Shedeur Sanders’ surprising fall this year.