Tube Trends: Now Creators Are Taking Over The NFL Draft

Apr 29

The NFL has spent the last year-plus making larger overtures to social media.

Between its ballooning YouTube presence and new creator initiatives from both the league and its media partners, the NFL’s closely guarded brand is becoming more collective (at least on social) by the day.

That’s not just true on game days, either. During this past weekend’s NFL Draft, creators played significant roles in covering the event as the league took over Pittsburgh for the annual three-day spectacle.

YouTube’s Unique Approach

Data from Tubular Labs found that on YouTube, creators accounted for 58% of views around the NFL Draft from April 23-29; more than any other platform, where media and the league/teams were the biggest sources views.

And rather than a single creator owning the conversation, a number of creators all appeared to pitch in. Tubular shows that on YouTube alone, 21 different creators generated at least 1 million video views around the NFL Draft. Granted, one of the biggest “creators” there was Eli Manning, who’s employed by ESPN. But the results still showcase a move toward personality-driven presentation of the league, as opposed to incredibly polished brand- or media-centric publishing (which has typically been the league’s approach).

YouTube views around the Draft also cut against the norm by spreading the wealth across various video durations.

NFL Draft videos of 20 minutes or more accounted for 19.4% of views on YouTube, nearly equaling the share dedicated to Shorts from 0 to 30 seconds long. Also interesting: Videos running 20 minutes or longer had the highest share of uploads, showing that creators weren’t just going for quick-hit views around the Draft, but in-depth analysis during and immediately after the event.

YouTube Becomes Creators’ Primary Draft Playground

As mentioned, creators make up a larger share of YouTube’s NFL Draft video views than they do on other platforms. That doesn’t mean creators are not present on platforms like TikTok or Instagram (they are, significantly). Rather, the NFL, its teams and college football programs are in part dedicating more energy to those platforms.

The idea, perhaps, would be that the NFL sees YouTube not as a “second screen” to its TV product, but as a primary home for it. As a result, strategies for teams and the league are not aiming to take away from that - so instead put more (shorter) content up on shorter video-focused platforms where these are complementary posts to the draft on TV.

Results bear out this idea as well.

Over 78% of TikTok views about the 2026 NFL Draft (same timeframe as above) came from videos that were under a minute long, with extremely limited views for any videos over five minutes long. And on that platform, most of the top creators were either NFL media partners, the leaguie or teams — led by the NFL, ESPN and the Steelers’ Spanish-language account.

On Instagram, there was a similar emphasis on teams and the league — which accounted for nearly half of the top 15 creators by views of NFL Draft videos.

For these entities, it’s important that you watch the Draft. AND if you want a deeper-dive on your specific team’s selection, then you go to TikTok/Instagram.

Room To Grow

Despite the strong creator focus on YouTube during draft coverage, there are still opportunities to grow beyond traditional channels.

The NFL Draft is a unique three-day event that features no actual football being played. And with TV coverage primarily focused on just teams announcing player names, there’s potentially limited import for non-sports creators to cover.

However, that ignores the other angles to the Draft, too.

Some of these athletes are humorous individuals — or even creators — themselves. Some have elevated fashion sense or a passion for music. Others like to cook or enjoy specific shows or movies.

Tubular data shows that 88% of YouTube views around this year’s draft were from sports creators, with entertainment next at less than 7%. Video genres like fashion and music barely registered, combining for 0.6% of the total views around the Draft.

As the NFL is continuing to build out its creator chops, that’s potentially where the opportunities lie — at least in terms of the NFL Draft. Utilizing fashion creators to analyze draft pick fits and music creators to interview players around their favorite motivational music is table stakes. And embracing those angles only helps grow the appeal of the event beyond its typical base of diehard NFL fans.