MILWAUKEE — The countdown to the 2025 NFL Draft has begun as the NFL Draft Handoff took place today to take the official draft ball from Detroit to Lambeau Field. The ball was first taken on a boat that went across Lake Michigan that then docked at Lake Express Ferry on the port of Milwaukee. Governor Tony Evers had the honor of carrying the ball out of the boat and onto Milwaukee soil.
@GovEvers arriving on a boat from Detroit this afternoon as he prepared to handoff the official NFL Draft Ball to bicyclists that will take it to Lambeau Field for the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay!
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) May 14, 2024
Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy was also there@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/kS4Tx6KQSI
“We’re the home of Titletown. We sure the hell aren’t going to fumble [the draft] on our own turf,” Evers said.
Some were a little skeptical of the governor’s handle on the ball though. Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy said he might want to use a different carry technique.
“I told him high and tight! Otherwise, you’re going to fumble,” he said as he laughed. “Maybe [put] two hands on the ball, we’ll see.”
After Governor Evers arrived in Milwaukee, he then handed off the ball to the about a dozen cyclists who would bike the ball over to Lambeau Field while making several stops across Wisconsin along the way. Once they got to Green Bay, several bike riding kids would be able to join them on their final stretch to Lambeau Field where the Packers would reveal their countdown clock for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The about a dozen bicyclists that took off this afternoon to deliver the NFL Draft ball to Lambeau Field this evening!
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) May 14, 2024
The video is a look at them when they first took off from Lake Express Ferry on the port of Milwaukee@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/9SPPBuJf1Z
As the bike riders were taking off, Murphy said that the tradition of riding bikes runs deep in Green Bay.
“The bike tradition in training camp… with players riding the kids bike,” he said. “That really harkens back to Vince Lombardi… In 1958, he wanted to do something that brought the team and the community closer together… It ended up being the bicycle tradition.”
The cyclists were made up of people from those Packers’ bike riders, Travel Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Bike Federation, and Green Bay-area bike shops and bicycle advocates.
One of the riders is Scott Steeno. Before he took off, he detailed how he got involved in this Pedal to the Draft event.
“We own a Bike Store in De Pere, and they’re asking a lot of the local cyclists and people that are involved in cycling to be part of this,” he said. “It’ll be a nice easy bike ride… should be a lot of comradery with all the other cyclists and the people in Green Bay. So, it should be a lot of fun.”
Although the day was cloudy so far, Steeno said he expect for the weather to not be a problem.
“There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing,” he said. “I think everybody’s prepped for it, so we’ll be fine.”
There’s a little less than a year until the 2025 NFL Draft comes to Green Bay, and Governor Evers said the draft is expected to have a nearly 100 million dollar impact across the state.
“That’s a lot of money,” Evers said. “That’s why our administration is hard at work to make sure Wisconsin is ready to host this event and others in the future. From securing 10 million dollars to support marketing and advertising and outreach to encourage large events just like this to be held in the state in the future.”
Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy said although Green Bay is prepared to host the event at Lambeau Field, they will need help from places outside of the city to provide people places to stay during the three-day draft.
“We’re a little behind… I think 20,000 hotel rooms was kind of the minimum. We’re just a little short of that. I think we’re at 4,500 in Green Bay,” he said. “We’re going to be relying on the whole state to house fans from Madison to Milwaukee… all the way up and down the state.”
Although there will be some obstacles in hosting the draft, Murphy told WTMJ this is a great way to showcase what Green Bay has to offer.
“[I’m] very excited about hosting the draft,” he said. “I think it’ll be a three-day commercial for Green Bay and Wisconsin and all the great things that we have to offer.”
Along with this draft news, the 2024 NFL season schedule is set to be released Wednesday at 7pm.
