NFL Draft: YouTube Is Sending Dude Perfect, Other Top Creators to ‘Take Over’ 2023 Event

Todd Spangler

YouTube, as part of promoting subscriptions to the newly secured NFL Sunday Ticket games package, is flying more than a dozen top creators to Kansas City, Mo., for the 2023 NFL Draft – including popular trick-shot specialists Dude Perfect.

Dude Perfect, the five-member comedy and sports group with more than 59 million YouTube subscribers, and Ryan Trahan (12.3 million subscribers) are slated to appear on stage at the NFL Draft to announce some of the picks in this year’s draft. The 2023 NFL Draft, to be held April 27-29 at Union Station Kansas City, will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network.

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All told, the YouTube creators tapped to attend the NFL Draft have a combined reach of more 145 million subscribers, according to the video platform. In addition to the Dude Perfect crew and Trahan, YouTube creators scheduled to be on-site in KC this week at the 2023 NFL Draft include: NichLmao (23.6 million subscribers), Topper Guild (17 million), Jesser (12.8 million), Adam W (12 million), Deestroying (5.1 million), Lisa Nguyen (4.35 million), Pierson (3.7 million), Katie Feeney (3.2 million), Haley Kalil (1.8 million), Ashley Yi (1.1 million) and The Pivot (686,000).

YouTube’s creator “takeover” of the 2023 NFL Draft is aimed at driving interest in the Sunday Ticket out-of-market subscription package, which provides access to every Sunday NFL game. Google inked a rich, seven-year deal with the league for Sunday Ticket, which had previously been offered through DirecTV. YouTube is offering special discounted promotions for the 2023 season package through June 6, after which the prices will go up. NFL Sunday Ticket is available to YouTube TV customers, and — for the first time — can be purchased a la carte, through YouTube Primetime Channels.

According to YouTube, during the draft creators will have “special behind-the-scenes access” and “exclusive opportunities that will bring a new point of view to the football fan experience.”

Content scheduled to be part of the promotion includes:

  • “NFL Draft’s Media Car Wash,” featuring The Pivot’s Ryan, Channing and Fred covering breaking news, making predictions and interviewing newly drafted players in their first moments as official NFL players;

  • “NFL Draft Experience with Ashley Yi, Topper Guild, Pierson, and NichLmao,” featuring the creators participating in a series of Combine-style games from the NFL’s interactive football theme park located in the South Lawn of Kansas City’s National WWI Museum and Memorial;

  • “Draft Day Valet with Adam W and Jesser,” in which the duo take NFL athletes and draft prospects for a ride and hear about draft day predictions and experiences;

  • “Red Carpet Review with Haley Kalil” with Haley interviewing draft prospects; “Touchdown Tailgate with Lisa Ngyuen,” highlighting an NFL athlete enjoying a meal inspired by an NFL team;

  • Katie Feeney’s “A Day in My Life,” providing a behind-the-scenes experience with a familiar face and top draft pick while bonding over their alma mater; and

  • “Football Clinic With Deestroying and Ryan Trahan,” in which Dee and Ryan hit the field with draftees to play catch, get coached up and talk about football.

YouTube says it also has enlisted additional creators to “bring more hype and exciting draft content” from afar, including Desmond Dennis (8.6 million subscribers), Merrick Hanna (7.6 million), ThatWasEpic (7.3 million), Dylan Lemay (4.6 million), mmmjoemele (3.2 million), YoBoy Pizza (2.24M Subscribers), The Scotts (2.1 million), Matt Peterson (889,000), ScooterMagruder (619,000) and BenchwarmerBran (213,000).

Participating creators will begin posting as early as Thursday, April 27, with additional long-form content posting throughout the following week, according to YouTube.

The NFL and Google have been partners since the league first launched its official NFL channel on YouTube in 2015. Since then, the NFL’s YouTube channel has gained more than 11 million subscribers. The channel provides clips, highlights, game-day compilations and exclusive original content series like “NFL Follies” and NFL Film’s flagship series “Gameday All-Access.” In addition, all 32 NFL clubs have YouTube channels, and the league runs 10 additional channels including for NFL Films, NFL Network and Mundo NFL.

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