Lawmakers include $2M for NFL draft in state budget-March, 2024.

MADISON – State lawmakers writing the next two-year state budget voted Thursday to include in the spending plan $2 million to help pay for costs associated with the Green Bay Packers hosting the National Football League draft in 2025.

The funds are being allocated by the Legislature’s budget-writing committee after Rep. David Steffen and Sen. Robert Cowles, both Republicans from Green Bay, asked the panel to include it. It’s intended to cover a portion of the expected costs to the Packers to host the event, which Cowles and Steffen said could cost $7.5 million overall.

The measure pitched by Steffen and Cowles would require the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to provide a grant to the Experience Greater Green Bay Corp.

“A $2 million investment for a $94 million return is phenomenal,” Steffen said in a statement. “I am proud to have advocated for state support of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, given the significant positive financial impact this event will have on our state.”