Indy keeps Scouting Combine through 2026

Indianapolis booked the NFL Scouting Combine through 2026 in an agreement with the league, extending a partnership that dates to 1987 -- the year Miami Hurricanes quarterback Vinny Testaverde went No. 1 overall.

The combine hosts more than 300 college football players over multiple days in late February for medical testing and evaluation, physical measurements, timing and strength testing, and on-field workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium as a collective central peg in the scouting process for pro prospects.

CBS Sports reported the extension of the deal on Thursday, which the NFL confirmed in a statement.

"Indianapolis and the NFL Combine have a proud history together, so we're thrilled to continue our longstanding partnership with Visit Indy, the Indianapolis Colts, and the local community for this 2026 event," NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly said in a statement to CBS Sports. "Our partners in Indy have successfully hosted the football evaluation process for decades, and recently, we've collectively worked to grow and evolve the in-person fan experience, bringing tens of thousands of fans closer to the league's future stars."

The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is scheduled for Feb. 27-March 2. The draft is being held in Green Bay from April 24-26.

Top 40-yard dash times, vertical leaps and position drills attract viewers and create headlines from Indianapolis. But team officials consistently cite medical evaluations -- a fraction ahead of the in-person, 15-minute interviews with prospects typically conducted at team hotels -- as the chief priority at the combine. Indianapolis has the ideal downtown setup with multiple hotels in near proximity to the Colts' home stadium and convention center, which connects via skywalk to a number of locations in the immediate area.

Prospects generally fly into Indianapolis one day before the combine following a schedule set up by position group before running the gauntlet of the off-site medical evaluation, cognitive testing, drug testing, height-weight-arm-hand measurements, on-field testing, strength and agility tests, 15- to 20-minute media sessions and position drills.

Among the top prospects in the upcoming draft are Colorado cornerback-wide receiver Travis Hunter, a number of quarterbacks -- Hunter's teammate Shadeur Sanders, Miami quarterback Cam Ward, Georgia's Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers of Texas -- and top-end secondary talent. Georgia safety Malaki Starks is the headliner.

But the most coveted talent might be the crop of defensive line or edge prospects. Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham and Georgia's Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams are among blue-chip prospects.

--Field Level Media