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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Johnny Manziel, from Texas A&M, celebrates as he walks onstage after being selected 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, May 8, 2014, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
NEW YORK >> Johnny Football may not have appreciated the excruciating wait until he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd pick, but ESPN sure did.
The Nielsen company said Friday that the first round of the NFL draft drew 9.9 million viewers to ESPN Thursday night, shattering the previous record for the event that the network has telecast since 1980. The previous high was 7.3 million viewers in 2010..
The drama about where former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M would land is considered the biggest factor in the ratings success. Draft forecasters suggested Manziel would go much higher.
Viewership Thursday was 60 percent higher than last year’s 6.2 million.
