Michael Keaton, a longtime fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, surprised football fans when he took the stage at his hometown’s record-breaking NFL draft and announced a pick for the team.
The Oscar-nominated actor was born in Kennedy Township, Penn., and was raised around Pittsburgh before moving to Los Angeles and beginning his film and TV career. One of his first roles was on a 1975 episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which filmed in Pittsburgh, and he also served as a full-time production assistant on the show. After Fred Rogers’ death in 2003, Keaton even hosted a PBS memorial, titled “Mister Rogers: America’s Favorite Neighbor,” and the show’s 50th anniversary special, “Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like,” in 2018.
On Saturday, Keaton returned to the Steel City to announce the Steelers’ 169th overall pick during the fifth round of the NFL draft, tight end Riley Nowakowski from Indiana University. The Pittsburgh draft broke the all-time attendance record with 805,000 fans across three days, beating the previous record set by Detroit in 2024 with 775,000 people.
Other Pittsburgh celebrities came to celebrate the city’s NFL draft, including rapper Wiz Khalifa and rocker Bret Michaels of Poison. The two musicians joined together for a concert on Friday, the second night of the draft.
Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the first pick of the 2026 draft and will lead a slumping Las Vegas Raiders team in desperate need of some star power. Heisman trophy winner Mendoza led his college team to a perfect season and the national championship this year. In other quarterback picks, the Las Angeles Rams surprised many by selecting Alabama star Ty Simpson at No. 13. The young quarterback is now primed as the successor to 38-year-old Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford, who’s fresh off an MVP win.
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