Brotherly love is not in the air in Pittsburgh, where Steelers owner Art Rooney II ceases to give the franchise rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens a day off.
Rooney surveyed the stage and draft layout ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft in his home city and was surprised to find the chart called for Ravens fans to be seated in front of the hometown Steelers fans positioned outside of Acrisure Stadium.
He asked the NFL to do something about it.
“On the normal seating chart, I noticed that the Ravens fans were sitting in front of the Steeler fans in one section of the draft theater,” Rooney said in a radio interview with WDVE 102.5 FM. “So I asked (the NFL) to make that change — and they agreed to make that.”
The Steelers and Ravens both changed head coaches in the offseason but the rivalry remains intense.
Baltimore lost a virtual division championship game in the stadium where the draft is held starting Thursday and will pick 14th overall. The Ravens attempted to trade that pick and more to the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby, but general manager Eric DeCosta backed out of the deal for what he claimed were concerns with Crosby’s physical.
Pittsburgh has pick No. 21 in the first round Thursday but will be readily apparent Friday during a stretch in the second and third rounds in which the Steelers hold four picks between selections Nos. 53 and 99.
