Roger Goodell deflected boos from the NFL Draft crowd in Detroit by bringing out his city’s favorite rapper, Eminem.
Goodell took the stage alone to Eminem’s hit song ‘Not Afraid’ and received his usual chorus of boos from the crowd.
However, the taunts quickly turned to taunts when the 51-year-old rapper appeared seconds later and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Eminem pounded his chest as he said, ‘Make some noise for the Detroit Lions, come on!’
The pair were later joined on stage by Lions legends Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders.
Eminem took the stage with Roger Goodell before the start of the NFL Draft
The rapper wore a Lions hoodie and cheered up the crowd of Lions fans before the first pick.
Eminem starred in a promo with Commissioner Goodell prior to the NFL Draft
Eminem and Goodell were soon joined (from left) by Calvin Johnson, Jared Goff, Aidan Hutchinson and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Current Lions stars Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson also took the stage as Brown began encouraging the crowd to chant Goff’s name.
Eminem and Goodell’s joint entrance was directly preceded by a video introduction with the pair, in which the rapper joked about the commissioner being booed.
The Lions finished with their best record since 1991 last season when they went 12-5 and won the NFC North for the first time.
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, grew up in suburban Detroit and is among the Lions’ most prominent fans.
During the 2023 NFL playoffs, Eminem was in the stands at Levi’s Stadium when he was caught giving a double middle finger to 49ers fans.
They finally fell in that game, which was the NFC Championship.