NASHVILLE – The NFL Draft was a big hit in Nashville, from the turnout to the excitement to the economic impact.

We're now learning even more about just how big of an impact in Music City.

On Wednesday, the NFL and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp announced this year's NFL Draft generated a record $133 million in direct spending -- a 79 percent increase over the $74 million at the 2018 Dallas event.

The economic impact was another record-breaker at $224 million, also a 79 percent increase over the $125 million in 2018.

"The NFL Draft in Nashville outperformed even our lofty expectations and set the bar for future NFL events," said Peter O'Reilly, NFL Executive Vice President, Club Business and League Events. "We are grateful to the Tennessee Titans, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, the City of Nashville, the volunteers and the fans who made this unforgettable event the most-watched and most-attended Draft ever."

The NFL Draft was broadcast around the world in a record 115 countries. As previously announced, the three-day event drew a record crowd of 600,000 and a record 47.5 million in television viewership.

"The economic impact numbers released today from the Nashville Draft were another clear indicator of the event's immense success," Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said. "By any measure, it was the NFL's most successful draft in their history and I am so proud that our organization played a role in that achievement. This year's Draft will be remembered for years to come and will definitely lead to other events large and small for our city."

For comparison, the 2018 CMA Music Festival generated $61.2 million in direct visitor spending, and the city's July 4th celebration generated $10.8 million.