Iraq War Veteran Gets to Announce the NFL Draft's First Pick — Then Makes History

For most football fans, watching the NFL draft is a passive experience. You sit on your couch, watch the commissioner read names off cards, and cheer (or cry) at your team's choices. But for Army Staff Sergeant Vohn Arnold, the 2025 NFL draft became something entirely different — he was the one holding the card.

Arnold, a Pittsburgh Steelers diehard, traveled to a USAA Salute to Service event in Pittsburgh ahead of the draft's first round. He figured he'd be one of roughly a hundred service members enjoying a Q&A session featuring Steelers captain Cam Heyward and ESPN analyst Mina Kimes. Nice day out. Nothing more.

Then USAA pulled his name to hand-fill the draft card for the No. 1 overall pick.

From a Rooftop in Iraq to the NFL Stage

Arnold's connection to the draft runs deeper than most fans could imagine. During his deployment in Iraq, he once stood on a rooftop in Kirkuk — against his own better judgment — just to catch the NFL draft broadcast on his phone. That's the kind of dedication that usually belongs in a sports movie.

"I'm a big football fan," Arnold said in a USAA Instagram video. "I've been watching the draft since I was little. It's one of my favorite things to look forward to." When he was handed that card, his jaw dropped. He knew exactly how much it meant.

A Career in Service

Arnold is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran with nearly a decade of combined service between the active-duty Army and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He currently serves in the 128th Brigade Support Squadron.

When the moment came, he carefully wrote out Fernando Mendoza's name — the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback — on the draft card. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell then read Arnold's handwriting aloud to announce the Las Vegas Raiders' opening selection, officially kicking off the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Card's Final Destination

That handwritten card won't be discarded. It's bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio — conveniently located just about 50 miles from Arnold's hometown of Irondale, Ohio.

Arnold called the whole experience "wild." For a man who once risked it on an Iraqi rooftop just to follow the draft, getting to be part of the moment onstage was the kind of full-circle story that doesn't come around often.

The event was part of the NFL's Salute to Service program, with USAA serving as an official partner since 2011. It's a reminder that sometimes the biggest highlights of sports aren't about the athletes — they're about the people in the stands, and sometimes, the people who helped hold the country together overseas.