Last year, 5.2 million people watched the NFL Combine, over four days, on NFL Network. As Allen Iverson might say, we’re talking about practice! Or in this case, the Combine, where players do repetitive position drills, vertical jumps and the 40-yard dash in auditions for NFL teams.

Here’s some perspective: A week’s worth of MLB telecasts on ESPN (three games) drew a combined four million viewers last season. And keep in mind that ESPN is in 100 million homes, compared with 57 million for NFL Network.

So it’s no surprise NFL Network will deliver more than 30 live hours of Combine coverage beginning next Thursday. They will use 23 announcers, including several who will evaluate their former positions, such as Kurt Warner (quarterbacks), Warren Sapp (defensive linemen) and Deion Sanders (defensive backs).