Oldest NFL Teams: Full list of the first NFL franchises (2024)

FAQs

Who are the oldest NFL franchises? ›

The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest established team in the NFL. They were established in 1898 as an independent team and joined the NFL in its founding year of 1920.

The league began play in 1920 and comprised five teams from Ohio (Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Tigers, Columbus Panhandlers, and Dayton Triangles), four teams from Illinois (Chicago Tigers, Decatur Staleys, Racine Cardinals [the Cardinals were based in Chicago but took the name of a local street], and Rock ...

When the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002, the league realigned, changing the division structure from three divisions in each conference to four divisions in each conference. As each division champion gets a playoff bid, the number of wild card teams from each conference dropped from three to two.

32

NFL / Number of teams

Arizona Cardinals (1)

Having been in existence since 1920, the Cardinals are the oldest franchise without a Super Bowl victory, though they did win two league championships (1925, 1947) prior to the Super Bowl era when they were based in Chicago.

The AFL began regular-season play (a night game on Friday, September 9, 1960) with eight teams in the league – the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Texans, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Titans, and Oakland Raiders.

The NFL has had a total of 49 franchises become defunct over its history; this includes ten of the league's twelve founding members, with only the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals surviving to the present day.

Most of these teams above suffered their only regular-season loss early in the season and, other than the 2007 Patriots (started regular season and playoffs 18–0), only the 1962 Packers (10–0), 1985 Bears (12–0), 2011 Packers (13–0), and 2015 Panthers (14–0) were on track for a perfect season when they lost.

Rivalries. The Texans are the youngest expansion team in the NFL, having only been competing in the NFL since 2002. For that reason, they have not had the history or the reputation on which to build classic rivalries like the ones that often exist between older franchises.

What state has 3 NFL teams? ›

Which state has the most NFL teams? Currently, California, Florida, and New York are tied for the most NFL teams, with three each. Prior to 2020, when the Raiders left for Las Vegas, California held the title of most NFL teams, with four.

The Cardinals are the oldest continuously run professional football franchise in the United States, and, along with the Chicago Bears, are the only NFL charter member franchises still in operation. In 1960, the team moved to St.

The Bears have been owned by the same family for longer than any other family has owned an NFL team. George Halas had initially intended for Virginia's younger brother George "Mugs" Halas Jr. to inherit the team, and passed the team presidency to him in 1963. However, Mugs died suddenly of a heart attack in 1979.

The Houston Texans are the youngest NFL franchise, joining the league in 2002.

The Bears have been owned by the same family for longer than any other family has owned an NFL team. George Halas had initially intended for Virginia's younger brother George "Mugs" Halas Jr. to inherit the team, and passed the team presidency to him in 1963. However, Mugs died suddenly of a heart attack in 1979.

Most experts agree that the oldest division is the NFC North, because the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings have all been in the same division or conference since the Vikings joined the league in 1961.