Top 10 Best Cities that Need an NFL Team

Hello everybody! Welcome to our website. Thank you,, guys, so much for joining me today. We are going to be doing something a little bit different. I’m really excited about it, though.

We are going to be looking at 10 cities that could do really well if the NFL was looking to expand. So, this is going to be an interesting list. Let’s hop right into it.

Top 10 Best Cities that Need an NFL Team

10. Louisville, Kentucky

• Population: 1.28 million
• Current Pro Teams: None
• Potential Benefits: Strong university support, potential stadium use, statewide fanbase

Louisville has a metro population of 1.28 million, which is in theory big enough to get a franchise. They currently have no pro sports teams, which would give the fans something to rally behind and really support and look forward to on the weekends.

They’ve supported the University of Louisville really well, and they could use their stadium while funding another one if that would be needed. Louisville could be a really good franchise because they currently do not have a pro sports team, whether that’s NBA, NFL, or NHL.

They do not have a pro team to support, so a lot of Kentucky and Louisville would be able to rally behind this team and support them, which could be a really great thing for the NFL.

9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Population: 1.44 million
• Current Pro Teams: NBA’s Thunder
• Potential Benefits: Statewide fanbase, natural rivalries with Houston and Dallas, strong college football support

This would, much like Kentucky, be a team for all of Oklahoma. They do not currently have any football franchises. They do have the Thunder, though. The Thunder have been able to draw some pretty good support in the NBA, and the Sooners in college have done a great job pulling fans from all across the state.

This area has a metro population of 1.44 million, and it could draw even from other markets like Tulsa and other parts of Oklahoma. Having a team in Oklahoma City would also create natural rivalries with Houston and Dallas, and it could be a really fun way to get Oklahoma involved in the NFL.

8. San Diego, California

• Population: 3.2 million
• Current Pro Teams: None (since Chargers moved to LA)
• Potential Benefits: Passionate fanbase, favorable weather, potential for Chargers return or new expansion team

San Diego had the Chargers not long ago at all. They decided to leave and move to LA. This was really disappointing for a lot of fans. They felt very spurned by Dean Spanos, and they already have a more passionate fan base than in LA. They have a metro population of 3.2 million people, which, even with two LA teams, this city could certainly support an NFL franchise.

I could see the Chargers moving back at some point. However, if the NFL wanted to expand back into San Diego and the Chargers weren’t willing to move, this could be a great place for an expansion team. There’s great weather, fans that are already passionate and want NFL football back, and they just have the Padres now to support—no other sports franchises. So, these fans are certainly excited and would be wanting to support an NFL team.

7. Omaha, Nebraska

• Population: 971,000
• Current Pro Teams: None
• Potential Benefits: Strong college football culture, Midwest regional support, potential temporary use of University of Nebraska stadium

Now you may be thinking, Nebraska? Really? But Omaha has a metro population of 971,000. It would be smaller than most NFL franchises, but they could likely pull support from areas all around the Midwest, including Nebraska, Kansas, North and South Dakota, and Iowa.

The Cornhuskers do incredibly well in college football. They can pull in anywhere from 85,000 to 90,000 fans on a regular basis on any given Saturday. Nebraska also currently has no professional sports teams. These fans are likely dying to support a professional team, and they’re already very football-obsessed. As we mentioned, the Cornhuskers are incredibly popular in this area.

Unfortunately, you would probably need to get funding or investment for a stadium in this area, but you could play in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the University of Nebraska if they wanted to do so while they either wait for a new NFL stadium to be built, or you could just use that stadium and kind of be a full Nebraska team. Look these most beautiful Female Athletes in the World.

6. Salt Lake City, Utah

• Population: 1.25 million
• Current Pro Teams: NBA’s Jazz
• Potential Benefits: Proven pro sports support, regional fanbase from Ogden and Provo, potential use of University of Utah stadium

This area isn’t as small as many people think. You draw in support from Ogden and Provo, Utah, as well. It has a metro population of 1.25 million. One of the things that really drew me to Salt Lake City is that they have shown that they can support a professional team in this city.

The Utah Jazz have done a really good job regarding attendance in the NBA. They had the 10th highest attendance in 2022, which was ranked higher than San Francisco with the Warriors, Brooklyn with the Nets, and Denver with the Nuggets. So, they’ve certainly proven that they can support a professional team.

It would also create natural rivalries with the Broncos, Cardinals, and Raiders, so you could have some really fun matchups there. You could also use the University of Utah Stadium located in Salt Lake at least until a pro stadium is built, which is plenty big to house an NFL franchise.

5. Portland, Oregon

• Population: 2.51 million
• Current Pro Teams: NBA’s Trail Blazers
• Potential Benefits: Strong fanbase, rivalry potential with Seattle Seahawks, regional support from Northern California and Boise

This would be a really fun rivalry that could develop between the Seattle Seahawks and this Portland team, as they are pretty near each other. This city has supported the Portland Trail Blazers really well in the NBA. They have great fans, as well as supporting the college Oregon Ducks in Eugene.

They’ve done a great job drawing fan interest for that as well. You can pull fans from Northern California in areas like Oakland, who no longer have a team in the area. You could pull from all of Oregon and even some cities in the west like Boise.

Portland has a metro population of 2.51 million that is plenty large enough to support a franchise, and it would be a great way to expand to a state that doesn’t currently have pro football, while creating natural rivalries with the Seahawks and the 49ers, and just creating a lot of interest for football in the Pacific Northwest.

4. Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Population: Metro area of 6.4 million
• Current Pro Teams: NBA’s Raptors, NHL’s Maple Leafs
• Potential Benefits: International expansion, strong pro sports support, potential rivalries with Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland

Toronto would be a great way to expand internationally because it’s geographically located near other NFL teams such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland. The city has shown that they can support professional franchises because the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been incredibly successful in their respective leagues and have had great support throughout the years.

The only major issue with Toronto is that expanding into Canada would perhaps mean the end of the CFL, which Canada would likely not support. So, there may be some issues trying to negotiate the move into Canada, but from the NFL’s perspective, it would make tons of sense to expand into Toronto, Canada.

3. Mexico City, Mexico

• Population: 22.1 million
• Current Pro Teams: None
• Potential Benefits: Largest metro area in North America, strong fan support for NFL games, pro-ready stadium (Aztec Stadium)

isMexico City has a metro population of 22.1 million people, which is the largest in North America. The NFL has already played games in Mexico City and drew regular crowds of over 75,000 people. Mexico City has had great atmospheres with a really passionate fan base that are learning a rapidly growing sport in Mexico.

This is a great way to expand internationally while keeping the time zones and the travel at a reasonable rate. Mexico City to New York is pretty much the same as New York to Seattle. So, although the travel is a little bit longer than some NFL teams may have to go, this is a great way to expand internationally and grab a new fan base.

They also have a pro-ready stadium with the Aztec Stadium, which can hold roughly 87,000 people, which would allow for massive home crowds, which would be awesome for the NFL to see.

2. London, England

• Population: 14.2 million
• Current Pro Teams: None (NFL-hosted games only)
• Potential Benefits: International expansion, growing NFL fanbase, pro-ready stadiums (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium), potential European division

This is another international location that the NFL could expand to, and obviously, the NFL has been pushing for this to happen, and it likely eventually will. The fans here are very passionate. They’re becoming quite knowledgeable about the game because of how many games are being played here.

Not to mention, there are plenty of pro-ready stadiums, including the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which was built with NFL ball in mind, that could house these teams. The main concern with a London-based franchise is the travel, but this could work, especially if they end up adding an all-European division.

which I wouldn’t rule out because Roger Goodell has mentioned it in the past. London has a metro population of 14.2 million people, which would be just a massive addition to the NFL fan base, and you would probably bring in fans from all over England and Europe.

1. Austin and San Antonio, Texas

• Population: Combined 5 million
• Current Pro Teams: NBA’s Spurs (San Antonio), MLS’s Austin FC
• Potential Benefits: Rapid growth, football-obsessed region, potential use of Alamodome, shared market between two cities

This is an interesting number one because it’s two cities, but they are too close to have individual NFL franchises. You could share the markets and the benefits of an NFL team within these cities. It would be close enough for that to happen. There’s roughly 5 million people that live in Austin, San Antonio, and the area in between these cities.

Austin is the fastest-growing city in the United States. San Antonio already has 2.6 million people in its metro area, and between these two cities, they only have one NBA team and one MLS team to support. Austin has long supported the Longhorns in college football. San Antonio has done a great job supporting the Spurs, not to mention a pro-ready stadium in the Alamodome could be used as temporary housing for an NFL team in San Antonio.

This just makes so much sense as it’s an incredibly fast-growing area in the country, and not to mention, this area is absolutely football-obsessed, and Texas could certainly support a third NFL franchise. One of the big issues with this would be getting Jerry Jones to agree to another Texas franchise, which may not happen, but from the NFL’s perspective, it would make tons of sense to expand to Austin or San Antonio, Texas.

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