Twelve Cities That Could Be Get An NFL Team In the Next Round Of Expansion

The NFL hasn’t added a team to the league since 2002, when the Houston Texans came along to give the league an even 32 teams. But, surely the league won’t stay there forever, and these twelve cities, some domestic, some international, could be part of the next round of expansion.

It’s been over twenty years since the NFL last added a franchise, with the Houston Texans joining the league in 2002. This is the longest the NFL has ever gone without adding franchise, and it seems as if expansion in the next ten years would make sense. The game continues to grow both domestically and internationally, and the appetite for more games and more franchises is definitely there.

These twelve cities, six in the USA and six outside of it, would make potentially good fits for an NFL team in the next round of expansion

Portland, Oregon

Long overlooked as a sports town, Portland loves their NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers and would certainly be able to support an NFL team. There are over 2 million residents in the Portland metro that are starving for more sports teams, and they would have a natural rivalry with the Seattle Seahawks almost immediately. The city absolutely packs Providence Park, home of the MLS team Portland Timbers and NWSL team Portland Thorns. And, a new stadium that is big enough for an NFL team could also house those two teams as soccer continues to grow in the United States.

The biggest obstacle is the political climate, as it would be hard to see local leaders being able to give out the massive amount of public funds the NFL likes to get to biuld new stadiums without serious pushback at the ballot box.

St. Louis, Missouri

Rams owner Stan Kroenke ripped the Rams out of the city following the 2015 season, despite a loyal following through good years and bad. The opportunity to go to Los Angeles and play in a brand new stadium is tough for any owner to pass up, but St. Louis has shown that it’s a great sports town. The fans flock to watch MLB’s Cardinals and NHL’s Blues, and even led the XFL in attendance with the St. Louis Battlehawks. They drew around 35,000 fans a game, over double every other team in the league. The appetite is clearly there, and fans would support it.

But, would St. Louis be a flashy enough landing spot for the NFL? Commissioner Goodell could have his eyes set on bigger targets.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is one of the most underrated cities in America, and they love their sports. The rapidly growing and diversifying city has always supported the Jazz, get 15,000 people routinely to watch college gymnastics, and did an excellent job hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics. Speaking of the Olympics, it seems likely that the city will host another Olympics in the next decade or so, and that would provide a perfect opportunity for a stadium to be built to host a Salt Lake City expansion franchise.

There is a reputation of Salt Lake as a boring city due to its heritage as the home of the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints, and that may be tough to overcome. But, that boring reputation is being shed quickly. And, with only one team, the Denver Broncos, in that part of the country, there would be plenty of fans that would flock to a new team in Salt Lake City.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City absolutely wants to be a major player in the professional sports scene, and there is the financial backing of the natural resource industry to bring a team there. The city famously “stole” the Seattle SuperSonics, and have been home to the Thunder for fifteen years now. And, it’s in a part of the country that absolutely loves football and can’t get enough of it.

Like St. Louis, the question would be if Oklahoma City is flashy enough for the NFL to award them a franchise, as there will be other cities that may have more appeal in that area.

Memphis, Tennessee

Yes, Tennessee does already have a team in the Tennessee Titans. But, Memphis is nearly three hours away, and is culturally the home of the deep south. Memphis has been an excellent host of the NBA’s Grizzlies since the team relocated from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001, and it’s a city that has a unique identity and culture that supports anything Memphis. Plus, with being so close to Arkansas and Mississippi, it would instantly be the “home” team for many in those two states.

But, the deep south has always loved their college football more than the NFL, and Memphis is a melting pot of a lot of different fan bases. An NFL team there could play second-fiddle to college football Saturdays.

Austin, Texas

Long considered one of the centers of the counter-culture movement in the USA, Austin has grown up and is now a corporate center chock-full of wealthy tech companies. The old money in the city is all about the Texas Longhorns, but the new generation are from areas more geared towards professional sports. And, at just under a million people in the city limits alone, Austin is the largest city in the USA without a professional sports team in the major four leagues.

The downside is that the city is full of either transplants, diehard college football fans, or Texans and Cowboys fans. It’s unclear just how big the fan base would be.

London, England

Since the NFL first staged a regular season game in London sixteen years ago, people have been talking about the potential of an NFL franchise going across the pond and London permanently hosting a team. And, when the NFL decides to expand overseas, and they will, London will be the first team outside of North America to get a team. One of the world’s most important cities boasts the infrastructure, the existing stadium(s), and plenty of cash to make it happen. Games always sell out, and Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium was built with an NFL franchise calling it home in mind. Financially, it’s the most lucrative expansion spot for the league as a whole by a significant margin.

Of course, like many international locations, the issue is logistics. Could they make the travel schedule work? Would the NFL have to create an entire division of European teams? Would players want to play there? These are all unanswered questions.

Munich, Germany

Munich hosted its first NFL regular season game last year, while fellow German city Frankfurt will host two games this season. For me, Munich is the better candidate due to it being a bigger city overall and is the most affluent city in Germany. I think Germany is ripe for an NFL team, as well, as Germans loved NFL Europe while it was active in the 90s and 2000s, with five teams based there. Football seems to fit German culture more than other European countries, and German sports fans are known for being awesome. If the NFL were to do a full division of teams in Europe, Munich would get a team.

The problems are the same as London, but exacerbated a little extra. Munich is another 700 miles east of London, adding even more travel time and jet lag. Still, this is a likely international expansion slot.

Toronto, Canada

Technically international, Toronto would more-or-less be the 33rd domestic team, just like how MLB’s Blue Jays and NBA’s Raptors are. The Buffalo Bills have flirted with a move to Toronto for years, but with the Bills building a new stadium, that’s not going to happen. Still, the city is hungry for an NFL team, and there are plenty of NFL fans in Canada that would root for Toronto in a city that has approximately the same metropolitan population as Miami.

But, this option has the least upside of any of the international options, as you’re not really tapping a new market. Rather, you’d just be getting fans of current NFL teams do be fans of Toronto’s team. It would be a reshuffling of deck chairs. Their best bet of getting a team was likely the Bills not being able to get a stadium deal done.

Tokyo, Japan

Asia is likely the next frontier for the NFL, and Japan will be the top target. The nation already has some familiarity with American football, with a somewhat burgeoning college football scene. And, obviously, Tokyo is just a massive metro, the biggest in the world at 39.1 million people. It’s the world’s fourth-biggest economy and shares similar economic views with the United States, and Tokyo is already one of the biggest players in world finance. There would be massive support in a market that is basically all upside, and the hope would be that those in other countries of the region, like South Korea and China, adopt the Tokyo team as theirs.

But, even compared to London and Munich, the logistics of travel is an absolute nightmare. It’s around a ten-hour flight from Los Angeles, and the time change is brutal. This seems like a location that the NFL would love to do for revenue, but would make it hard to keep competitive balance and fairness.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Economists for decades have been saying that Brazil is going to make a leap economically. And while they have, it may not be as far along as many hoped. Still, it’s the world’s ninth-largest economy, and Rio is one of the most important cities anywhere in the world. Soccer is king, and will always be king, but there is the money and population to support an NFL franchise. And, the time zone is just an hour behind Eastern Time, so that wouldn’t be a factor.

But, there are some definite downsides. Yes, the economy is growing and will continue to grow not just in Brazil, but in South America as a whole. But, it’s simply not at the level as the other international cities mentioned so far, and there are some areas of the city that are as poor as any in the developed world. And, while time zones aren’t a factor, it is still a nine-hour flight from Miami, and that’s quite a bit of travel time. Plus, the political situation in Brazil has been frequently tenuous, and that may not be a headache the risk-averse NFL wants to deal with.

Mexico City, Mexico

Another location that has hosted NFL games in the past, Mexico City makes more sense than Toronto, in my opinion, for an NFL franchise. First, Mexico City, and Mexico in general, is simply much more populated than Canada. The metro population is around five times bigger than Toronto, and the population of Mexico is over three-times as big. And, the city has hosted NFL games before with big success, routinely selling out with crowds that would be in the upper-echelon of regular NFL crowds. Plus, the NFL claims that there are around 50 million NFL fans in Mexico City. And, travel wouldn’t really be an issue. Flights from any current NFL city are around six hours or less, and time zones won’t be a factor. Mexico’s economy is big, too, as it’s the 12th-biggest in the world.

The biggest problem is the instability of both Mexico itself and USA-Mexico relations as a whole. Like Rio de Janiero, I’m not sure the NFL would be willing to take on the risk of having a franchise there, fair or not. And, many of those NFL fans are already longtime fans of established teams. Also, despite the large population, I don’t think the television rights package would add as much as locations in Europe or even Tokyo would add, either.