The NFL is the biggest and most popular sports league in North America. The league consists of 32 franchises across America.
However, the locations of these National Football League teams may not fully reflect the United States as a whole.
As expected, states with more lucrative markets boast more than one NFL team.
23 states currently have an NFL team, while 27 remain without. Nevada became the newest state to have a team, when the Oakland Raiders recently relocated to Las Vegas. But this didn’t leave California short of teams, as they and Florida have three football teams each, which is tied with most of any NFL state.
In this post, I uncover the states with multiple NFL teams and outline those with just one NFL team.
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States With 3 Or More NFL Teams
California State – 3 NFL Teams
Los Angeles is ranked the second largest market for professional sports teams in America. So, it’s no surprise that Los Angeles has two NFL teams: the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams. Include the San Francisco 49ers into the equation – it takes the California state total to three NFL teams.
the San Francisco 49ers are one of the most storied franchises in NFL history. They won five super bowls between 1982 and 1995 with Hall of Fame players including Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and Joe Montana.
The LA Rams were located in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1994 and they were the first NFL team to play in Los Angeles. They achieved a lot of success in the pre-Super Bowl era of the NFL.
In 1994 the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St Louis, Missouri, and won a Super Bowl in 1999 with Kurt Warner at quarterback. Nowadays the franchise is currently in its second spell of playing in Los Angeles, having returned to L.A. for the 2016 season, they went on to win Super Bowl 56.
The Los Angeles Chargers also returned to L.A. in recent years. They played their first-ever season in L.A. in 1960 before moving to San Diego the following year. In 2017, the Chargers returned to L.A. and now share SoFi Stadium with the Rams.
Florida State – 3 NFL Teams
The state of Florida ties California with the most NFL teams in the state.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the NFL in 1976. They lost every game of their opening season. But the times have changed since then. A Jay Gruden-led Tampa Bay team won the Super Bowl in 2002. And then the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, decided to sign with them in 2020, which led to another Lombardi Trophy.
The most successful team in the Sunshine State is the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were a dominant tea throughout the Don Shula-led 1970s. In 1972, they became the first team to complete a perfect NFL season, Finishing with a 14-0 record.
In the 1980s, Dan Marino emerged as one of the league’s best quarterbacks and became the first player to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season. The Fins won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1972 and 1973.
Despite numerous rumours of the franchise relocating, the Jacksonville Jaguars round off the third team in Florida.
The Jags are the newest team in Florida, only entering the league in 1995. They enjoyed early success by reaching the playoffs in four out of their first five seasons. They had a slump through the 2010s, but the emergence of Trevor Lawrence has Jaguar fans feeling hopeful yet again.
States With 2 NFL Teams
Texas State – 2 NFL Teams
Texas is the second largest state in America, behind Alaska – football is by far the most popular sport in the state.
The Dallas Cowboys is the most lucrative sports franchise in the world. They are nicknamed America’s Team and have won five Super Bowls in their rich history. They have enjoyed several spells of success from the 70s to the present day.
Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach and Hall of Fame head coach Tom Landry led the Cowboys to Super Bowl wins in 1972 and 1978.
Then Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith led the Cowboys to be a dominant team throughout the 90s and won three Super Bowls in the process.
The Cowboys remain one of the most coveted and talked about NFL football teams despite not reaching a National Football Conference (NFC) championship game in over 25 years.
A void was left in Houston when the Oilers franchise left the city to relocate to Nashville. However, the Houston Texans entered the league as an expansion franchise in 2002.
The Texans have made the playoffs six times in their 20-year history. The team looked poised to become a constant playoff team when they drafted Deshaun Watson in 2017. But after some controversies, he was traded to Cleveland.
Houston Texans are currently one of the worst teams in the NFL franchise. They have a 7-26-1 record over the past two seasons and are the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Pennsylvania State – 2 NFL Teams
Pennsylvania has two NFL teams with incredibly passionate fan bases. The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the best teams in the NFL, as they reached the Super Bowl this past season.
While The Pittsburgh Steelers remain synonymous with the NFL, they are on a promising rebuild since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.
New Jersey State – 2 NFL Teams
New Jersey has two NFL teams that identify as being out with the state. The Giants and Jets both call themselves New York.
While most teams in the NFL don’t actually play in the city they’re named after. For example, the Dallas Cowboys actually play in Arlington, around 20 miles West of Dallas. But the Jets and Giants both share MetLife Stadium, which is also about 20 miles away from NYC; however, it is in a different state.
It’s a much-argued point, especially when the Giants won a Super Bowl, and there were complaints that their parade was in Manhattan.
Maryland State – 2 NFL Teams
A state many might not believe has two NFL teams. The Baltimore Ravens are, of course, based in the state; however, so are the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders may identify with Washington D.C., but they play their home games at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Ohio State – 2 NFL Teams
The Cleveland Browns fanbase is among the sport’s most diehard and loyal fanbases.
Cleveland fans had to endure a 52-year world championship drought from all their professional sports teams. And as this was happening, the Browns organization was a dumpster fire.
Made even worse in recent years as they have had to watch their in-state rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals achieve great success with Joe Burrow.
States With 1 NFL Team
- Arizona – Cardinals
- Colorado – Denver Broncos
- Georgia – Atalanta Falcons
- Illinois – Chicago Bears
- Indiana – Indianapolis Colts
- Louisiana – New Orleans Saints
- Massachusetts – New England Patriots
- Michigan – Detroit Lions
- Minnesota – Vikings
- Missouri – Kansas City Chiefs
- Nevada – Las Vegas Raiders
- New York – Buffalo Bills
- North Carolina – Carolina Panthers
- Tennessee – Titans
- Washington – Seattle Seahawks
- Wisconsin – Green Bay Packers
