Current State of Affairs: NFL Expansion Plans And Teams

It’s not really a question as to whether the NFL will ever expand its league, but just when this expansion will happen. The League came out a couple few years ago making a statement about adding more teams to its current 32-team lineup by 2025. Which is only a year and nine months away, and while it might look like it’s too soon. It’s not as far-fetched as it seems considering the U.S. is filled with major cities that wish to have an NFL team to call home.

Cities like St. Louis already had an NFL team in the past, but lost the team will the owner of the team decide to relocate.  This si a dilemma that the city of Chicago might be going through in the near future since the Bears have gone so far as to buy a new property in Arlington Heights. After the state promised to help build a new stadium for the NFL team which is currently still playing in the oldest stadium in the league. 

Chicago wants to renovate Soldier Field again rather than put up money for a whole new stadium. The Bears don’t seem to be going for it, but if the city goes through with the renovations anyway. Chicago will at least have a stadium ready to go for a new team, and the city has the population for it.

Europe

Then again the NFL isn’t just trying to expand in the U.S. anymore. The League has expressed interest in expanding internationally and has come up with the idea to have as many as 4 teams in Europe. 

A popular city in the country already has a relationship with the NFL. London has hosted one to three NFL games every NFL season since 2007 when the international series started. The city definitely has to be an NFL favorite to add a team to. 

Asian Countries?

Some people have theorized the NFL is expanding to other countries with huge populations overseas such as Tokyo, Japan, and Sydney Australia.

Canada 

A city a little closer to home that would definitely be considered is Toronto, Canada. After all the city of Toronto already has an NBA team linked to it, the Toronto Raptors, the country could be looking to add a professional football team to its roster. Obviously, some of these cities would seem out of reach while others are pretty much guaranteed if the NFL proposed the idea. Either way, an NFL expansion is inevitable at this point with all the stars aligning. 

There are too many major cities without an NFL team ready to accompany one, and officials have stated the NFL wants to have at least 40 teams in the future. While that number probably won’t be reached by 2025, it is plausible for the NFL to add one to two more teams by then.