These Are The States Without NFL Teams

There are 32 teams in the National Football League and 50 states in the U.S. If the average person who doesn’t follow the NFL might automatically assume that means there are only eighteen states without their own NFL team, they would be wrong. States like California, Florida, and Texas have two or more teams and often entertain the idea of adding more. Some states don’t even have the qualifications to have their own NFL team, and the NFL wouldn’t even consider giving the state their own team. Some states value minor leagues or the love for college football is just so overwhelming. An NFL team just would have no chance of thriving in the state. Other states are just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself to take a shot at landing its own NFL team. Either way there are 28 states without an NFL team here they are:

Virgina

Virginia is the most populated state without a NFL team. Virginia has no teams belonging to a major sports league. Some people blame it on the lack of a major city in the state. The Washington Commanders are a favorite for the people to root for, and with the owner looking to relocate the team in the next few years. Virginia is one of the potential states on the list to land the team. Other teams the people root for are the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans.

West Virginia

It is believed West Virginia doesn’t have the population to support an NFL team. West Virginia is located close enough to other cities who do have NFL teams like Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Therefore diminishing the ability to attract an NFL team even more, and it is likely the state doesn’t see a point in trying to get one either. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, and Washington Commanders are all favorites for the people in WV to root for.

Utah

Utah is one of the many states who don’t have an NFL team because the population isn’t big enough. The state’s major city Salt Lake City only has 200,000 people, and that’s not enough to attract the NFL to expand there. Neighboring teams the Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals are people of Utah favorite to root for. Idaho is another state with no NFL team because they don’t have what it takes to support any major league sports team. Although some people do believe it could change in a couple of years with cities like Boise being on the rise in population and infrastructure growth. The Seattle Seahawks are close enough to consider to be local, so most people in Idaho probably root for them.

Montana

Montana has no NFL team because there isn’t a city big enough to build a fanbase to support one. The citizens of Montana have been known to root for the Seattle Seahawks or the Denver Broncos.

Wyoming

Wyoming doesn’t have an NFL team because of a lack of population. The state’s cities have by far the smallest populations. Cheyenne, one of Wyoming’s major cities, only has 64,610 people. The Denver Broncos are the go to NFL team for Wyoming.

New Mexico

Most people say New Mexico, like so many other states, doesn’t have the population to support an NFL team, but others claim the city of Albuquerque deserves an NFL team. But some say the city wouldn’t be able to bring in enough broadcasting views which is vital to the NFL. Because the TV market is how the NFL brings in a good portion of its revenue. People in New Mexico tend to root for the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys or the Arizona Cardinals.

Alabama

Football has a strong presence in the state of Alabama with the state having one of the best college football programs in the country. That is actually part of the problem many believe an NFL team wouldn’t work in the state not only because of a small population. But the state’s love for college football would overshadow a professional football team. The Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, or the Carolina Panthers are the top choices for Alabama’s citizens to root for.

Iowa

Iowa is another state with a strong college football presence but no NFL team, and just like Alabama. A NFL team would have a hard time matching up to the college football teams. Not to mention the largest populated city Des Moines doesn’t have a big enough population or a company willing to sponsor an NFL team. The state is surrounded by three major NFL teams and most people root for the Minnesota Vikings or the Green Bay Packers. A few might root for the Chicago Bears considering they are an option.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma doesn’t have the population to support an NFL team. The market is too small so the NFL probably wouldn’t even think to expand in the state. Oklahoma does have major college football teams though. At this point most people in Oklahoma are probably just rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs who just won the Super Bowl, but other NFL teams that are favorites for Oklahoma are the Houston Texans or the Dallas Cowboys.

Arkansas

Arkansas doesn’t seem to have an NFL team because of its population, and a number of other states surrounding it with one. The people who live in Arkansas have a number of teams too choose to root for. The list includes the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs, and the New Orleans Saints.

Delaware

There doesn’t seem to be much reason as to why Delaware doesn’t have a NFL team of its own, but if it is anyone’s guess it’s probably for the same reasons. So many other states don’t have one; the state simply doesn’t have the market to sustain one. The citizens of Delaware tend to root for the Philadelphia Eagles, who is the neighboring team. The New England Patriots, New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have also been linked to NFL fans in Delaware.

Kansas

While there is a widely popular NFL team in the league that bears the state’s name in its title. Kansas itself doesn’t have a NFL team of their own, as the Kansas City Chiefs belong to Missouri. That probably doesn’t stop the people in the state from claiming the nearby team as their own, and you better believe that’s the Chiefs are who they root for especially considering the current Super Bowl win.

Kentucky

Kentucky is another state known for its love for college sports, and the NFL doesn’t want one of their teams being outshined by a college football team. Plus the people in Kentucky already have teams that they root for. Most people are rooting for the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, or the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mississippi

Mississippi has no NFL team of its own and it’s probably due to the population and the fact that most of the state is made up of rural areas. The state couldn’t possibly rack up enough ticket sales to justify having their NFL team. People who live in the state root for the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, or the Atlanta Falcons.

Nebraska

Nebraska has a professional sports team but no major league sports team. Some people think it is something that could change in the future when the NFL expands the league. Omaha might be a city that could be a home to a NFL team. For now people in Nebraska root for neighboring teams like the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs.

North Dakota

North Dakota doesn’t have an NFL team because of a lack of population. The state wouldn’t bring in enough profit to support an NFL team. The people in North Dakota root for the Minnesota Vikings.

South Dakota

South Dakota is in the same boat as its counterpart North Dakota. The state has no NFL team simply because it can’t afford one. That’s not the only thing the states have in common with each other. The people in South Dakota also tend to root for the Minnesota Vikings.

Oregon

Oregon doesn’t have a NFL team and it can’t really be blamed on its population. In the past the state has done everything in its power to get an NFL team of its own. So it wasn’t from a lack of trying or opportunities. Football has always held a major presence in the state with college football teams. Back in the 1960s there were multiple times the city of Portland almost had an NFL team.

When the league was looking to expand Portland was on the list, but it’s possible they lost out to Seattle, and a second chance came along Al Davis wanted to relocate the Oakland Raiders, but Portland lost out on the Raiders because a few leaders voted no. In 1964 Oregon lost out on another opportunity to attract a NFL team. When voters voted against using a 25 million dollar treasure bond building a new stadium with a 45,000 seat capacity. Instead the people of Oregon have to settle for rooting for the Seattle Seahawks, or the San Francisco 49ers.

Connecticut | Maine | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | Vermont

While none of these five states have any NFL team of their own. All five of them are an exception because they are all part of New England. Which means all of them are represented by the New England Patriots, so there the NFL probably has no interest in trying to expand to one of these states, and competing with the Patriots’s dynasty. At one point though back in 1994 Robert Kraft was on board with the idea of moving the Patriots from Foxborough, Massachusetts to Hartford, Connecticut due to Massasschusetts not wanting to give the Patriots a new Stadium.

Connecticut made a generous offer and even though Kraft didn’t want to move the team. He was backed into a corner, but in the end the looming threat of the Patriots leaving Massachusetts did the trick, and the Patriots got their new stadium and stayed in Foxborough. Some Connecticut never got over losing out on the Patriots, and some people go so far as to root for the New York Jets in retaliation.

Hawaii

Hawaii has a stadium called Aloha Stadium located in Honolulu, and it’s one the most popular travel destinations in the world. Despite its small population the state could definitely support an NFL team, but they don’t have one simply because of its location. Hawaii is located too far from other NFL cities, and there would be too many travel hardships other teams would have to undergo to make the trip. The top teams people in Hawaii root for are the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Dallas Cowboys.

Alaska

Alaska faces the same problems Hawaii does with having their own NFL team, the state currently doesn’t have one. Anchorage has a growing population and could attract a NFL team in the future, but the state geographic location would make travel hard for other NFL teams. The Seattle Seahawks are the closest team to Alaska so it’s the NFL team the people most likely root for.