NFL Expansion Ideas

Expansion is something that Americans have always been doing. Manifest Destiny is deep in our roots. And in football it’s no different. In fact we’re actually a little bit overdue for another team. The last time they expanded was 2002 with the Houston Texans.

There’s some criteria that you need in order to have a franchise
1.) Population/ Market size
2.) Stadium
3.) Funding
4.) Public Interest
5.) Good Local Economy
Here’s 8 New Cities that could potentially host an NFL franchise. Spoiler alert London wouldn’t work stop believing in that nonsense

Portland Oregon: Portland Pioneers
One thing that you need is enough separation from another franchise. California likely won’t get a 4th team back after the Oakland Raiders leave for Vegas. And Seattle is far enough away as well. So geographically it makes sense and it’s one of the biggest cities in the US to not have an NFL team. Definitely in the top 25 largest US Cities beating out other current NFL cities including Baltimore, Atlanta, and Kansas City. They also have the 22nd largest Television Market. The Trailblazers and Timbers are both well supported. That doesn’t necessarily translate to success in football but with both Oregon and Oregon State in college football it’s a good sign. Overall the only major con is the stadium. They would have to build one which could be a tough hurdle but other than that they have a really decent chance in my book.

Montreal Canada: Montreal Wolf Pack
To be fair I could also see Toronto working as well seeing as they were rumored with relocation of the Buffalo Bills. Anyway Montreal would be a good idea since the NFL doesn’t have any international teams. The MLB has thought about the idea of going back to Montreal someday but this is a good time for the NFL to make a move. They potentially have a large market and some football interest. Definitely worth a shot.

Memphis Tennessee: Memphis Greyhounds
Memphis actually almost got an NFL team in the 90s however instead they were bypassed in favor of Jacksonville and Carolina. Funny enough they actually did exist in a bizarre Canadian league in 1995 as the Memphis Mad Dogs. They would finish 9-9. One thing Memphis has in their favor is a stadium. The Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium hosts the Memphis Tigers college football team and the annual Liberty Bowl. It’s not quite NFL level but if the Chargers can play in a 30,000 seat soccer stadium Memphis can host an NFL team. The Football market is there and who wouldn’t want to see an interesting Memphis/ Tennessee Titans rivalry? There’s a lot of potential here for sure

Mexico City Mexico: Mexico City Diablos: The NFL wants to go international but London is 8 hours ahead of the West Coast making it a little bit impractical along with other issues. Mexico City however is a much more viable option. They definitely have the market size and they will likely have the passion for their team. May need a new stadium but that’s more than doable for one of the largest cities in North America

Oklahoma City Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Cyclones: With the success of the Thunder OKC actually makes a lot of sense. They’re far enough away from Dallas and KC to have a fair market size. Also not to mention that there’s already a passion for football in Oklahoma. Just look at the OU Sooners and OSU Cowboys. Two passionate fanbases who could support an NFL franchise. Might have to wait for a new stadium but other than that this is a decent option to consider
Salt Lake City Utah: Salt Lake Cougars
Salt Lake is a growing community which is a good sign. Sure you can say they didn’t really support their AAF team very well but still (did anyone really?) They already support the Jazz and Utah Utes so supporting An NFL team isn’t to tall of a task. Especially when you consider their in a no mans land. Stuck between Denver and Vegas with the entire Northwest to work with (Idaho Montana, Wyoming, etc) there’s definitely some potential here

San Antonio Texas: San Antonio Spartans
There’s been a lot of people saying San Antonio should get an NFL team. The City has proved they can host a professional sports team. The Spurs have always had relatively decent numbers in attendance but with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans already established it will be tough for any new team to build a fanbase especially right out of the gates considering most expansion teams fail at first. And if anything the Cowboys owner and league influencer Jerry Jones would not necessarily be on board With the idea. But the Raiders did consider San Antonio early in their relocation process. And San Antonio has the Alamodome which hosted the Saints during Hurricane Katerina proving that it is NFL caliber
Omaha Nebraska: Omaha OutlawsNebraska is kinda in a sports no mans land. I’m talking about the northern plains. North Dakota South Dakota Iowa. Parts of Wyoming and Montana etc. Factoring that into the equation and there’s a market there. Also not to mention that Nebraskans themselves are already football fanatics. The Cornhuskers have had a diehard loyal following even though they have been bottom of the Big 10 Barrel for a few years now. Even with close proximity to KC I think they could make it work.

This is also not factoring San Diego Oakland or St Louis. All cities abandoned by the NFL. The other thing that needs to happen is Division realignment. I propose a 40 team league with 8 divisions across two conferences. Each division consisting of 5 teams now

AFC East
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Buffalo Bills
Baltimore Ravens
Montreal Wolf Pack*

AFC South
Tennessee Titans
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Miami Dolphins
Memphis Greyhounds*

AFC West
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Salt Lake Cougars*
Las Vegas Raiders

AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts
Washington Redskins

NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys
Oklahoma City Cyclones*
Carolina Panthers

NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons
Mexico City Diablos*
San Antonio Spartans*

NFC North
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears
Omaha Outlaws*

NFC West
Arizona Cardinals
Seattle Seahawks
LA Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Portland Pioneers*

Playoffs would consist of 4 division winners from each side of the bracket and 3 wild card spots meaning that the top seed gets a bye while the other teams have to play

Ex:
1.

2/WC1
3/WC2
4/WC3

Then 1/4
2/3 in the next round and the winners of that in the Conference Championship.

It would be interesting to see what happens but it would definitely shake up the league. What do you think? Agreed? Disagree?
Have other Cities in mind?

Comments

Really interesting idea to expand it to 40 teams. - visitor (11/10/2019)

If they go to 40 they almost have to go international but keep it in North America. London is not a good option. I don’t know why everyone thinks it’s a good idea - visitor (11/10/2019)

Tennessee already has a team in Nashville so I don't think Memphis will ever happen. I think Toronto deserves more than just the Argonauts. - visitor (11/10/2019)

Yeah that’s a good point. If Memphis gets a team they will have a rivalry with the already established Titans both on the field and for the fans. It could go either way. If they go to Canada I see either Toronto or Montreal working out. Probably not both at this point but in the future I could see it happening - visitor (11/10/2019)

Interesting post, though things would get really weird with the re-positioning of the divisions. - PackFan2005 (11/16/2019)

Yeah divisions would be interesting. It would have to depend entirely on where the teams are located and how many teams are added - visitor (11/16/2019)

I could see the idea of having an international team like Canada, Mexico or London having their team sounds like a good idea seeing the NBA, and NHL has been able to do well with expanding in that aspect. - visitor (11/18/2019)

Very good post. You should do something similar for NBA. - 2storm (11/22/2019)