Throughout the years, a number of teams in theNational Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.
In its early years, the NFL was not stable and teams moved frequently to survive, or folded only to be resurrected in a different city with the same players and owners. TheGreat Depression era saw most small-town NFL teams move to larger cities. Several franchises merged during World War II because many players were in the military. Few, if any, of these moves and mergers drew much controversy.
Franchise moves became far more controversial in the late 20th century when a vastly more popular NFL, free from financial instability, allowed many teams to leave to abandon long-held strongholds for perceived financially greener pastures.
In 1966,Pete Rozelle promisedCongress that franchises would not move, a promise made to secure a law exempting the league from certain aspects ofantitrust laws, thus making possible theAFL–NFL merger. Despite Rozelle's promise, several franchises have moved since the merger and the passage of the law (Public Law 89-800) that sanctioned it. While owners invariably cited financial difficulties as the primary factor in such moves, many fans bitterly disputed these contentions, especially inBaltimore,St. Louis, andCleveland, each of which eventually received teams some years after their original franchises moved.
TheSan Diego–Tijuana market is currently the largest U.S. metropolitan area (and only one with over 3.2 million residents) without an NFL franchise. The only other city to be seriously considered in the country in recent times wasSan Antonio, Texas, which was examined by the Raiders in 2014 before they chose Las Vegas.
The NFL considers these teams to be continuous franchises that have moved to a new metropolitan area.
The list includes franchises from the 1960sAmerican Football League that moved during that league's existence. The NFL and AFLagreed to merge in 1966; the merger took effect in 1970. All AFL franchises were accepted into the NFL, and the NFL incorporated the AFL's history, records, and statistics. In chronological order:
Newark Tornadoes: The Newark franchise was forfeited to the league and ordered to be disposed of to the highest bidder after the 1930 season. With no takers, the league owned-and-operatedCleveland Indians of 1931 took the Tornadoes' place, which in turn was filled by theBoston Braves (nowWashington Commanders franchise) in 1932. So, while it is possible that Newark or Cleveland franchise was sold to the Boston group in 1932, there is no documentation available. The Tornadoes themselves joined the minor-leagueAmerican Association later in the 1930s and adopted the nameNewark Bears.
Philadelphia Eagles andPittsburgh Steelers corporate entities and players (but not franchises) swap cities after the 1940 NFL season after complex ownership deal.
Boston Yanks franchise to New York City as theNew York Bulldogs in 1949 (separate franchise but same owner and players)
Dallas Texans: operated out ofHershey, Pennsylvania, for the last five games of the 1952 NFL season, playing their last three games inAkron, Ohio. Franchise folded after season's end and players awarded to newBaltimore Colts franchise in 1953
Cleveland Browns: toBaltimore as theRavens in 1996. In 1995, Browns ownerArt Modell announced plans to move the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore for the1996 NFL season. The NFL, the city ofCleveland and Modell reached an agreement whereby the Browns franchise and history would remain in Cleveland to be resurrected by 1999. Modell was given a new franchise for Baltimore, made up of players from the1995 Cleveland Browns. For more information on this particular move, seeCleveland Browns relocation controversy.
TheBrooklyn Tigers (the sameBrooklyn team that moved fromDayton in 1930) andBoston Yanks, merged initially for the 1945 season, as simply "The Yanks." The team split home games between Brooklyn and Boston. The merger became permanent, as theBoston Yanks, after the Brooklyn franchise moved in 1946.
New York Jets: from Manhattan (Polo Grounds) to Queens (Shea Stadium) in 1964 and to East Rutherford, New Jersey (Giants Stadium/MetLife Stadium) in 1984
New York Jets: The Jets' October 21, 1973, home game vs. thePittsburgh Steelers was moved toThree Rivers Stadium due to theNew York Mets' participation in that season'sWorld Series. Even though the Mets' last home game in the World Series was on Thursday, October 18 (Game 5), the contract betweenNew York City, the Mets and Jets required the stadium be available for the Mets until the conclusion of their season. Game 7 of the World Series, on October 21, was at theOakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
New York Giants: The Giants played their home games at theYale Bowl for most of 1973 and all of 1974, and inShea Stadium in 1975 whileGiants Stadium was under construction. The Giants leftYankee Stadium after week two of the 1973 season, when the stadium in The Bronx closed for two years of renovations.
Seattle Seahawks: Played three games in 1994 atHusky Stadium as theKingdome was undergoing emergency repairs, and returned there for the entire 2000 and 2001 seasons before Seahawks Stadium (nowLumen Field) was completed.
The roof of theMetrodome collapsed from heavy snowfall and high winds on December 12, 2010, forcing the Vikings' home game against theNew York Giants to be postponed and played on Monday, December 13 atFord Field inDetroit. Minnesota's next home game was moved toTCF Bank Stadium on the campus of theUniversity of Minnesota while repairs to the roof took place.
The Vikings returned to TCF Bank Stadium for the 2014 and 2015 seasons after the Metrodome was demolished andU.S. Bank Stadium was being built on that site.
Due to a severe snow storm in late November 2014, the Buffalo Bills' home game against the New York Jets in week 12 was moved to Ford Field in Detroit. It was also postponed from Sunday, November 23 to Monday, November 24, with local markets showing the game on CBS: the Bills had already played in Detroit in 2014, defeating the Lions, 17–14, on October 5.
Another severe snowstorm in November 2022 forced the Bills' home game vs. the Browns in week 11 to be moved to Detroit, but remained on Sunday, November 20. The Bills won 31–23.
By the start of the 1920 APFA season, the nascent National Football League was composed of 15 franchises. Of those teams, only two are still in operation as of 2025[update] (denoted inbold):
Akron Pros: Changed name to Akron Indians in 1926, but shut down in 1927.
Buffalo All-Americans: Changed name to Buffalo Bisons in 1924, Buffalo Rangers in 1926, and changed back to Buffalo Bisons in 1927 before suspending operations halfway through 1927. They resumed play in 1929, but folded after the season. City is currently represented by theBuffalo Bills, a charter member of theAmerican Football League in 1960.
Canton Bulldogs: Cleveland Bulldogs in 1923, but suspended operations in 1924, resuming play in Canton in 1925 before folding after the 1926 season. The city is currently represented by the preseasonPro Football Hall of Fame Game.
Chicago Cardinals: Merged with Pittsburgh Steelers for one year in 1944, returned as an independent team in 1945. Moved toSt. Louis in 1960, and to Phoenix in 1988. Changed name toArizona Cardinals in 1994.
Chicago Tigers: Folded after the 1920 season. (The story that the Tigers lost a winner-take-all game to the Cardinals for the "rights" to Chicago is now considered a myth.)
Columbus Panhandles: Changed name to Columbus Tigers in 1923, folded after the 1926 season.
Dayton Triangles: Moved to Brooklyn as Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930, changed name to Brooklyn Tigers in 1944. Merged with Boston Yanks in 1945, but folded after 1945 season. Through successor franchises, the currentIndianapolis Colts can trace their lineage to the Triangles.[9]
Decatur Staleys: Moved to Chicago in 1921, changed name to Chicago Bears in 1922.
Detroit Heralds: Changed name to "Tigers" and folded in the middle of the 1921 season, sending its players to Buffalo. City currently represented by theDetroit Lions.
Massillon Tigers: Represented at the September 17, 1920, meeting byRalph Hay but never played in the league and are only counted as a charter member on a technicality.
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