By Angelo Restivo, Sports Staffer
The NFL has gone 24 years without an expansion team, marking the longest stretch without expansion in league history. In 2002, the same year the Houston Texans joined the National Football League, the National Basketball Association added the New Orleans Hornets. Since then, the National Hockey League expanded to 32 teams, Major League Soccer grew to 30, the Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas, and the St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers moved to Los Angeles. The Buffalo Bills also threatened to relocate to Austin, Texas.
The NFL has tried to try and grow its international fan base. From Buffalo Bills games in Toronto in the early 2000s to the NFL’s first regular-season game in Brazil between the Chargers and Chiefs last season. Sellout crowds at Wembley Stadium and German fans singing “Country Roads” in Berlin show the mission has succeeded and the next step should be international expansion.
The Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup drew a reported sellout crowd of 32,343, showing that even a limited expansion effort in Canada would likely be well received. The last time the NFL played a game in Mexico, the 49ers defeated their NFC West rivals, the Arizona Cardinals, 38-10 on Nov. 21, 2022, in the beautiful Estadio Azteca. 78,427 fans attended, showing Mexico’s deep passion for the American game.
The league is not limited to international expansion either. There are multiple American cities that would be perfect for NFL expansion. Portland’s MLS team, the Timbers, has a stadium capacity of 25,218. This is small for an NFL stadium, but their average attendance of 22,073 fans shows that fans in Portland would pack stands for an NFL team. In addition, after the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes relocated to Salt Lake City, the Utah Mammoth have drawn attention with a stadium capacity of 17,000 and an average attendance of 12,000. Salt Lake City will also host the 2034 winter Olympics, showing a strong commitment to sports.
It is inevitable that the NFL will have new teams before the mid-century mark. More likely than not, the process will begin with American teams in cities such as Salt Lake City and Portland. It would then gradually expand to nearby international markets such as Toronto and Mexico City. Finally, a new European division could emerge, including cities such as London, Madrid and Berlin. Only time will tell how the timeline unfolds, but my belief is expansion appears inevitable.
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