History of NFL Expansion

The National Football League came into existence in 1922 and for years the number of teams shifted and fluctuated as franchises went defunct or were added. By 1960, the league had been fairly stable for a few seasons, with a dozen teams composing two conferences. Expansion then began in 1960, until the NFL had a total of 32 clubs by 2009.

  1. First wave of expansion

    • In 1960, the NFL added the Dallas Cowboys. The Minnesota Vikings in 1961, the Atlanta Falcons in 1966 and the New Orleans Saints in 1967 brought the number of NFL clubs to 16 by the end of the decade.

    Merger

    • The league merged with the competing American Football League in time for the 1970 season. This added the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos.

    Two more

    • The Tampa Buccaneers and Seattle Seahwaks were allowed in as expansion franchises in 1976. The teams combined to win just two games that season, both by Seattle.

    Four more

    • The Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995, the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, and the Houston Texans in 2002 brought the NFL's total of teams up to 32. The Ravens and Texans actually replaced teams that had moved from their original cities to go elsewhere--the Colts and the Oilers.

    Titles

    • Of these expansion teams, the Ravens, Cowboys, Broncos, Chiefs, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, Buccaneers and Raiders have all won a Super Bowl. The Texans, Saints, and Jaguars are the only three that haven't been to the title game as of 2009.