National Football League Expansion Era, 1952-present
| Number | Teams | Years Active |
| National-American Football League | 1952-1953 | |
| 1 | Dallas Texans (NFL) | 1952; 1960-1962 |
| 2 | Baltimore Colts (NFL) | 1953-1982 |
| American Football League | 1960-1969 | |
| 3 | Denver Broncos | 1960-present |
| 4 | Houston Oilers | 1960-1995 [13] |
| 5 | Los Angeles Chargers | 1960 [14] |
| 6 | New York Titans | 1960-1962 [16] |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | 1960-present |
| 8 | Boston Patriots | 1960-1969 [17] |
| 11 | Oakland Raiders | 1960-1981 [18] |
| 13 | San Diego Chargers | 1961-2018 [20] |
| 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1963-present |
| 15 | New York Jets | 1963-present |
| 17 | Miami Dolphins | 1967-present |
| 19 | Boston Patriots (Birmingham) | 1968 * |
| 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1969-present |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins (Tampa) | 1969 * |
| National Football League Relocation Era | 1950-1982 | |
| 9 | Dallas Cowboys | 1960-present |
| 10 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1960-1987 [19] |
| 12 | Minnesota Vikings | 1961-present |
| 16 | Atlanta Falcons | 1966-present |
| 18 | New Orleans Saints | 1968-present |
| 22 | New England Patriots | 1971-present [17] |
| 23 | New York Giants (New Haven, Conn.) | 1973-1975 [21] |
| 24 | New York Giants (New Jersey) | 1976-present [21] |
| 25 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1976-present |
| 26 | Seattle Seahawks | 1976-present |
| 27 | Indianapolis Colts | 1982-present [22] |
| 28 | Los Angeles Raiders | 1982-1994 [23] |
| 29 | Los Angeles Rams (Anaheim) | 1982-1994 [24] |
| 30 | New York Jets (New Jersey) | 1984-present [25] |
| 31 | Phoenix Cardinals | 1988-1993 |
| 32 | Arizona Cardinals | 1994-Present |
| National Football League South Expansion Era | 1995-2019 | |
| 33 | Carolina Panthers | 1995-present |
| 34 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 1995-present |
| 35 | St. Louis Rams | 1995-2018 [27] |
| 36 | Oakland Raiders | 1995-2019 [28] |
| 37 | Baltimore Ravens | 1996-present |
| 38 | Tennessee Oilers (Memphis) | 1997 [29] |
| 39 | Tennessee Titans (Nashville) | 1998 [30] |
| 40 | Houston Texans | 2002-present |
| 41 | New Orleans Saints (Baton Rouge) | 2005 |
| 42 | New Orleans Saints (San Antonio) | 2005 |
| 43 | San Francisco 49ers (Santa Clara) | 2014-Present |
| 44 | Los Angeles Chargers | 2019-present [20] |
| 45 | Los Angeles Rams | 2019-present [36] |
| 46 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2020-present [37] |
National Football League International 1960-Present
| Number | Team (Host City) | Years |
| National Football League Intercontinental | 1960-1993 | |
| 49 | Chicago Bears (Toronto) | 1960 |
| 50 | Detroit Lions (Montreal) | 1969 |
| 51 | Pittsburgh Steelers (Montreal) | 1969 |
| 52 | St. Louis Cardinals (Tokyo) | 1976 |
| 53 | New Orleans Saints (Mexico City) | 1978 |
| 54 | Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL)(London) | 1984 |
| 55 | Minnesota Vikings (Goteborg) | 1988 |
| 56 | Cleveland Browns (Toronto) # | 1993 |
| NFL American Bowl / International Series | 1995-Present | |
| 57 | Minnesota Vikings (London) | 1983^; 2013 |
| 58 | St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams (London) | 1987+; 2012, 16-17, 19 |
| 59 | Miami Dolphins (London) | 1988+, 2007, 2015, 2017 |
| 60 | New Orleans Saints (London) | 1990+, 2008 |
| 61 | San Francisco 49ers (London) | 1992+, 2010 |
| 62 | Buffalo Bills (Toronto) | 1995+; 2008-2013 [35] |
| National Football League American Bowl | 1986-2019 | |
| 63 | Chicago Bears (London) | 1986 |
| 64 | New York Jets (Montreal) | 1988 |
| 65 | Los Angeles Rams (Tokyo) | 1989 |
| 66 | Philadelphia Eagles (London) | 1989 |
| 67 | Denver Broncos (Tokyo) | 1990, 1995 |
| 68 | Pittsburgh Steelers (Montreal) | 1990 |
| 69 | Los Angeles Rams (Berlin) | 1990 |
| 70 | Buffalo Bills (London) | 1991 |
| 71 | San Francisco 49ers (Berlin) | 1991 |
| 72 | Miami Dolphins (Tokyo) | 1991 |
| 73 | Houston Oilers (Tokyo) | 1992 |
| 74 | Miami Dolphins (Berlin) | 1992 |
| 75 | Dallas Cowboys (London) | 1993 |
| 76 | New Orleans Saints (Tokyo) | 1993 |
| 77 | San Francisco 49ers (Barcelona) | 1993 |
| 78 | Minnesota Vikings (Berlin) | 1993 |
| 79 | Los Angeles Raiders (Barcelona) | 1994 |
| 80 | Minnesota Vikings (Tokyo) | 1994 |
| 81 | New York Giants (Berlin) | 1994 |
| 82 | Houston Oilers (Mexico City) | 1994 |
| 83 | San Diego Chargers (Tokyo) | 1996 |
| 84 | Kansas City Chiefs (Monterrey) | 1996 |
| 85 | Pittsburgh Steelers (Dublin) | 1997 |
| 86 | Miami Dolphins (Mexico City) | 1997 |
| 87 | Green Bay Packers (Toronto) | 1997 |
| 88 | Green Bay Packers (Tokyo) | 1998 |
| 89 | San Francisco 49ers (Vancouver) | 1998 |
| 90 | New England Patriots (Tokyo) | 1998 |
| 91 | Denver Broncos (Sydney) | 1999 |
| 92 | Atlanta Falcons (Tokyo) | 2000; 2005 |
| 93 | Indianapolis Colts (Mexico City) | 2000 |
| 94 | Dallas Cowboys (Mexico City) | 2001 |
| 95 | Washington Redskins (Osaka) | 2002 |
| 96 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Tokyo) | 2003 |
| National Football League International Series | 2005-2019 | |
| 97 | Arizona Cardinals (Mexico City) | 2005 [33] |
| 98 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (London) | 2009, 2011, 2019 |
| 99 | Jacksonville Jaguars (London) | 2013-2019 |
| 100 | Atlanta Falcons (London) | 2014 |
| 101 | Oakland Raiders (London) | 2014; 2018-2019 |
| 102 | Kansas City Chiefs (London) | 2015 |
| 103 | Cincinnati Bengals (London) | 2016 |
| 104 | Cleveland Browns (London) | 2017 |
| 105 | Los Angeles Chargers (London) | 2018 |
| 106 | Los Angeles Chargers (Mexico City) | 2019 |
| 107 | Green Bay Packers (Winnipeg) ^ | 2019 |
Report
The National Football League engaged in a series of International Games and Expansion beginning with Preseason Exhibitions in Canada in the 1950s and 1960. In 1960 the American Football League was successful enough to force a merger with the NFL in 1970, and from 1983 to 1999 the National Football League engaged in the American Bowl Series of Preseason Games in London, Berlin, Barcelona, Tokyo, Mexico City, Gothenburg and Osaka.
The ext round of expansion came in the 19990s with the addition of South Divisions to both the American and National Conferences, and after 2000 was a new International series, with Regular Season games in London, Mexico City and Toronto. Recently there has been a new round of relocations, just as there was in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Notes
For the American Bowl and NFL International Series the Designated Home Team for each game is given with the host city in brackets afterwards. This is the same for games played by National Football League teams in the USA.
Notes
# International Series Match. + American Bowl Match. ^ Non-International Series Preseason Exhibition match.
[10] Baltimore Colts and Dallas Texans of 1952-1953 were part of the National Football League when it was briefly known as the National-American Football League following the merger of the NFL and All-America Football Conference.
[11] NFL considers Baltimore Colts of 1951 & 1953 as separate teams.
[12] Dallas Texans became Kansas City Chiefs in 1963.
[13] Moved to Memphis and became Tennessee Oilers in 1996. name retired by NFL.
[14] Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego in 1961.
[15] Minneapolis were awarded a team for the AFL in 1960, but later resigned from the League and were awarded a team for the NFL to begin play in 1961.
[16] New York Titans changed name to New York Jets 1963.
[17] Boston Patriots moved outside Boston in Massachusetts in 1970 and changed name to New England Patriots.
[18] Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles (Anaheim) in 1982.
[19] Chicago Cardinals became St. Louis Cardinals in 1960.
[20] San Diego Chargers moved back to Los Angeles in 2019.
[21] New York Giants moved to New Haven, Connecticut in 1973, and East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1975.
[23] Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1982.
[24] Los Angeles Rams moved to Anaheim in 1982.
[25] New York Jets moved into Giants Stadium, New Jersey in 1984.
[26] St. Louis Cardinals moved to Phoenix in 1988 and then moved to Tempe, Arizona and became Arizona Cardinals in 1994.
[27] Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis 1995.
[28] Los Angeles Raiders moved back to Oakland 1995.
[29] Houston Oilers moved to Memphis becoming the Tennessee Oilers in 1997.
[30] Tennessee Oilers moved to Nashville becoming Tennessee Titans in 1998.
[31] The Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996, and were renamed the Ravens. The NFL placed a new team in Cleveland in 1999, and gave them the Cleveland Browns name and history.
[32] The New Orleans Saints played their Home matches in Baton Rouge (Louisiana) and San Antonio (Texas) in 2005 due to the Super Dome in New Orleans being unplayable as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
[33] The Arizona Cardinals were the designated Home Team for an NFL International Regular Season match in Mexico City in 2005.
[34] The Jacksonville Jaguars were the designated Home Team for NFL International Regular Season matches in London from 2007 to present. nicknamed the “Union Jags” by fans.
[35] The Buffalo Bills were the designated Home Team for NFL International Regular Season matches in Toronto from 2008 to 2013.
[36] St. Louis Rams moved back to Los Angeles in 2019.
[37] Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020.
*Single Home match played at the venue indicated.
References
Bibliography
[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings” 2014 Official NFL Record & Factbook” pg. 350-399. National football League, Time Home Entertainment. 2014.
Websites
[2] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League Standings (1936-37) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-standings-1936-37/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[3] Bob Gill, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1989) Back Before Bengalmania – Cincinnati’s First Brush with the Big Time – [Internet] Available from: http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/11-05-379.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2018]
[4] Pro Football Archives (2019) 1938 | American Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1938.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]
[5] Pro Football Archives (2019) 1939 | American Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1939.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]
[6] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) American Football League (1940-1941) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/american-football-league-1940-1941/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[7] Pro Football Hall of Fame (2005) All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Standings (1946-1949) [Internet] Available from: http://www.profootballhof.com/news/all-america-football-conference-aafc-standings-1946-1949/ [Accessed 5 June 2017]
[2] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 1998 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id173.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[3] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 1999 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id174.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[4] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2000 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id175.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[5] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2001 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id176.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[6] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2002 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id177.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[7] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2003 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id178.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[8] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2004 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id179.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[9] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2005 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id180.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[10] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2006 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id181.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
[11] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 2007 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id182.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
Images
[8] National Football League (2019) Division Standings | 2019 | Preseason [Internet] Available from: https://www.nfl.com/standings/division/2019/PRE [Accessed 12 August 2019]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Decy Maher and John Kane.
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish, North American & World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 12 May 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
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