When Did The NFL Teams Join The League?

A comprehensive look at when every current NFL team joined the league.

The Early Teams

The National Football League, or NFL, started in 1920 with just 11 teams. These teams were all located in cities with large populations and strong college football programs. The first NFL team was the Decatur Staleys, who later became the Chicago Bears. The Green Bay Packers, another original team, are the only team remaining from that first 11. The NFL quickly grew in popularity and by 1922, there were 22 teams in the league.

The Decatur Staleys

The Decatur Staleys, later renamed the Chicago Bears, joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1920 as a charter member. George Halas, who would become one of the most influential figures in NFL history, was their manager and captain. The team’s name came from Staley’s starch company, which Halas partially owned.

The Racine Cardinals

The Racine Cardinals were a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), joining the league in 1920. The team was based in Racine, Wisconsin and played its home games at Horlick Field. The Cardinals were one of the dominant teams of the early NFL, winning the league championship in 1925. However, the team’s success dwindled in subsequent years and it folded after the 1931 season.

The Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and the Midwest League from 1907 to 1919. The Bulldogs won the Ohio League championship in 1904, 1905 and 1906, and the Midwest League championship in 1908.

The team was founded in 1903 as the Canton Athletic Club. The team became a charter member of the Ohio League in 1903. The Bulldogs began play in 1904, defeating theMassillon Tigers 8-0 on Thanksgiving Day.

In 1905, the Bulldogs added Lew Andreas and Pudge Heffelfinger to their lineup; both players would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team won the Ohio League championship again in 1906 with a 4-1-2 record.

In 1907, the Bulldogs joined with four other midwest teams to form the Midwest League; they won the league championship in 1908 with a perfect 8-0 record. In 1910, after winning another Midwest League title, most of the team’s players were transferred to Toledo for financial reasons following a dispute between league owners and Canton’s management.

The Modern Teams

Out of the thirty-two teams in the National Football League, only four of them joined within the last sixty years. The most recent teams to join the league were the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who both entered the NFL in 1995.

The Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys joined the NFL in 1960 as an expansion team. The Cowboys are one of the most successful teams in NFL history, with five Super Bowl wins and twenty-one playoff appearances. The team has also produced some of the greatest players in NFL history, such as quarterback Roger Staubach and linebacker Bob Lilly.

The Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins began play in the American Football League (AFL) in 1966 as an expansion team. The AFL was formed in 1960 as a competing major league to the more established National Football League (NFL). When the two leagues merged in 1970, the Dolphins joined the NFL.

The New England Patriots

The New England Patriots joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL-NFL merger. The team began play in the AFL as the Boston Patriots in 1960. The Patriots have won five Super Bowl championships, the most of any team in the NFL since 2001.

The Newest Teams

The National Football League has seen a lot of growth in recent years. There are now 32 teams in the NFL, with the most recent additions being the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. These two teams joined the league in 2016, and they have both been very successful.

The Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are the newest team in the National Football League (NFL). They began play in 2002 as an expansion team, replacing the Houston Oilers who had moved to Tennessee. The Texans play their home games at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at TIAA Bank Field.

The Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers joined the NFL as expansion teams for the 1995 season. Since their inception, the Jaguars have won division championships in 1998 and 1999 (as members of the now-defunct AFC Central) and have qualified for the playoffs six times, most recently in 2017. The Jaguars have also won four AFC South division titles, most recently in 2017. They are one of only two NFL teams to have never played in a conference championship game.

The Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte; the stadium also serves as the home arena for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. The Panthers were announced as an NFL expansion team in 1993 and began play in 1995 under original owner and founder Jerry Richardson. In 2019, hedge fund manager David Tepper bought the Panthers from Richardson for an estimated $2.275 billion, becoming one of the NFL’s highest-valued teams by Forbes magazine.