What States Don’t Have a NFL Team?

It’s a question that plagues many a football fan – why don’t some states have a NFL team? Here’s a look at some of the most populous states without a franchise, and the reasons why they’re team-less.

Introduction

National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world, the billions-of-dollar industry.

Alabama

The NFL currently has 32 teams, with 19 of those located in the contiguous United States. Alabama is one of only 11 states that doesn’t have an NFL team. The other states are Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, and Nebraska.

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States, so it’s surprising that it doesn’t have a NFL team. There are a few potential reasons for this. First, Alaska is a very remote state, so it’s not easy for fans to get to games. Second, the state doesn’t have a lot of population, so there wouldn’t be enough fans to support a team. Third, the climate in Alaska is very harsh, so it would be difficult to play football outdoors in the winter.

There have been some proposals to bring a NFL team to Alaska, but so far nothing has come of it. It seems unlikely that a team will be added any time soon, but stranger things have happened.

Arkansas

Arkansas is one of several US states without an NFL team. The state has a population of around 3 million people, and while there is some support for the game, it’s not nearly as strong as in other states. There are no professional football teams in Arkansas, and the nearest team is the Dallas Cowboys, who are based in Texas.

Colorado

The Colorado Rockies are the state’s only major professional sports team, and they play in the National League of Major League Baseball. The state has no NFL, NBA, NHL or MLS teams.

Hawaii

No professional sports teams play in Hawaii. The main reasons are because of the distance from the other mainland states, the high cost of travel to Hawaii, and the time difference. There are no major league baseball, football, basketball, or hockey teams in Hawaii. There are some semi-professional and minor league teams in Hawaii, but not at the major league level.

Idaho

The state of Idaho does not currently have an NFL team. While there have been efforts to bring a team to the state, such as the failed attempt to lure the New Orleans Saints in 2007, nothing has come to fruition. The Saints ultimately decided to stay in New Orleans.

Iowa

The Hawkeye State has never had an NFL team, but that hasn’t stopped Iowans from supporting the league. In fact, when the NFL Draft was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, three Iowa natives were taken in the first round.

But why doesn’t Iowa have an NFL team? It’s a good question, and one without a definitive answer.

Some say it’s because Iowa is too small, with a population of just over 3 million. Others point to the state’s lack of major metropolitan areas as a reason why the NFL has never set up shop there.

Whatever the reason, it doesn’t look like Iowa will be getting an NFL team anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean Iowans can’t enjoy America’s favorite sport.

Kansas

The state of Kansas does not have a NFL team.

Kentucky

Kentucky is one of 21 states without an NFL team. The state’s lack of an NFL team is due in part to the fact that it does not have a major metropolitan area. The state’s largest city, Louisville, has a population of only about 700,000 people. That ranks it only 42nd among U.S. cities. In contrast, the New York metropolitan area has a population of over 20 million people and is home to two NFL teams, the Jets and the Giants.

Louisiana

Louisiana is one of 19 states that does not have an NFL team. In fact, there are only 32 NFL teams total, which means that nearly 60% of US states do not have an NFL team.

Other states without an NFL team include Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Interestingly, four of these states (Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming) are among the top ten largest US states by land area.

Maine

Maine is one of the few states in the U.S. without a professional football team. There have been several attempts to bring an NFL franchise to Maine, but all have failed. The closest Maine has come to having a team was in 2001, when the New England Patriots considered moving to Portland. However, the Patriots ultimately decided to stay in Massachusetts.

Mississippi

Mississippi is one of only two states without an NFL team. (The other is Montana.) This is despite the fact that Mississippi has a long and rich football tradition. In recent years, there have been efforts to bring an NFL team to the state, but so far these have been unsuccessful.

Montana

Montana is the only state in the US without a NFL team. This is because Montana has a very small population, and it is also very spread out. There are only around 1 million people living in Montana, and the state is over 145,000 square miles. This makes it very difficult to have a NFL team, since there need to be enough people to support the team, and the state needs to be condensed enough so that people can easily get to games. Additionally, Montana does not have any major cities, which makes it even more difficult to have a NFL team.

Nebraska

Nebraska is one of five states without an NFL team. The state’s football allegiances lie primarily with the college game – the Nebraska Cornhuskers – rather than the professional one, though the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League called Nebraska home for two seasons before folding in 2012.

Nevada

Although it’s home to the gambling capital of the world, Nevada has never had a NFL team. There have been several attempts to bring a franchise to the state, but none have been successful. The most recent attempt was in 2014 when a group tried to start a team in Las Vegas, but the plans fell through.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is one of the few states in the US without its own NFL team. The closest team to New Hampshire is the New England Patriots, who play their home games in Massachusetts. While there are no professional football teams based in New Hampshire, there are several semi-professional and amateur teams that play in the state, such as the New Hampshire Wolfpack and the Seacoast Spartans.

New Mexico

New Mexico is one of the US states without its own NFL team. The nearest team to the state is the Arizona Cardinals, who play in nearby Glendale, Arizona. There have been several efforts to bring an NFL franchise to Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, but so far these have all been unsuccessful.

North Dakota

North Dakota is one of four states without an NFL team. The other three are Alaska, Montana, and Vermont. None of these states have a professional sports team in any of the major leagues. While some fans in these states may root for teams from neighboring states, there is no team that calls these states home.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is one of the few states in the US without a professional NFL team. There are a few reasons for this, including the fact that the state doesn’t have a large enough population to support a team, and that there isn’t a suitable stadium for a team to play in. There have been attempts to bring an NFL team to Oklahoma, but so far, all of them have failed.

Oregon

Oregon does not have an NFL team. There have been several teams that have tried to move to Oregon, but none have been successful. The most recent team to try to move to Oregon was the Oakland Raiders, who filed for relocation in 2016. The Raiders ultimately decided to stay in Oakland.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the US, and it doesn’t have an NFL team. The closest team is the New England Patriots, who play in Massachusetts. There has been some talk of getting an NFL team for Rhode Island, but so far nothing has come of it.

South Dakota

The South Dakota wasn’t always without an NFL team. The state had the Sioux City Bandits for the first three years of the United Indoor Football Association’s existence. However, the IFL franchise was sold in 2007 and moved to Kansas. The Bandits were one of three teams that were members of the IFL that did not make the transition to the AF2, which was formed when the Arena Football League absorbed the IFL.

Utah

Although Utah is home to a number of professional sports teams, it does not have a NFL team. There are a number of reasons why this may be the case, including the state’s small population and lack of a major metropolitan area. Additionally, Utah is not considered to be a particularly wealthy state, which could make it difficult to support a professional football team.

Vermont

Vermont is one of the few states in the US without a professional football team. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the state is relatively small and has a population of just over 600,000. This means that there isn’t a large enough market for a team to be viable. Secondly, the state doesn’t have a suitable stadium that could host an NFL franchise. And finally, the state doesn’t have a strong history of football. Although there are some college teams, there is no professional team in Vermont.

Washington

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Redskins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at FedExField in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and practice facilities are at Inova Sports Performance Center at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Virginia, and the Redskins Complex in Richmond, Virginia.

Wyoming

Wyoming is one of several states without an NFL team. The others are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont. There are a number of reasons why these states don’t have teams, including population size and geographic location.

Wyoming is the least populous state in the US, with a population of just over 580,000. This is one reason why it doesn’t have an NFL team. Population size is important for a number of reasons when it comes to having an NFL team. First, there needs to be enough potential fans to support the team financially. Second, a larger population provides a greater pool of potential players to choose from.

Geographic location is also a factor. Most NFL teams are located in cities on the east or west coast. These locations are convenient for travel and allow teams to be close to a large number of potential fans. Wyoming’s isolation from other states makes it less attractive for an NFL team.

Another reason why Wyoming doesn’t have an NFL team is because it doesn’t have a professional football stadium that meets NFL standards. A stadium must have a capacity of at least 65,000 people and offer other amenities like suites and club seats in order to be considered for an NFL franchise.

So far, there hasn’t been much interest from the NFL in expanding into Wyoming or any of the other states without a team. However, that could change in the future as the league looks to expand its reach across the country.

Conclusion

There are currently 32 NFL teams, with 8 teams in each conference. These teams are located in a variety of states across the country, with some states having multiple teams. There are a few states, however, that do not have an NFL team. These states are Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. While these states may not have an NFL team currently, that doesn’t mean they won’t in the future!