Possible NFL Expansion

Irishman · August 4, 2025

1. Austin comes first. The narrator makes a solid case for Austin, but I have to think most of that area is full of Cowboys fans. Then again, with the boys being such a poorly run team, fans may easily jump ship.

2. St. Louis......obvious choice in my mind. Plus they have $790 Million they won in a suit against the NFL.

3. Salt Lake City........another choice that seems popular; could even see MLB put a team there. The NHL team was very popular there, and the NBA was as well. One possible downside was the Mormons basically doing nothing on Sundays. It's not a strict rule, but the goal is to avoid secular activities. This might be the single largest obstacle the NFL could ever see in one potential city.

4. OKC build off the energy that the Thunder have brought to the city. The NHL is considering it as well. A team here helps close the travel distance gap.

5. Portland, OR fills in a huge gap between Seattle and San Francisco. But another team on the west coast?

6. Orlando, FL seems to be a popular choice even though they only have an NBA team. 4 NFL teams in Florida though?

7. Toronto....I have wondered for a while now if the league would look north. My guess was they did not want to infringe on our neighbors to the north because of the CFL. But its proximity to Buffalo as the bird flies could be a problem. I was aware that Toronto was a big city, but did not know they had over 9 million people in the area. If Canada is on the table, I would thing places like Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton would be considered as well. Downside? Winter; gets a lot colder up north.

8. London, England Nope, no way. I do not care how many positives someone lists for London. A chartered flight from Indy is about 8 hours. One interesting thing is that the flight time from west coast towns is the same. So anything in the range of 8-10 hours for flights alone makes it a huge no. The time difference is a huge no. The jet lag is a huge obstacle.

Others.....mentioned in other articles: Frankfurt, Berlin, Dublin, and Mexico City. Flight times and jet lag are still a big deal. Even Mexico City is quite a distance.

Overall Drawbacks:
1. No new stadium will be less than $1 Billion. Most would likely approach $2Billion with the intent of hosting a Super Bowl. Not sure taxpayers in any town would be willing to jump on board. The Utah Gov has already said he is not interested in using tax payer dollars to build a stadium.

2. The level of play in the league is suspect now. Unlike the other major sports, football just does not have the amount of developmental programs the others do. Even now, looking at the USFL, you have guys that go from being on a practice squad or playing in some other league during a traditional season into that season?
The teams that are bad in the NFL are not just bad, but they are really bad. Most every team is just a couple injured linemen away from the season going in the tank. Are all 32 NFL QBs good? Outside the top 10, it's pretty slim pickings.

3. While the league is popular now, I think it's maxed out. I know the Commissioner wants another game. I think they play too many now. It becomes a battle of attrition.

4. There are too many injuries as it is now. More players waters down the talent at this point and that puts more players at greater risk for getting injured.

Bash Riprock · August 4, 2025

12 hours ago, Irishman said:

1. Austin comes first. The narrator makes a solid case for Austin, but I have to think most of that area is full of Cowboys fans. Then again, with the boys being such a poorly run team, fans may easily jump ship.

2. St. Louis......obvious choice in my mind. Plus they have $790 Million they won in a suit against the NFL.

3. Salt Lake City........another choice that seems popular; could even see MLB put a team there. The NHL team was very popular there, and the NBA was as well. One possible downside was the Mormons basically doing nothing on Sundays. It's not a strict rule, but the goal is to avoid secular activities. This might be the single largest obstacle the NFL could ever see in one potential city.

4. OKC build off the energy that the Thunder have brought to the city. The NHL is considering it as well. A team here helps close the travel distance gap.

5. Portland, OR fills in a huge gap between Seattle and San Francisco. But another team on the west coast?

6. Orlando, FL seems to be a popular choice even though they only have an NBA team. 4 NFL teams in Florida though?

7. Toronto....I have wondered for a while now if the league would look north. My guess was they did not want to infringe on our neighbors to the north because of the CFL. But its proximity to Buffalo as the bird flies could be a problem. I was aware that Toronto was a big city, but did not know they had over 9 million people in the area. If Canada is on the table, I would thing places like Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton would be considered as well. Downside? Winter; gets a lot colder up north.

8. London, England Nope, no way. I do not care how many positives someone lists for London. A chartered flight from Indy is about 8 hours. One interesting thing is that the flight time from west coast towns is the same. So anything in the range of 8-10 hours for flights alone makes it a huge no. The time difference is a huge no. The jet lag is a huge obstacle.

Others.....mentioned in other articles: Frankfurt, Berlin, Dublin, and Mexico City. Flight times and jet lag are still a big deal. Even Mexico City is quite a distance.

Overall Drawbacks:
1. No new stadium will be less than $1 Billion. Most would likely approach $2Billion with the intent of hosting a Super Bowl. Not sure taxpayers in any town would be willing to jump on board. The Utah Gov has already said he is not interested in using tax payer dollars to build a stadium.

2. The level of play in the league is suspect now. Unlike the other major sports, football just does not have the amount of developmental programs the others do. Even now, looking at the USFL, you have guys that go from being on a practice squad or playing in some other league during a traditional season into that season?
The teams that are bad in the NFL are not just bad, but they are really bad. Most every team is just a couple injured linemen away from the season going in the tank. Are all 32 NFL QBs good? Outside the top 10, it's pretty slim pickings.

3. While the league is popular now, I think it's maxed out. I know the Commissioner wants another game. I think they play too many now. It becomes a battle of attrition.

4. There are too many injuries as it is now. More players waters down the talent at this point and that puts more players at greater risk for getting injured.

I agree with you about more expansion....just so many teams now. I would love to see the NFL realign divisions first with more of a regional footprint. I know that would impact some old rivalries, but the Cowboys in the NFC East? Colts in the AFC South? Miami in the AFC East? To me, there is some work to be done in this area.

Future cities...I understand the CFL, but Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America, only behind Mexico City, NYC, and LA. I would think this has to be something to consider, even with Buffalo close by. Perhaps after a study of % of Buffalo fans from Canada/Toronto area. But one team in Toronto, would truly make it "Canada's Team" in the NFL.

No more teams in Florida...and Austin TX doesn't seem to make sense with the Cowboys and Texans, and most importantly UT. Just don't see Austin as a NFL city.

St. Louis probably deserves a team. Portland...again, not a huge city, big soccer and NBA town. Not sure I see it as NFL. Seattle is 3 hours away with not much inbetween....I made that drive last year going to the IndyCar race in Portland while visiting family in Seattle. Same with OKC...just don't see it as a NFL city and there would be so much competition from OU and OKState. Salt Lake is interesting....on the fence with that location. With NBA and the new NHL team, can they absorb another pro sports franchise right now??

Interesting topic Irish!!