Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.

In its early years, the NFL was not stable and teams moved frequently to survive, or folded only to be resurrected in a different city with the same players and owners. The Great Depression era saw most small-town NFL teams move to larger cities. Several franchises merged during World War II because many players were in the military. Few, if any, of these moves and mergers drew much controversy.

Franchise moves became far more controversial in the late 20th century when a vastly more popular NFL, free from financial instability, allowed many teams to leave to abandon long-held strongholds for perceived financially greener pastures.

In 1966, Pete Rozelle promised Congress that franchises would not move, a promise made to secure a law exempting the league from certain aspects of antitrust laws, thus making possible the AFL–NFL merger. Despite Rozelle's promise, several franchises have moved since the merger and the passage of the law (Public Law 89-800) that sanctioned it. While owners invariably cited financial difficulties as the primary factor in such moves, many fans bitterly disputed these contentions, especially in Baltimore, St. Louis, and Cleveland, each of which eventually received teams some years after their original franchises moved.

Los Angeles, the second-largest media market in the United States, did not have an NFL team from 1995 to 2015. The league had started promoting a return to Los Angeles no later than 2006,Canadian expansion not on NFL radar , CBC Sports, March 2, 2006 and in January 2016, the NFL gave the St. Louis Rams approval to move back to Los Angeles. A year later, the Chargers also moved to the city, while the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020.

The San Diego–Tijuana market is currently the largest U.S. metropolitan area (and only one with over 3.2 million residents) without an NFL franchise. The only other city to be seriously considered in the country in recent times was San Antonio, Texas, which was examined by the Raiders in 2014 before they chose Las Vegas.

Speculation on future moves has mainly been centered around two cities outside the United States: Toronto, Canada (q.v. National Football League in Toronto) and London, England, United Kingdom (q.v. Potential London NFL franchise), the latter of which would be the first attempt by one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada to place a team outside North America.

In the 1970s, the suburbanization of the U.S. saw the construction of stadiums and other team facilities in the suburbs instead of the central city.

Timeline

Teams that have moved The NFL considers these teams to be continuous franchises that have moved to a new metropolitan area.

The list includes franchises from the 1960s American Football League that moved during that league's existence. The NFL and AFL agreed to merge in 1966; the merger took effect in 1970. All AFL franchises were accepted into the NFL, and the NFL incorporated the AFL's history, records, and statistics. In chronological order:

Decatur Staleys: to Chicago in 1921 (renamed the Chicago Bears in 1922) Toledo Maroons: to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1924 Cleveland Bulldogs: to Detroit as the Wolverines in 1928 Pottsville Maroons: to Boston as the Bulldogs in 1929 Dayton Triangles: to Brooklyn as the Dodgers in 1930 (renamed Brooklyn Tigers in 1944) Portsmouth Spartans: to Detroit as the Lions in 1934Willis, 2010, p. 323–325.Peterson, 1997, p. 122.McDonough, 1994, p. 50. Boston Redskins: to Washington, D.C., in 1937 (renamed Washington Commanders in 2022) Cleveland Rams: to Los Angeles in 1946 Chicago Cardinals: to St. Louis in 1960 Los Angeles Chargers: to San Diego in 1961 (AFL) Dallas Texans: to Kansas City as the Chiefs in 1963 (AFL) Oakland Raiders: to Los Angeles in 1982 Baltimore Colts: to Indianapolis in 1984 St. Louis Cardinals: to Phoenix as the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 (renamed Arizona Cardinals in 1994) Los Angeles Rams: to St. Louis in 1995 Los Angeles Raiders: back to Oakland in 1995 Houston Oilers: temporarily to Memphis in 1997 as the Tennessee Oilers and permanently to Nashville in 1998 (renamed Tennessee Titans in 1999) St. Louis Rams: back to Los Angeles in 2016 San Diego Chargers: back to Los Angeles in 2017 Oakland Raiders: to Las Vegas in 2020

Quasi-moves: movement of intact teams from one city to another The NFL considers these separate franchises with some continuity: Canton Bulldogs: mothballed for the 1924 NFL season when the owner of the Cleveland Bulldogs bought it and took the players and nickname to Cleveland. Franchise resurrected in 1925 Cleveland Bulldogs: to Detroit, Michigan, in 1928 as the Detroit Wolverines Duluth Eskimos: to Orange, New Jersey, as the Orange Tornadoes in 1929 (separate teams but same franchise ) Newark Tornadoes: The Newark franchise was forfeited to the league and ordered to be disposed of to the highest bidder after the 1930 season. With no takers, the league owned-and-operated Cleveland Indians of 1931 took the Tornadoes' place, which in turn was filled by the Boston Braves (now Washington Commanders franchise) in 1932. So, while it is possible that Newark or Cleveland franchise was sold to the Boston group in 1932, there is no documentation available. The Tornadoes themselves joined the minor-league American Association later in the 1930s and adopted the name Newark Bears. Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers corporate entities and players (but not franchises) swap cities after the 1940 NFL season after complex ownership deal. Boston Yanks franchise to New York City as the New York Bulldogs in 1949 (separate franchise but same owner and players) New York Yanks (formerly New York Bulldogs) folded after the 1951 NFL season; players transferred to new Dallas Texans franchise for the 1952 NFL season Dallas Texans: operated out of Hershey, Pennsylvania, for the last five games of the 1952 NFL season, playing their last three games in Akron, Ohio. Franchise folded after season's end and players awarded to new Baltimore Colts franchise in 1953 Owners of the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams traded franchises in 1972. Cleveland Browns: to Baltimore as the Ravens in 1996. In 1995, Browns owner Art Modell announced plans to move the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore for the 1996 NFL season. The NFL, the city of Cleveland and Modell reached an agreement whereby the Browns franchise and history would remain in Cleveland to be resurrected by 1999. Modell was given a new franchise for Baltimore, made up of players from the 1995 Cleveland Browns. For more information on this particular move, see Cleveland Browns relocation controversy.

Franchise mergers

The Detroit Tigers roster merged with the Buffalo All-Americans in November 1921. The Brooklyn Lions and Brooklyn Horsemen of the 1926 AFL played in the NFL for the rest of the 1926 season: this franchise was given to the AFL's New York Yankees in 1927. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles merged to form the Phil-Pitt "Steagles" for the 1943 season due to the exodus of players during World War II. The team split their home games between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals merged to form Card-Pitt, for the 1944 season due to the exodus of players during World War II. The team split their home games between Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Brooklyn Tigers (the same Brooklyn team that moved from Dayton in 1930) and Boston Yanks, merged initially for the 1945 season, as simply "The Yanks." The team split home games between Brooklyn and Boston. The merger became permanent, as the Boston Yanks, after the Brooklyn franchise moved in 1946. The Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC and Los Angeles Rams of the NFL merged after the 1949 season, shortly before the two leagues merged entirely. The Cleveland Browns and AAFC Buffalo Bills merged in 1950 after the Bills were denied entry into the NFL. The AAFC New York Yankees team name and six players merged with New York Bulldogs to form the New York Yanks, with rest of the team being absorbed by the New York Giants.

Teams moving between cities/boroughs within same metropolitan area

Listed chronologically by team's first such move:

Orange Tornadoes to nearby Newark, New Jersey, in 1930, renamed the Newark Tornadoes Oakland Raiders: from San Francisco to Oakland (Frank Youell Field, and later the Oakland Coliseum) in 1962 St. Louis Cardinals: from the JeffVanderLou neighborhood (Busch Stadium I) to Downtown St. Louis (Busch Memorial Stadium) in 1966 New York Giants: from Manhattan (Polo Grounds) to the Bronx (Yankee Stadium) in 1956, temporarily moved to New Haven, Connecticut (Yale Bowl) for the second half of the 1973 and the entire 1974 season, then temporarily moved to Queens (Shea Stadium) for the 1975 season, then permanently to East Rutherford, New Jersey (Giants Stadium/MetLife Stadium) in 1976 Chicago Bears: from the Lake View community area (Wrigley Field) to the Near South Side community area (Soldier Field) in 1971 Philadelphia Eagles: between three Philadelphia neighborhoods—North Philadelphia (Shibe Park) to University City (Franklin Field) in 1958, and then on to South Philadelphia (Veterans Stadium/Lincoln Financial Field) in 1971 New York Jets: from Manhattan (Polo Grounds) to Queens (Shea Stadium) in 1964 and to East Rutherford, New Jersey (Giants Stadium/MetLife Stadium) in 1984 Boston Patriots: from the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston (Nickerson Field and Fenway Park) to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Alumni Stadium) in 1969, to the Allston neighborhood of Boston (Harvard Stadium) in 1970, then permanently to Foxborough, Massachusetts in 1971 (Foxboro Stadium/Gillette Stadium) and renamed New England Patriots Pittsburgh Steelers: from the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland (Forbes Field/Pitt Stadium) to the city's North Shore (Three Rivers Stadium/Heinz Field) in 1970 San Francisco 49ers: from Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Kezar Stadium) to the Hunters Point, San Francisco neighborhood (Candlestick Park) in 1971, and south to Santa Clara, California (Levi's Stadium) in 2014 Dallas Cowboys: from Dallas (Cotton Bowl) to Irving, Texas (Texas Stadium) in 1971, to Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium) in 2009 Kansas City Chiefs: from Brooklyn & E. 22nd (Municipal Stadium) to the Truman Sports Complex (Arrowhead Stadium) in 1972 Buffalo Bills: to Orchard Park, New York (Highmark Stadium) in 1973 Detroit Lions: to Pontiac, Michigan (Pontiac Silverdome) in 1975 and back to Detroit (Ford Field) in 2002 New Orleans Saints: from Uptown New Orleans (Tulane Stadium) to the Central Business District (Superdome) in 1975 Los Angeles Rams: to Anaheim, California (Anaheim Stadium) in 1980; after returning to Los Angeles in 2016, from Los Angeles proper (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) to Inglewood (SoFi Stadium) in 2020 Minnesota Vikings: from suburban Bloomington (Metropolitan Stadium) to downtown Minneapolis (Metrodome) in 1982. Temporarily moved within Minneapolis to the University of Minnesota campus (TCF Bank Stadium) starting in 2014 before returning to the Metrodome site at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016. Miami Dolphins: from the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami (Orange Bowl) to unincorporated northern Dade County (now the city of Miami Gardens) in 1987 (Hard Rock Stadium) Washington Redskins: from Washington, D.C. (RFK Stadium) to Landover, Maryland (Northwest Stadium) in 1997 (stadium's postal address was Raljon, Maryland until Redskins purchased by Daniel Snyder in 1999) Arizona Cardinals: from the eastern Phoenix suburb of Tempe (Sun Devil Stadium) to the western suburb of Glendale (State Farm Stadium) in 2006 Los Angeles Chargers: after returning to the Los Angeles area in 2017, from the suburb of Carson (Dignity Health Sports Park) to join the Rams in Inglewood (SoFi Stadium) in 2020

Temporary moves