NFL franchise moves and mergers

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

In the early years, the NFL was not stable and teams moved frequently to survive, or were folded only to be resurrected in a different city with the same players and owners. The Great Depression era saw the movement of most surviving small-town NFL teams to the large cities to ensure survival. Franchise mergers were popular during World War II in response to the scarcity of players. Few of these relocations and mergers were accompanied with widespread controversy.

Franchise moves became far more controversial in the late 20th century when a vastly more popular NFL, free from financial instability, allowed many franchises to abandon long-held strongholds for perceived financially greener pastures. Despite a Pete Rozelle promise to Congress not to relocate franchises in return for a law exempting the league from certain aspects of antitrust laws, making possible the AFL-NFL merger, several franchises have relocated in the years since the merger and the passage of the law (Public Law 89-800) which 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 left. However, Los Angeles, the second-largest media market in the United States, has not had an NFL team since 1995 and the league is promoting an expansion there. Another city that is often mentioned as a potential site for a moved franchise is Toronto, Ontario, the site of frequent speculation regarding a future franchise.

Additionally, with the increasing suburbanization of the U.S., the building of new stadiums and other team facilities in the suburbs instead of the central city became popular from the 1970s on, though at the turn of the 2000 millennium a reverse shift back to the central city became somewhat evident.

Teams making more significant moves, 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 1934
 * Boston Redskins: to Washington, D.C. in 1937
 * Cleveland Rams: to Los Angeles in 1946
 * Chicago Cardinals: to St. Louis in 1960
 * Los Angeles Chargers: to San Diego in 1961 while in the American Football League (AFL)
 * Dallas Texans: to Kansas City, Missouri as the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 while in the AFL
 * Oakland Raiders: to Los Angeles in 1982
 * Baltimore Colts: to Indianapolis in 1984
 * St. Louis Cardinals: to Tempe, Arizona as the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 and became the 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)

Quasi-moves: movement of more or less intact teams from one city to another
The NFL considers these separate franchises but there is significant continuity from one to the other
 * Canton Bulldogs: mothballed for the 1924 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, NJ as the Orange Tornadoes in 1929 (separate franchises but same players)
 * Newark Tornadoes: The Newark franchise was forfeited to the league and ordered to be disposed of to the highest bidder after the 1930 season. The next franchise granted was the Boston Braves (now Washington Redskins franchise) in 1932. So, while it is possible that Newark franchise was sold to the Boston group in 1932, there is no documentation available. Neither Newark nor Boston played in 1931. The team itself 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 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 season; players transferred to new Dallas Texans franchise for the 1952 season
 * Dallas Texans: operated out of Hershey, PA for the last five games of the 1952 season, playing their last three games in Akron, OH. Franchise folded after season's end and players awarded to new Baltimore Colts franchise in 1953.
 * Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams corporate entities (but not players) swap cities after 1971, in similar move to 1940 Eagles-Steelers relocations.
 * 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 season. The NFL, the city of Cleveland and Modell reach 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

 * Detroit Tigers roster merges with Buffalo All-Americans in November 1921.
 * Brooklyn Lions and Brooklyn Horsemen of the 1926 AFL, played in the NFL for the rest of the 1926 season, franchise given to the AFL's New York Yankees in 1927.
 * Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles to form the Phil-Pitt "Steagles", for the 1943 season only due to the lack of players during World War II. The team split games between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
 * Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals to form Card-Pitt, for the 1944 season only due to the lack of players during World War II. The team split home games between Pittsburgh and Chicago
 * Brooklyn Tigers (the same Brooklyn team that moved from Dayton in 1930) and Boston Yanks, initially for the 1945 season only, as simply "The Yanks." They split home games between Brooklyn and Boston. The merger became permanent, as the Boston Yanks, after revocation of the Brooklyn franchise in 1946.
 * 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
 * Cleveland Browns and AAFC Buffalo Bills merged in 1950 after the Bills were denied entry into the NFL with the merger
 * AAFC New York Yankees team name and six players merge with New York Bulldogs to form New York Yanks; rest of team is absorbed by New York Giants

Teams moving between cities/boroughs within their metropolitan area, chronologically by team's first such move

 * Orange Tornadoes to nearby Newark, NJ in 1930, renamed the Newark Tornadoes
 * New York Giants: from Manhattan to The Bronx in 1956, temporarily relocated to New Haven, CT for the second half of the 1973 and the entire 1974 season, then temporarily relocated to Queens for the 1975 season, then permanently to East Rutherford, NJ in 1976
 * Philadelphia Eagles: from North Philadelphia to West Philadelphia (University City) in 1958, and then on to South Philadelphia in 1971
 * Oakland Raiders: from San Francisco to Oakland in 1962
 * New York Jets: from Manhattan to Queens in 1964 and to East Rutherford, NJ in 1984
 * Pittsburgh Steelers: to the North Shore from the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 1970
 * Dallas Cowboys: to Irving, Texas in 1971, to Arlington, Texas in 2009
 * Boston Patriots: to Foxborough, MA in 1971 and renamed New England Patriots
 * Buffalo Bills: to Orchard Park, NY in 1973
 * Detroit Lions: to Pontiac, MI in 1975 and back to Detroit in 2002
 * New Orleans Saints: from Uptown New Orleans to the Central Business District in 1975
 * Los Angeles Rams: to Anaheim, CA in 1980
 * Minnesota Vikings: from suburban Bloomington to downtown Minneapolis in 1982
 * Miami Dolphins: to unincorporated northern Dade County (now the city of Miami Gardens) in 1987
 * Washington Redskins: to Landover, MD in 1997
 * Arizona Cardinals: from eastern Phoenix suburb Tempe to western suburb Glendale in 2006

Temporary moves, in chronological order
The following are not actually relocations, but temporary moves because these teams' home stadiums were either under construction or otherwise adversely affected:
 * New York Giants: The Giants played their home games at the Yale Bowl in 1974 and 1975 while Giants Stadium was being constructed.
 * San Francisco 49ers: On October 22, 1989, the 49ers' home game vs. the New England Patriots was played at Stanford Stadium, home of the Stanford University Cardinal (and site of Super Bowl XIX five years earlier), due to the Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California.
 * Carolina Panthers: The Panthers began play in 1995 but spent their first season at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina while their new stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina was still being built.
 * Seattle Seahawks: Played three games in 1994 at Husky Stadium as the Kingdome was undergoing emergency repairs, and returned there for the entire 2000 and 2001 seasons before Seahawks Stadium (now CenturyLink Field) was completed.
 * Chicago Bears: Spent the 2002 season at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois while Soldier Field was being renovated.
 * San Diego Chargers: On October 27, 2003, the Chargers' home game vs. the Miami Dolphins was played at Sun Devil Stadium, then the home of the Arizona Cardinals, due to the Cedar Fire in southern California.
 * New Orleans Saints: Due to damage to the Louisiana Superdome, their home field, by Hurricane Katrina, the Saints played three home games of the 2005 season in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, where the team set up temporary operations, as well as four home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (and officially one at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey). The Saints returned to New Orleans in 2006. See also Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints.
 * Minnesota Vikings: The roof of the Metrodome collapsed from excessive snow and wind on December 12, 2010, requiring the Vikings' home game against the New York Giants to be delayed and played on Monday, December 13 at Ford Field in Detroit. Minnesota's next home game was relocated to TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

Ultimate disposition of the 14 charter franchises
By the start of the 1920 APFA season, the nascent National Football League was composed of 14 franchises. Of those teams, only two are still in operation (denoted in bold):


 * Akron Pros: Changed name to Akron Indians in 1926. Permanently suspended operations in 1927.
 * Buffalo All-Americans: Changed name to Buffalo Bisons in 1924, Buffalo Rangers in 1926, and changed back to Buffalo Bisons in 1927 before suspending operations halfway through 1927. Resumed play in 1929, but folded following the season. City is currently represented by the Buffalo Bills, a charter member of the American Football League in 1960.
 * Canton Bulldogs: Cleveland Bulldogs in 1923. Suspended operations in 1924.  Resumed play in Canton in 1925.  Folded following 1926 season. City is currently represented only by the preseason Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
 * Chicago Cardinals: Merged with Pittsburgh Steelers for one year in 1944. Returned as an independent team in 1945. Moved to St. Louis in 1960. Moved to Phoenix in 1988.  Changed name to Arizona Cardinals in 1994.
 * Chicago Tigers: Folded following 1920 season.
 * Cleveland Tigers: Folded following 1921 season. City is currently represented by the Cleveland Browns.
 * Columbus Panhandles: Changed name to Columbus Tigers in 1923. Folded following 1926 season.
 * Dayton Triangles: See "The case of the Indianapolis Colts" below.
 * Decatur Staleys: Moved to Chicago in 1921. Changed name to Chicago Bears in 1922.
 * Detroit Heralds: Changed name to "Tigers" and folded in the middle of the 1921 season, sending its players to Buffalo. City currently represented by the Detroit Lions.
 * Hammond Pros: Folded following 1926 season.
 * Muncie Flyers: Folded following 1921 season.
 * Rochester Jeffersons: Suspended operations following 1925 season; folded in 1928.
 * Rock Island Independents: Left NFL and became an independent team following 1924 season. Joined first American Football League in 1926, but folded before end of season.

The case of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have perhaps the most complex history of any football team in the NFL. The Colts can trace their history as far back as 1913, with the founding of the Dayton Triangles. The team then went through the following changes:


 * Franchise became a road team in 1924, although it retained the "Dayton Triangles" name.
 * Franchise established a permanent home base in Brooklyn, New York and renamed Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930.
 * Changed name to Brooklyn Tigers in 1944. In the same year, the Boston Yanks are founded.
 * Merged with Boston Yanks in 1945 as the wartime "The Yanks."
 * Franchise canceled in 1945 by league and the team's temporary merger with the Boston Yanks is made permanent, as a parallel team (AAFC New York Yankees) is founded by the Tigers' former owner.
 * Boston Yanks moved to New York in 1949 and become New York Bulldogs. Renamed New York Yanks in 1950, absorbing much of the former AAFC New York Yankees' roster that year.
 * Team dissolved in 1951 and replaced by the Dallas Texans.
 * Texans, in turn, became a road team halfway through the 1952 season and were dissolved shortly thereafter; they are replaced by the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts in 1953, which absorbed the team name of a previous Baltimore Colts franchise, as well as its marching band.
 * Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom and Los Angeles Rams owner Robert Irsay swap ownership of teams following the 1971 season. (Their heirs continued to own both franchises until 2010, when Rosenbloom's children sold the Rams to Stan Kroenke.) The Rams later move to St. Louis in 1995.
 * Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 to become the Indianapolis Colts, which still play to this day. The marching band stays in Baltimore and associates itself with the Baltimore Ravens when they debut in 1996.

Officially, all of these teams except for the second Baltimore Colts and the Indianapolis Colts are considered separate franchises.