The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a mascot is a costumed figure usually in the shape of an animal or a bird. Sometimes, they are even bizarre-looking cartoon-looking characters, while some of the others are live animals as well. And although mascots can be found at various institutions, the most celebrated ones are usually associated with sports teams.
Long before these costumed mascots took the sports industry by storm, there were many teams who had invested their time and money in real-life mascots. However, training these live birds or animals and ensuring the safety of all the spectators as well as the personnel in the stadium is no walk in the park. Furthermore, some live mascots need to be provided utmost care making the whole ordeal a tough situation to handle. But that is not to say that no team still employs live mascots as even to this day we can find a handful of them every once in a while.
The main role of mascots in sports is to raise more awareness and inclination to support the respective team. For the most part, costumed mascots provide a form of entertainment when nothing interesting is going on. It keeps the crowd energized and provides a fun enough experience to make them come back. On the field, they earn their money by interacting, and performing tricks and stunts before the game and during the breaks. Mascots are also great for marketing purposes, teaching young children about life lessons, and much more.
In fact, most of the mascots especially in the NFL have continuous work for the full year even after the season is over. They attend several events to the tune of nearly 300 a year. Mascots are quite common at birthday parties, corporate events, charities, fundraisers, etc. Many times, schools also request their services to reach out to the kids involving various important social and cultural messages.
While it is true that the majority of the sports teams, especially in the United States have mascots, it is not mandatory that every franchise should have one. If we are to consider the NFL, 27 of the 32 teams have a mascot. The only five franchises without a mascot are the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and the two New York teams - Jets and Giants.
List of mascots in the NFL
| Team | Mascot Name | Mascot Type |
| Arizona Cardinals | Big Red | Costumed red cardinal |
| Atlanta Falcons | Freddie Falcon | Costumed falcon |
| Baltimore Ravens | Poe Rise and Conquer | Costumed black raven Live ravens |
| Buffalo Bills | Billy Buffalo | Costumed blue buffalo |
| Carolina Panthers | Sir Purr | Costumed black panther |
| Chicago Bears | Staley Da Bear | Costumed brown bear |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Who Dey | Costumed orange bengal tiger |
| Cleveland Browns | Chomps & Brownie the Elf Swagger Jr. | Costumed dog and elf Live bullmastiff dog |
| Dallas Cowboys | Rowdy | Costumed cowboy |
| Denver Broncos | Miles Thunder III | Costumed white horse Live Arabian horse |
| Detroit Lions | Roary | Costumed brown lion |
| Houston Texans | Toro | Costumed dark blue bull |
| Indianapolis Colts | Blue | Costumed blue horse |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Jaxson de Ville | Costumed yellow jaguar |
| Kansas City Chiefs | K. C. Wolf | Costumed gray wolf |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Raider Rusher | Costumed gray boy with overly large spiked helmet |
| Los Angeles Rams | Rampage | Costumed brown ram |
| Miami Dolphins | T.D. | Costumed gray dolphin |
| Minnesota Vikings | Viktor | Costumed Viking |
| New England Patriots | Pat Patriot | Costumed Patriot |
| New Orleans Saints | Gumbo | Costumed brown dog |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Swoop | Costumed white and brown bald eagle |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Steely McBeam | Costumed steelworker |
| San Francisco 49ers | Sourdough Sam | Costumed person |
| Seattle Seahawks | Blitz and Boom | Costumed blue hawks |
| Taima | Live Augur hawk | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Captain Fear | Costumed pirate |
| Tennessee Titans | T-Rac | Costumed brown raccoon |
FAQs
A. Out of the 32 teams in the NFL, 27 of them currently have mascots.
A. There are only five franchises in the NFL that do not employ mascots. These teams are the Packers, Jets, Giants, Chargers, and the Commanders.
A. The Baltimore Ravens currently have one costumed raven mascot named Poe and two live ravens named Rise and Conquer.
A. The Dallas Cowboys mascot is a costumed cowboy figure who goes by the name of Rowdy.
A. Most of the mascots in the NFL are averaging between $50,000 - $60,000 annually. Few mascots are earning around $65,000.
