Which state is not home to an NFL team? Exploring reasons why some US states lack a pro team

The NFL is a major force in American society and the most valuable and well-liked sports league in the country. However, nearly half of the states in the United States do not have an NFL team despite the fact that the league has 32 franchises.

Not a single NFL team exists in any of these states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, West Virginia, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Maine, Alaska, North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Kentucky, Vermont, New Hamsphire and Wyoming.

The primary cause of the lack of an NFL team is that not every state has an urban center big or populated enough to sustain an NFL team. For example, California has three NFL teams since the San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego metro areas can support up to four teams, while Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Virginia, and Kentucky do not have any NFL teams. The majority of the other NFL franchises are based in large cities.

There may be more reasons, such as challenging geographic situations, why certain states don't have NFL teams. Let's examine a few of the states listed below and the reasons behind their lack of NFL teams.

Why certain states don't have NFL teams

1) Oregon

The NFL is primarily concerned with three factors in terms of teams and their locations. These three factors are the NFL being the main draw in the area, sizable TV markets and a sizable amount of local funding to support the team. In Portland and other Oregon locations, none of these three conditions are actually practical, and the additional element of geography is also challenging.

Oregon is not an especially significant TV market, despite being a rather large metropolis. The size of the market and the fact that Portland is somewhat isolated from other major NFL cities, save for the Seattle Seahawks, make it easy to understand why little TV support is expected.

The financial aspect is an additional factor. Securing a franchise in Oregon, whether through expansion or relocation, appears improbable anytime soon unless someone comes up with a strategy to construct a multi-billion dollar stadium that is primarily self-financed.

2) Alabama

Alabama is known for producing talented football players and is obviously a football-loving state, but one could find it puzzling that there hasn't been any progress in creating an NFL franchise.

There are a number of reasons Alabama does not have an NFL franchise; some are financial in nature, while others are geographic in nature.

Substantial injections of investment are necessary for Alabama to commit the amount of money needed to field and support a team, and many could contend that the funds would be better spent elsewhere.

The possibility that Alabama sports fans are drawn to their favorite teams in a different way is another aspect. College football is the one sport that everyone in the city will always enjoy, no matter what. It's evident that the locals prefer college football over NFL football when it comes to game watching.

3) Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma's largest city, is too small to accommodate an NFL franchise, which is why the state does not have an NFL team.

Oklahoma City's metro region doesn't meet the NFL's qualifications for consideration for a new team, with a population of approximately 681,000. This falls short of the league's minimum requirement of an urban region with a population of at least one million.

Tulsa, with a metro population of just under 500,000, is the next largest city in the state, according to World Population Review. Also, this is not up to the NFL's standards.

It appears unlikely that Oklahoma will be able to draw an NFL franchise anytime soon in the absence of a sizable metro region that can sustain the fan base and financial requirements of an NFL team.