National Football League

Oldest NFL Teams: Full list of the first NFL franchises

Published May. 20, 2024 1:49 p.m. ET

In the world of American football, there are many storied franchises and some teams have been around much longer than others. Let's take a look at the NFL's oldest franchises and see when they were established in the league.

Oldest NFL Teams

Listed from oldest to newest, here’s a list of all 32 NFL teams and the years they became active:

Arizona Cardinals (1920)
Chicago Bears (1920)
Green Bay Packers (1921)
New York Giants (1925)
Detroit Lions (1930)
Washington Commanders (1932)
Philadelphia Eagles (1933)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1933)
Los Angeles Rams (1937)
Cleveland Browns (1946)
San Francisco 49ers (1946)
Indianapolis Colts (1953)
Tennessee Titans (1960)
Dallas Cowboys (1960)
Denver Broncos (1960)
Buffalo Bills (1960)
New York Jets (1960)
New England Patriots (1960)
Kansas City Chiefs (1960)
Las Vegas Raiders (1960)
Los Angeles Chargers (1960)
Minnesota Vikings (1961)
Atlanta Falcons (1966)
Miami Dolphins (1966)
New Orleans Saints (1967)
Cincinnati Bengals (1968)
Seattle Seahawks (1976)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995)
Carolina Panthers (1995)
Baltimore Ravens (1996)
Houston Texans (2002)

What is the oldest NFL team?

The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest established team in the NFL. They were established in 1898 as an independent team and joined the NFL in its founding year of 1920.