Who Are the Oldest Teams in the NFL?

The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest team in the NFL, with roots dating back to 1898, more than two decades before the league itself was founded. When people bust out the bar trivia for the oldest teams in the NFL, there’s a catch: “oldest” can mean different things depending on whether you’re talking about franchise founding date, NFL membership, or time spent in one city.

We’ll break this question down—starting with a ranked list of the oldest NFL franchises and then exploring what their longevity actually tells us about the history of professional football.

Top 10 Oldest Teams in the NFL (Ranked by Founding Year)

The oldest NFL teams reveal an interesting pattern: most were founded in the Midwest and Northeast during the early 20th century, when football was still a regional sport played by small clubs, company teams, and community organizations.

Founding year refers to when a team was created, while NFL entry refers to when it joined the league. Alternatively, you could define the oldest teams in the NFL by player age. 

1. Arizona Cardinals (1898)

• Original name: Morgan Athletic Club
• Original city: Chicago
• NFL entry: 1920

The Cardinals are not just the oldest NFL franchise; they’re one of the oldest continuously operating sports teams in the United States. Originally established in Chicago, IL, in 1898, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis, MO, in 1960. They relocated again before the 1988 season, setting up shop in Arizona. 

2. Chicago Bears (1919)

• Original name: Decatur Staleys
• Original city: Decatur, Illinois
• NFL entry: 1920

Founded by George Halas, the Bears helped shape the NFL in its earliest days. The Bears moved to Chicago in 1921 and began playing at Wrigley Field. In 1971, the Bears began playing their home games at the historic Soldier Field, which opened in 1924, making it the oldest, and smallest, stadium in the NFL. 

3. Green Bay Packers (1919)

• Original name: Green Bay Packers
• Original city: Green Bay, Wisconsin
• NFL entry: 1921

The Packers are unique as the only community-owned professional team in major American sports. Green Bay won the first-ever Super Bowl and, counting its nine pre-Super Bowl titles, has 13 total league championships. As of the end of the 2025 season, the Packers have the most wins (819) and best winning percentage (.572) in NFL history. 

4. New York Giants (1925)

• Original name: New York Giants
• Original city: New York, NY
• NFL entry: 1925

The Giants were one of five teams to join the NFL in 1925, bringing legitimacy to the league in a major market. New York has appeared in 19 championship games, the most of any team, and has won eight, including four Super Bowls. Since 1976, the Giants have played their home games at Giants Stadium (1976-2009) and MetLife Stadium (2010-present), both in New Jersey. 

To help differentiate itself from the MLB Giants, New York’s football team was incorporated in 1929 as the “New York National League Football Company, Inc.” and later as the “New York Football Giants” in 1937. 

5. Detroit Lions (1928)

• Original name: Portsmouth Spartans
• Original city: Portsmouth, Ohio
• NFL entry: 1930

Starting as the Portsmouth Spartans in 1928, the team joined the NFL in 1930. They moved to Detroit in 1934, helping to ensure the franchise’s survival, and rebranded as the Lions. Detroit won four NFL Championship Games but is the oldest NFL team to never appear in the Super Bowl. 

6. Washington Commanders (1932)

• Original name: Boston Braves
• Original city: Boston, Massachusetts
• NFL entry: 1932

The Boston Braves were founded in 1932 but quickly changed their name to the Boston Redskins a year later. In 1937, the team relocated to D.C., becoming the Washington Redskins and winning two NFL Championships (1937, 1942) and three Super Bowls (1982, 1987, 1991). In 2020, the team was briefly known as the Washington Football Team before officially becoming the Washington Commanders in 2022. 

7. Philadelphia Eagles (1933)

• Original name: Philadelphia Eagles
• Original city: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• NFL entry: 1933

A stable franchise with a passionate fan base, the Eagles set up shop in 1933 as a replacement for the Frankford Yellow Jackets (1924-1931), who date their lineage back to 1899. The Eagles won three NFL Championships before the Super Bowl Era and claimed the Lombardi in Super Bowls 52 and 60. 

During WWII, the Eagles briefly joined forces with cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to form the Phil-Pitt Steagles for the 1943 season. 

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (1933)

• Original name: Pittsburgh Pirates
• Original city: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• NFL entry: 1933

The NFL’s version of the Pittsburgh Pirates was created in 1933 from the remnants of the James P. Rooneys, an independent semi-pro team. In 1940, the team rebranded as the Steelers but did not find success until the 1970s. Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls in the 1970s, through arguably the greatest NFL defense ever, and added two more in the 2000s, setting the record (6) for the most Lombardi Trophies by a single franchise. 

As mentioned above, Pittsburgh formed the Phil-Pitt Steagles with the Eagles for the 1943 season. It also joined forces with the Chicago Cardinals the following year to create Card-Pitt for one season.  

9. Los Angeles Rams (1936)

• Original name: Cleveland Rams
• Original city: Cleveland, Ohio
• NFL entry: 1936

Few franchises have relocated as many times as the Rams. The original Rams joined the NFL in 1936 and were based in Cleveland. After the 1945 season, the team moved to LA, where it stayed until the mid-1990s. In 1995, the Rams moved back to the Midwest, finding a home in St. Louis, before returning to LA starting in the 2016 season. 

10. Cleveland Browns (1944)

• Original name: Cleveland Browns
• Original city: Cleveland, Ohio
• NFL entry: 1950

The Browns were founded in 1944 but did not begin playing in the All-America Football Conference until 1946, winning the title in each of their first four years. Cleveland joined the NFL in 1950 and continued its dominance, winning four NFL titles and appearing in the championship game each of its first six years. 

After the 1995 season, the team owner, Art Modell, moved the team to Baltimore, establishing the Ravens, but left the team’s intellectual property, including the name, logos, and history, in a trust administered by the NFL. The league expanded, allowing the Browns to “return” starting in the 1999 season.  

Franchise Founding vs. NFL Membership

The original NFL charter was created in 1920, but football existed for decades before that. Prior to joining the league, many teams played in smaller, regional leagues, often formed by independent clubs. 

Because of this, a team’s founding year can be different than the year it joined the NFL. Our list above ranks teams by their founding date, not the date they joined the league. The Cardinals, for instance, trace their origins back to 1898 and were a charter member of the NFL in 1920.

Original NFL Teams Still Playing Today

In the NFL’s early years, survival was far from guaranteed. The NFL was officially founded in 1920, and dozens of teams came and went throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

The teams that survived, namely the Cardinals and the Bears, benefited from strong leadership, larger markets, and timely relocations.

The 1920 Founding Members

Of the 14 charter franchises, only the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears remain. The Cardinals originally started in Chicago, then moved to St. Louis, and finally settled in Arizona. Likewise, the Bears began as the Decatur Staleys, moved to Chicago, and eventually rebranded as the Bears. 

Both joined the league as one of the 14 charter members, but the Cards, who were established in 1898, are the older franchise. 

The other 12 charter members who fell off over the years were:

• Akron Pros (1908-1927)
• Buffalo All-Americans (1915-1929)
• Canton Bulldogs (1903-1927)
• Chicago Tigers (1920-1920)
• Cleveland Tigers (1916-1921)
• Columbus Panhandles (1901-1926)
• Dayton Triangles (1913-1929)
• Detroit Heralds (1905-1928)
• Hammond Pros (1917-1926)
• Muncie Flyers (1905-1925)
• Rochester Jeffersons (1898-1928)
• Rock Island Independents (1907-1925)

Green Bay joined the league in 1921, a year after the original charter. In 1925, five teams were added, including the New York Giants, Pottsville Maroons, Detroit Panthers, Providence Steam Roller, and a new version of the Canton Bulldogs. 

Oldest NFL Teams Still in Their Original City

The Green Bay Packers have played in the same city since 1919, making them the most stable franchise in terms of location. Unlike the Cardinals or the Bears, the Packers have never officially left the city they were founded in.  

However, from 1993 through the 1994 season, the Packers played part of their home slate in Milwaukee. 

The Bears have been in Chicago since 1921, just two years after the Packers were established in Green Bay. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have also been in the same cities for a long time, with the Eagles and Steelers both dating back to 1933. 

Staying in one location makes it easier to maintain community support. With that in mind, it is no surprise that Green Bay, Chicago, Philly, and Pittsburgh have some of the most loyal fan bases. 

Teams that frequently relocate, on the other hand, such as the Cardinals and the Rams, have a tougher time building support. There are also unique situations like the Giants and Jets, who claim New York, NY, despite their headquarters and stadium being in New Jersey. 

Final Thoughts

The Arizona Cardinals, founded in 1898, remain the oldest NFL team, but their story is about more than age; it is about survival and adaptation in a league that is constantly evolving. Arizona, along with Green Bay and Chicago, traces its origins to before the NFL’s founding in 1920. 

Green Bay is the oldest team to never change cities, having been in the same small town in Wisconsin since 1919. The differences in the storied histories of the Cards, Bears, and Packers reflect the league’s deep roots and continue to shape the NFL to this day.