5 cities that deserve an NFL expansion team 

Periodically, the NFL looks to scour potential cities for an expansion team. It sets off a veritable cacophony of competing interests.

Potential expansion team locations have begun offering opportunities to NFL owners, hoping taxpayers wouldn't mind using their own money to give breaks to billionaires as long as they get a team to cheer for. Others may oppose such expansion teams in their cities as a matter of principle, many a time still secretly hoping that they nab one anyway.

Ultimately, the fans are the beating heartbeat of an NFL team. Without them, the league is nothing and the NFL is mindful of that.

If they are looking for an expansion team where interest is already bubbling, they must check out the following cities.

5 cities that deserve an expansion team

#1 - Mexico City, Mexico

Passionate fans? Check. Huge stadium? Check. Previous NFL experience? Check. At this point, it is a surprise that Mexico City does not have an NFL team.

A full thirty percent of the NFL games with the largest attendances have been in Mexico City. In 1994, in a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Oilers, their was a recorded attendance of 112,000 people, the highest ever in the NFL.

The NFL regularly hosts games in Mexico City, and were it not for COVID-19, the Arizona Cardinals would have played a couple of games in the last two years. But rather than rotating teams there, the more than 20 million NFL fans in Mexico deserve their own team to cheer for.

If the NFL is ever looking to expand outside the U.S., and it should, Mexico City is where it should start with an expansion team.

#2 - London, UK

The International Series already takes place in London every year and now the Tottenham Hotspur stadium provides a dedicated NFL ground for the expansion team. NFL players have raved about the experience they had when playing in London and it has been uniformly positive.

The city of London is ready; all it needs is an NFL expansion team.

With 9 million people in London and the wider UK public appreciative of contact sports like rugby union and rugby league, there is a great expansion team opportunity in London. London could also be the gateway to further having an expansion team in Europe and gradually checking the possibility of a European division or conference.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers v St Louis Rams

5 cities that deserve an expansion team

#3 - Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is a prime contender for an expansion team should the chance ever come to pass. While people often tend to ignore it, Utah is an undercover sporting behemoth.

From hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics successfully, to their love for the Utah Jazz, they have shown to be crazy about sports.

They are also knowledgeable football fans, with BYU Cougars being one of the most highly regarded college programs in the country. While their governor, Spencer Cox, has made it clear that he will not provide unnecessary tax breaks to potential owners, it is hoped that expansion teams will see the potential in Utah and will not ask for one either.

#4 - Honolulu, Hawaii

The Pro Bowl used to take place at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii until 2016 and it is now time for them to have an expansion team that satiates the love of the masses on a permanent basis. The climate there is perfect for football and fun.

Hawaii can bring its own unique outlook to the NFL and expose the game to the tourists that regularly throng the island. International tourists can enjoy the game bathing in the sun and help expand the game to the international market.

Also, giving Hawaii a team to root for also expands the reach to the Pacific Islander community, which also has a proud history of excelling in contact sports.

#5 - St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis has suffered enough heartbreak with the NFL and it is time they have a permanent NFL team of their own. They had the St. Louis Cardinals leave town in 1988 to become the Arizona Cardinals.

The St. Louis Rams arrived in 1995 from Los Angeles and returned in 2015, leaving behind many broken hearts and recriminations.

In both cases, the issue was that these were relocated teams who used St. Louis as a stopover. None of these teams were born in St. Louis.

This football-craved city needs its own NFL expansion team. The city of St. Louis has suffered enough.

Of course, we yearn for a day when every city in the world has an NFL expansion team of their own. But for now, we would recommend beginning with these five.