The National Football League commands the largest broadcast viewership in all of sports. The phrase “any given Sunday” speaks to the parity within the league.
On the gridiron, the underdogs always have a chance.
When compared to baseball’s small market squads, an NFL team’s competitiveness has little to do with the size of its market. While hotbeds like New York and LA command tons of media attention, any NFL team can make a run at the Lombardi Trophy in any given season.
There are a few reasons for this:
- Quarterback is by far the most important position. If a team picks the right signal-caller, the rest falls into place.
- The worst teams from the previous year get the earliest draft choices, giving them a better chance to kickstart a rebuild.
- With over 890 college football programs in the country, teams have plenty of options to find talent at every division level.
Here are the smallest market teams in the NFL – broken down by market size, franchise value, payroll, stadium capacity, and more.
Table of Contents
- 1.) Green Bay Packers
- 2.) Buffalo Bills
- 3.) New Orleans Saints
- 4.) Jacksonville Jaguars
- 5.) Las Vegas Raiders
1.) Green Bay Packers
Market Size: 456,00 people
Stadium Capacity: 81,441
2022 Payroll: $205,967,464 (11th of 32)
Franchise Value: $4.25 billion (15th of 32)
The Green Bay Packers are the smallest market NFL team with a market size of 456,000 people. In fact, Green Bay is the smallest major league professional sports market in North America.
And while their media market includes the greater Green Bay area, the city alone only contains 104,508 people. That means Lambeau Field can hold 77.9% of Green Bay’s entire population!
But despite their minuscule market, the Packers boast the Cheeseheads – one of the most devoted fanbases in all of sports. And with four Super Bowl Championships – the trophy is named after the Packers’ legendary coach – this franchise is small but mighty.
2.) Buffalo Bills
Market Size: 612,780 people
Stadium Capacity: 71,608
2022 Payroll: $201,642,974 (22nd of 32)
Franchise Value: $3.4 billion (29th of 32)
Regardless of their size, Bills Mafia comes out in full force every time their team is in town.
Buffalo has made it to the Super Bowl four times, but they have yet to capture that elusive Lombardi Trophy. With a promising young quarterback at the helm, the fanbase is hopeful their time will come sooner than later.
3.) New Orleans Saints
Market Size: 663,520 people
Stadium Capacity: 74,295
2022 Payroll: $199,564,905 (23rd of 32)
Franchise Value: $3.575 billion (26th of 32)
Despite playing in the third smallest NFL market, the Saints enjoyed many fruitful years with Drew Brees and Sean Payton running the show. But as the franchise enters a new era, change is in the air.
Can New Orleans make a run at a second Super Bowl ring? Or will they remain in limbo, searching for a new face to lead them back to the promised land?
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4.) Jacksonville Jaguars
Market Size: 756,960 people
Stadium Capacity: 67,164
2022 Payroll: $229,148,826 (1st of 32)
Franchise Value: $3.475 billion (28th of 32)
The Jaguars came in hot upon their arrival to the NFL in 1995 – making the playoffs in four of their first five years of existence. Since then, they’ve struggled to find an identity.
Most recently, their 2017 lockdown defense led them all the way to the AFC Championship. Now, with a young QB and a Super Bowl winning coach in charge, the franchise is spending big in hopes of making another playoff run.
5.) Las Vegas Raiders
Market Size: 833,510 people
Stadium Capacity: 71,835
2022 Payroll: $186,559,364 (31st of 32)
Franchise Value: $5.1 billion (9th of 32)
The Raiders’ last Super Bowl victory came in 1983 when the team was based in Los Angeles. They’ve since gone through two more cities – Oakland and now Las Vegas – without the same level of success.
Raider Nation expects its new head coach to revitalize the franchise and build on the momentum established in 2021.
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More small-market NFL teams:
- Cincinnati Bengals (6th smallest market, lowest franchise value)
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Tennessee Titans
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Indianapolis Colts
Editor’s Note: All data is accurate as of August 31st, 2022.
More from this series:
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