10 cities that need NFL expansion teams

5. San Jose

If Oakland is considered totally dead by the NFL now, and it easily could be, San Jose could become an option to bring the league back to the Bay Area opposite the San Francisco 49ers as a territorial rival. A stadium solution would be needed, of course, with only a small soccer venue that’s home to the San Jose Quakes of the MLS and an NHL arena that houses the Sharks, but if one is considered San Jose may land on the NFL’s radar.

San Jose does not stand out as especially football hungry, with a lower-tier FBS school in San Jose State that is not incredibly successful on the field. But the NFL brings its own buzz and notoriety, and the population base can surely be energized by what it will bring with it. If people and notable Silicon Valley companies want to part with their money, significant season ticket and suite sales will not be difficult to get.

San Jose is my dark horse on this list, with the Raiders leaving a void in a major market within the next couple years. The NFL and its collective ownership group likes money, more than anything else, and leaving essentially half of a significant piece of the revenue pie on the plate will not stand for long. San Jose can bring that back.