NFL Expansion: 5 cities the league should consider for teams 33 and 34

The story of the Houston Texans is a wild one. Obviously, it starts with the Houston Oilers moving to Tennessee in 1997, but there's more to the story of bringing football back to Houston than just another team moving. Bob McNair was first focused on bringing an NHL franchise to the Texas city, but he lost the bid. However, when the NFL saw the Cleveland Browns controversially move to Baltimore (who themselves lost a franchise as it was ripped out of the city's hands in the middle of the night), they promised the city of Cleveland a new franchise. To even things out, the NFL needed a 32nd team, and in 2002, the Houston Texans were born.

It's been more than 20 years since the Texans joined the league. The NHL added two franchises recently, the NBA is considering franchises in Seattle and Vegas, and MLS just added its 29th team this season. It's about time the NFL gets back into the expansion game.

There are a few reasons that expansion makes sense right now. The most obvious reason is money. Possible owners will line up with billions of dollars to get into the "club." We saw the ridiculous price of the Washington Commanders ($6.05 billion) and Denver Broncos ($4.65 billion) shows that the losers of those respective bidding wars will come with a treasure chest of cash. Unlike the Broncos and Commanders, the league as a whole would benefit from an expansion team since the money goes to the league and is split amongst the owners. That also helps raise the salary cap.

Also, there is a long list of players who aren't in the league right now who are probably talented enough to do so. While the quarterback position is in a weird spot, there are plenty of amazing linebackers, wide receivers, and running backs who are looking for an opportunity. Teams like the Dolphins, Colts, and the Eagles have shown they have multiple great running backs. Imagine if there was a team with 53 open spots to add these players looking for a starting opportunity.

Now that we know why the NFL should expand, let's find where they should go. Which cities make the most sense for expansion?

The NFL should expand to 34 teams. Here are some of the cities that make the most sense.

5. Portland, Oregon
Media Market size: approx. 2.8 million

Sticking to a United States market to start, Portland is one of the few top 25 markets with only one team in the major four sports (Portland Trail Blazers). That team does VERY well in the market despite losing star Damian Lillard this offseason. This is a rebuilding team doing more than 18,000 in attendance per game. It happens when you're the only game in town.

This also makes sense because there is a natural rivalry with the Seattle Seahawks. Being so close allows teams to invade the other arena. Most people in Portland would choose sides, with many changing their fandom. This would create an awesome atmosphere in the stadium when the Hawks come to play.

Obviously, adding teams would probably make divisions a little more complicated, but this one would be at least obvious. It would go in the western-most division, and it makes sense to keep them in the NFC for rivalry purposes.