# List of defunct NFL franchises

Membership in the National Football League (NFL) is certified by a franchise. A franchise is awarded by the league to each member club and serves as the league's authorization to operate as a professional football club in their city. Franchises award member clubs the exclusive right to hold professional football games between league members within a 75-mile radius of their city as well as the exclusive rights to market games in their area. There are currently 32 clubs in the league, and new members can only be approved with the support of 3/4s of current members. In the case of egregious misbehavior, a club's franchise can be revoked or suspended by the league's commissioner.
The NFL has had a total of 49 franchises become defunct over its history; this includes ten of the league's twelve founding members, with only the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals surviving to the present day. By 1926, the league had expanded to 22 franchises, but a league meeting in April 1927 led to the decision to revoke the franchises of the clubs in the weakest financial situations; 10 franchises were ultimately revoked.
Five defunct NFL franchises (the Akron Pros/Indians, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs/Indians, Frankford Yellow Jackets, and Providence Steamrollers) had previously won NFL championships. The most recent franchise to become defunct was the Dallas Texans, which folded in 1952 after one season in the league.

## Defunct franchises

Key :
| ^ | Denotes the club had won an NFL championship before folding |
List of defunct NFL franchises :
| Club | City | Joined NFL | Folded |
| Akron Pros/Indians$^^$ | Akron, Ohio | 1920 | 1926 |
| Baltimore Colts | Baltimore, Maryland | 1950 | 1950 |
| Boston Yanks | Boston, Massachusetts | 1943 | 1948 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers | Brooklyn, New York | 1930 | 1944 |
| Brooklyn Lions | Brooklyn, New York | 1926 | 1926 |
| Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons/Rangers | Buffalo, New York | 1920 | 1929 |
| Canton Bulldogs$^^$ | Canton, Ohio | 1920 | 1926 |
| Chicago Tigers | Chicago, Illinois | 1920 | 1920 |
| Cincinnati Celts | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1921 | 1921 |
| Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1933 | 1934 |
| Cleveland Tigers/Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | 1920 | 1921 |
| Cleveland Indians/Bulldogs$^^$ | Cleveland, Ohio | 1923 | 1927 |
| Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | 1931 | 1931 |
| Columbus Panhandles/Tigers | Columbus, Ohio | 1920 | 1926 |
| Dallas Texans | Dallas, Texas | 1952 | 1952 |
| Dayton Triangles | Dayton, Ohio | 1920 | 1929 |
| Detroit Heralds | Detroit, Michigan | 1920 | 1920 |
| Detroit Panthers | Detroit, Michigan | 1925 | 1926 |
| Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | 1921 | 1921 |
| Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | 1928 | 1928 |
| Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos | Duluth, Minnesota | 1923 | 1927 |
| Evansville Crimson Giants | Evansville, Indiana | 1921 | 1922 |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets$^^$ | Frankford, Philadelphia | 1924 | 1931 |
| Hammond Pros | Hammond, Indiana | 1920 | 1926 |
| Hartford Blues | Hartford, Connecticut | 1926 | 1926 |
| Kansas City Blues/Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | 1924 | 1926 |
| Kenosha Maroons | Kenosha, Wisconsin | 1924 | 1924 |
| Los Angeles Buccaneers | Los Angeles, California | 1926 | 1926 |
| Louisville Brecks/Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | 1921 | 1926 |
| Milwaukee Badgers | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1922 | 1926 |
| Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 1921 | 1930 |
| Muncie Flyers | Muncie, Indiana | 1920 | 1921 |
| New York Bulldogs/Yanks | New York, New York | 1949 | 1951 |
| New York Yankees | New York, New York | 1927 | 1928 |
| New York Giants | New York, New York | 1921 | 1921 |
| Orange/Newark Tornadoes | Orange, New Jersey (1929) Newark, New Jersey (1930) | 1929 | 1930 |
| Oorang Indians | LaRue, Ohio | 1922 | 1923 |
| Pottsville Maroons/Boston Bulldogs | Pottsville, Pennsylvania (1925–1928) Boston, Massachusetts (1929) | 1925 | 1929 |
| Providence Steamrollers$^^$ | Providence, Rhode Island | 1925 | 1931 |
| Racine Legion/Tornadoes | Racine, Wisconsin | 1922 | 1926 |
| Rochester Jeffersons | Rochester, New York | 1920 | 1925 |
| Rock Island Independents | Rock Island, Illinois | 1920 | 1925 |
| St. Louis All-Stars | St. Louis, Missouri | 1923 | 1923 |
| St. Louis Gunners | St. Louis, Missouri | 1934 | 1934 |
| Staten Island Stapletons/Stapes | Staten Island, New York | 1929 | 1932 |
| Toledo Maroons | Toledo, Ohio | 1922 | 1923 |
| Tonawanda Kardex | Tonawanda, New York | 1921 | 1921 |
| Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | 1921 | 1921 |