Quote:
Originally Posted by HUbison
In traditional terms, it would be based off the metropolitan size of a team's fanbase. That is to say, large market teams would be the Giants, Jets, Bears, Cowboys, Redskins, Whiners/Raiders, Eagles, Lions, Pats, etc.... While the small market teams would be the Bengals, Packers, Rams, Chiefs, Jags, Bills, Titans, Saints, Panthers, Colts, etc.
The irony of the past 13 years is that the nation's 2nd largest market (LA) does not have an NFL team.
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You also have to take into account TV markets. how much coverage does a team get, how many people are watching on TV. it is really important in determining who gets a team and where the team is. it is directly related to the population of the metropolitan area, but it doesn't always work. for instance, San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the USA, they have been trying to get a francise for many years, but they have a relatively small TV market compared to thier size as a metropolitan area. they tried to get the Vikings and the Saints but have been unsucessful as of yet.
the beauty of the NFL is how they handle thier business and thier profit sharing technices to keep a balance in the league and maintain competitiveness between large and small market teams. take MLB for example where large market team with very wealthy owners who can go over the cap and pay the penalties, can always have good teams and pay for the best player (yankees, redsox, etc.), while small market teams have to struggle and have a good season here and there (royals, brewers, etc.). while there are repeat team in the NFL that are good for many years, it is more a result of the coaches, and schemes. take the Patriots for example, i wouldn't consider many of thier players to be a whole lot better than players on other teams, and they operate on the same budget as other teams, yet they have great coaching, and make use of their resources a well as they can. man the NFL is awesome!