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A total of twelve NFL teams have yet to claim a Super Bowl title, twelve fan-bases which have never experienced the joy of seeing their team hold the Lombardi trophy aloft amidst the ticker-tape celebrations.
Of those twelve, some fandoms have had a longer wait than others, and in this article we are going to examine the longest suffering teams and supporters. Here is our top five list of the five oldest current NFL teams which have had to suffer for longest without winning the title:
The Titans call Nashville home these days, but the team was founded in 1959 as the Houston Oilers and played their first game in ’60. The Oilers enjoyed some success, particularly in the ‘80s and early ‘90s when star quarterback Warren Moon was in his prime, but never made it any further than the playoffs. As the Tennessee Titans the team made it all the way to the Big Show but were denied victory in Super Bowl XXXIV by the St Louis Rams, in what is widely regarded as an all-time classic. There have been good incarnations of the team in the 21st century, but they are still waiting to take that final step.
Like the Titans, the Chargers were also founded in 1959 and played their first season the following year. The franchise played for just one year as the LA Chargers before moving to San Diego, where they would spend over half a century until controversially returning to Los Angeles in 2017. Like the Titans, the Chargers have only made it to the Super Bowl once in their history, when they were soundly beaten by the San Francisco 49ers in 1994.
The fans of the Buffalo Bills (founded in 1959) have famously endured a lot of heartbreak over the years, notably when appearing in four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993 and losing all four. There have been plenty of good times for the Bills for those with longer memories, including pre-merger AFL Championships in 1964 and ’65, plus eleven divisional championships as members of the NFL. The franchise is arguably in the best shape of any on this list, and the fans live in hope that before too long their team will be able to take that final step.
The Cleveland Browns were created back in 1944 and took their nickname from legendary coach Paul Brown when they first played in the All-American Football Conference in ’46. They won all four of the short-lived AAFC Championships, and four more in the pre-merger NFL championships in the 1950s but have never made it to the Super Bowl since the time it was first played in 1967. Their long-suffering fans also had to endure three years in the wilderness in the late 90’s when the then Browns morphed into the Baltimore Ravens. Since returning in 1999 the Browns have had little to shout about, including a disastrous 1-31 record from 2016 to ’17. Recent years have given a little more hope to the fanbase, but a first Super Bowl win still looks to be at least a few years away.
Since being founded in 1930 the Lions have enjoyed some success – winning the NFL Championship four times between 1937 and ’57 – but not so much in recent years. Their first few seasons were as the Portsmouth Spartans in Ohio, but they relocated and became the Detroit Lions in 1934, making them the longest-running franchise in the same city to have never claimed a Super Bowl title. In fact, since their last national championship in 1957 the Detroit fans have endured a miserable time, only winning one playoff game in 1991 and having to wait until 2023 for a second. However, the current setup looks as good as most fans can remember, so the future looks considerably brighter for this franchise.
The Cardinals may have moved towns a few times over the years, but they remain the longest running football franchise still in existence, having been founded as the Morgan Athletic Club all the way back in 1898. However, they joined the NFL in 1920 as the ‘Racine Cardinals’, so we will count their unhappy winless period from that date. Since their formative years in Chicago, the Cardinals moved to St Louis in 1960 and then to Arizona, which they have called home since 1988. The Cards have managed to claim two NFL championships – in 1925 and ’47 – but since the Super Bowl era began in 1967 they have never experienced a title-winning season.
The wait may have to continue for a few more years for the Cardinals, but their success-starved fans live in hope that they will one day make it to the promised land!
Here is the full list of all 12 teams still waiting for a Super Bowl win. We have ordered the list from oldest (Cardinals) to newest (Texans) and included the closest they have ever come to winning the Vince Lombardi trophy. As you can see, eight of these fan-bases have at least made it to the big show, even if their team couldn’t get over that final hurdle.
| Team Name | Date Founded | Furthest Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | 1898 | Lost Super Bowl (2008 Season) |
| Detroit Lions | 1930 | NFC Championship (1991 Season) |
| Cleveland Browns | 1946 | AFC Championship (1989 Season) |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 1960 | Lost Super Bowl (1994 Season) |
| Buffalo Bills | 1960 | Lost Super Bowl (1990-1993 Seasons) |
| Minnesota Vikings | 1961 | Lost Super Bowl (4 times) |
| Atlanta Falcons | 1966 | Lost Super Bowl (2016 Season) |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1968 | Lost Super Bowl (3 times) |
| Tennessee Titans | 1960 | Lost Super Bowl (1999 Season) |
| Carolina Panthers | 1993 | Lost Super Bowl (2003, 2015 Seasons) |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1995 | AFC Championship (1996, 2017 Seasons) |
| Houston Texans | 2002 | Divisional Round (2011, 2012, 2016, 2019) |
Ross has been writing about sports for over a decade, spcecializing in the NFL, soccer and boxing. His written work has appeared on a number of online publications over that time.