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According to history, the Arizona Cardinals are the oldest team in the NFL, having originally been founded in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club. They eventually became known as the Racine Cardinals and joined the NFL in 1920 as one of the league's founding teams, but changed their name to the Chicago Cardinals a few years after joining the league. They moved to St Louis in 1960 where they played for 27 years before moving to Arizona in 1988.

The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers are the next oldest teams, both having been founded in 1919. However, the Bears were originally founded in Decatur, Illinois, and were known as the Decatur Staleys before moving to Chicago in 1921. The Staleys joined the NFL in 1920 while they were still located in Decatur and, alongside the Cardinals, became one of the league's founding teams. The Packers, however, did not join the league until 1921, and therefore are not considered one of the founding teams of the NFL. Therefore, they are considered the third oldest team. What's worth noting about the Packers is that out of all the teams that joined the NFL within it's first (nearly) 13 years, they're the only team that still has not been renamed or moved to another city. They're also the only non-profit, community-owned major league team in all of professional sports within the United States.

The fourth oldest team is the current New York Giants. They were founded in 1925 and joined the league that same year. Contrary to popular belief, the New York Giants of 1919 and of 1921 are not the same as the Giants of 1925, and have no relation whatsoever to that team except for the name. The Giants of 1919 folded in the same year, and the Giants of 1921 folded two years later, in 1923. New York has had three separate football teams known as the Giants, but only the first two were related.

Finally, the fifth oldest team is the Detroit Lions. They were founded in Ohio in 1929 and were known as the Portsmouth Spartans. They joined the NFL in 1930 and played as the Spartans until 1934, when they were moved to Detroit and renamed the Lions.

If you want to get really technical, the Green Bay Packers could be considered the oldest team, as they can trace their lineage back to 1896 to other semi-professional teams who played in Green Bay. However, they did not officially become the Packers until 1919.A

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11y ago

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More answers

1. Arizona Cardinals (founded in 1898 in Chicago; charter member of the NFL in 1920)

2. Green Bay Packers (founded 1919; joined the NFL in 1921)

3. Chicago Bears (founded in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys; charter member of the NFL in 1920)

4. New York Giants (1925)

5. Detroit Lions (founded in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans; joined the NFL in 1930)

6. Washington Redskins (founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves)

7. Philadelphia Eagles (1933)

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (founded in 1933 as the Pittsburgh Pirates)

9. St. Louis Rams (founded in 1937 in Cleveland)

10. San Francisco 49ers (founded in 1946; joined the NFL in 1950)

The Browns would be tied for 10th with the 49ers, but technically, the current Browns team is not the same franchise that moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens.

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14y ago
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arizona cardnals, greenbay packers, Chicago Bears, new york giants, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers

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11y ago
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The Oldest NFL teams are the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Colts and the New England Patriots

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16y ago
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Q: What are the ten oldest NFL teams?
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