Which NFL teams have the longest Super Bowl droughts?

The Eagles will be trying to do the repeat thing. They closed out the 2024 season by handily beating the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. That probably felt extra nice for the Eagles, as two years earlier, they had lost to those same Chiefs in that Super Bowl. Speaking of the Chiefs…

The Chiefs have arguably been a dynasty under the leadership of head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. They won their first title together in 2019, and then proceeded to win again in 2022 and 2023. The Eagles kept the Chiefs from a three-peat, but the Chiefs aren’t going anywhere. Not that anybody outside of Kansas City sports fans/Taylor Swift fans will be rooting for them.

After losing the Super Bowl in 2018, the Rams went all-in (with a certain attitude toward draft picks as part of the equation) to try and get that Super Bowl title. That included a trade that brought veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford into the fold. Well, flags fly forever, and it paid off with a title in 2021. It seems like they will be one-and-done, but the Rams aren’t in a drought just yet.

For the first couple of decades of their existence, the Buccaneers were as futile as any franchise. The new millennium has been kinder. They won a title in 2002 owing to elite defense, and they won in 2020 owing to Tom Brady wanting to show he could win a ring without Bill Belichick. Of course, while the Bucs have made the playoffs post-Brady, they haven’t exactly felt like contenders.

Yes, nobody will be feeling bad for Patriots fans for a while. Belichick and Brady may be gone, so perhaps fans of opposing franchises aren’t actively rooting against the Patriots. However, New England won six Super Bowls in under two decades. It might take a two-decade drought before fans start treating the Patriots like a scrappy underdog you don’t mind rooting for.

Peyton Manning closed his career with a win in the 50th Super Bowl. He had to be carried to that Super Bowl by the coaching staff and the Broncos’ defense, but it gave the team its third title. Things seem to be percolating under Sean Payton, but the Broncos are close to a decade-long run without a title, which feels like a proper drought.

If not for that famous (or infamous, in the minds of many) goal-line stand by the Patriots, the Seahawks would have been back-to-back champions. They would have won the title in 2014, and they would have had a drought that was one season shorter. Alas, Malcolm Butler's interception means the Seahawks have only one Super Bowl win as a franchise, and the team has endured an 11-season drought.

The only thing Lamar Jackson is missing is that ring. He’s already got a Hall of Fame resume, but the Ravens haven’t won a title during his tenure under center. When the Ravens won the Harbaugh Bowl, with Joe Flacco at quarterback, they became the champions of the 2012 season, but the team has been without a title ever since.

Now, without his rings, Eli Manning would have no chance of being a Hall of Famer. He has two titles as a starting quarterback, though, and that could be enough. Plus, it may help his case how much the Giants have struggled since Eli stopped being a viable NFL quarterback. The franchise is now closing in on 15 seasons without a title.

As you likely know, if you are a football historian at all, the Packers won the first two Super Bowls ever played. After that, and after many years in the wilderness, the team won a Super Bowl in 1996 with Brett Favre and then in 2010 with his successor, Aaron Rodgers. Now, Jordan Love is the quarterback, but he doesn’t have a ring. Green Bay still loves its Packers, but the title drought is starting to add up.

Broncos fans who believe Sean Payton can deliver them a title are basing that on the fact that he delivered a title for the Saints. New Orleans was the “Aints.” Its football history is as bleak as the Buccaneers. Bleaker, in fact, in that the Saints have been around for even longer, and they have only been in one Super Bowl. Things are bleak right now, and it feels like this drought could stretch to 20 seasons.

That’s right, it has been over 15 years since the Steelers last won a Super Bowl. It’s no longer the 1970s. Hell, it’s not the 2000s, when the Steelers won two Super Bowls. That last title came in 2008. Mike Tomlin has done a great job of keeping the Steelers from unraveling, but he hasn’t gotten them over the hump since that 2008 victory.

The Colts were a formidable team back in Baltimore, but after the move to Indianapolis, things weren’t as successful. Eventually, Peyton Manning would arrive, but could you argue that things still fell short of expectations? Sure, the team did win a Super Bowl in 2006, and it played in one in 2009. That was the long and the short of the Manning era, though, and the team hasn’t really looked the part much in the last 10-15 seasons.

The Texans are the first team on this list without a single Super Bowl. They are, relatedly, the most recent NFL franchise. The Texans joined the NFL in 2002. They have yet to play in a Super Bowl. That made sense in the early days, but we imagine Houston football fans are starting to get a little frustrated, perhaps even impatient. It has been over two decades, after all.

How ‘bout them Cowboys? Well, them Cowboys are about to hit 30 seasons without a title. That’s three decades. The clock is ticking on the team winning another title under Jerry Jones’ ownership. They were the defining NFL franchise of the 1990s, but the ‘90s were a long time ago. Just ask Chicago Bulls fans.

Back to teams lacking a Super Bowl. Carolina has found some success since joining the NFL three decades ago. The Panthers have been close. They have played in two Super Bowls. The Panthers haven’t gotten over the hump, though, and are still looking for a title 30 years later.

The Jaguars joined the NFL the same season the Panthers did. Both teams have big cat nicknames. What they don’t have, though, is the same Super Bowl experience. While the Panthers have been there twice, the Jaguars are still waiting for their first trip to football’s biggest game.

The 49ers, Panthers, and Jaguars have the same length of Super Bowl drought. One of those things is not like the other, though, as they say. San Francisco was the team of the 1980s. The Niners have five Super Bowls, the most recent coming in 1994. Since then, San Fran has played in three Super Bowls. It hasn’t won, though, and that’s why the 49ers now find themselves with a significant title drought.

Now that they are the Commanders, and now that Dan Snyder is gone, we’re totally cool with this team winning a Super Bowl. It would be a notable event, given that the franchise has now surpassed 30 seasons without a championship. Sure, some teams have been waiting for longer, but 33 seasons is nothing to sneeze at. Can Jayden Daniels be the quarterback to get the Commanders there? If not, this could become quite the drought, given that Daniels should be around for a while.

The Bears, the “Monsters of the Midway,” are as historic as any franchise. They have been around since 1920. The franchise won eight NFL titles in the days before the merger. However, those titles in the ‘30s and ‘40s were quite a long time ago. The ’85 Bears may have shuffled into our hearts and the NFL history books, but it’s now approaching 40 seasons without a title in Chicago.

Of course, the Raiders have never won a title in Las Vegas, but if they end this drought, it will be there…maybe. They could also go back to Los Angeles or Oakland or maybe try something new and go to, like, Des Moines. The Raiders won two titles in Oakland, and then one in Los Angeles. That was a long, long time ago now. Will the move to Sin City change the franchise’s luck?

Well that’s quite a jump! We transition from a team that has been waiting for four decades to a team that has been waiting for five decades. All in the same city, at that! The Marlins have won multiple titles since the last Dolphins title, and the Marlins weren’t even a team back when the Dolphins last won it all. Miami won in 1973 as a follow-up to its fabled 1972 run. Ever since that back-to-back, though, the Dolphins have fallen short.

Figuring out what to do with the Vikings was a bit tricky. They were empirically the NFL champions in 1969. This was before the merger, though. The Vikings then went and lost Super Bowl IV to the Chiefs. Ergo, should they be considered “champions?” Or should we think of them as we think of conference champions now? If we don’t count that NFL title because of a loss to the AFL champions in the Super Bowl, the Vikings have zero titles in their history, which dates back to 1961. Ultimately, as you can see, we opted to count it, because that is what the record books do. If there was ever cause for an asterisk, though…

Man, imagine if Joe Namath and the Jets hadn’t pulled that upset in Super Bowl III. Well, we suppose that given the fact that the Vikings’ NFL title was included, we would have included the Jets’ AFL title, and they would still be here. Regardless, it’s been 56 years without a title for the team in green and white. That would be long in any city, but especially in New York.

The Bengals are a team sans the title. They have played 57 seasons, and they have yet to win it all. However, unlike some teams, they have played in a Super Bowl. In fact, the Bengals have played in three of them, the most recent in the 2021 campaign. Of course, being the bridesmaid gets you little to nothing in the world of sports, especially the world of the NFL.

The Browns were a pre-merger powerhouse. They won four NFL titles and four AAFC titles before that. Cleveland’s last title came in 1964. Of course, the Browns also did not exist for a handful of seasons after the franchise moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. The Ravens are considered an expansion franchise in the record books, though, and the Browns got all their history back when they rejoined the NFL in 2000. Of course, that history includes a long title drought.

The Falcons were born in 1966 due. to a war between the NFL and AFLish a team in the city of Atlanta. The NFL won out, but the Falcons haven’t done a great deal of winning. They don’t have a title as they approach six decades of existence. The Falcons have played in two Super Bowls, but lost them both. One of those losses came in memorable fashion to the Patriots.

Infamously, the Bills lost four Super Bowls in a row. It’s incredible they played in four consecutive Super Bowls, and just as incredible, they couldn’t manage to win one. However, the franchise is not without titles. The Bills actually won back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and 1965. Of course, as has often been the case, Buffalo somehow managed to mix success with bad luck. Those were the last two seasons before the first-ever Super Bowl. The Bills came oh-so-close to being part of football history.

It’s been over 60 years of falling short for the Chargers. They won a title in San Diego all the way back in 1963 in the old AFL. Few remain who remember that title, and certainly it isn’t tiding any fans over. The franchise has only played in one Super Bowl, and in said Super Bowl, they were steamrolled by the 49ers. Will Jim Harbaugh be able to get the Chargers their first title of the Super Bowl era?

The Titans, of course, fell one yard short of a Super Bowl. Technically, the Titans have thus won nothing. When the franchise won the AFL title back in 1961, it was as the Houston Oilers. The Oilers were also champions in 1960. It is worth noting, though, that those were the first two seasons in the history of the AFL. That makes those titles feel a bit less remarkable.

Football in the 1950s was remarkably different, but the Lions certainly don’t want you eschewing it. After all, Detroit won three NFL titles in the 1950s. Yes, there was a time when the Lions were consistently formidable title contenders, even champions. They then spent, oh, about 60 years in the football wilderness. Hey, at least things have been better under Dan Campbell.

However, no franchise holds a candle to the Cardinals. Yes, the Cardinals have gone almost 80 seasons without a title. As the Chicago Cardinals, they won a title in 1947. The Chicago Cardinals moved to St. Louis after the 1959 season. Then, the St. Louis Cardinals moved to Phoenix after the 1987 season. They rebranded as the Arizona Cardinals for the 1994 season. Through all that, zero titles. This is a title drought on par with anything going on in sports right now.