Interesting data from Sports Stats Overload:
Top 5 Smallest NFL TV Markets
1. Green Bay - Market #70. Definitely has to be one of the early teams, because no way in the world would the NFL go into market #70.
2. New Orleans - Market #53. Pre-Katrina, New Orleans was in the mid-40s of market size.
3. Buffalo - Market #51. Buffalo has slowly slid down the ranker.
4. Jacksonville - Market #47. When Jacksonville joined the league in 1995, they were the second smallest NFL market. Combine Jacksonville's growth with Katrina, and Buffalo's shrinkage, and now they're 4.
5. Cincinnati - #34 - Not showing much growth, but will not be passed by any of the smaller four anytime soon.
Interesting that the last two Super Bowl champs are from the SMALLEST markets.
While we're at it, the largest markets without an NFL team:
#2 Los Angeles - well-documented lack of passion for NFL; this is the new go-to town when teams threaten to leave.
#19 Orlando - With three teams already in Florida, and, those three not showing the overwhelming desire to sell out their stadiums, Orlando does not foresee any NFL-ing.
#20 Sacramento - The California state capitol is two hours from Bay Area that hosts two teams (Niners and Raiders).
#22 Portland - Portlanders have shown interest, giving the NFL the nudge that they are interested in becoming home to a team. Those NFL wheels turn slowly.