The first official football game was played in New Jersey in 1869, a collegiate matchup between Princeton and Rutgers. But for years, football has been viewed as a sport of the South.
From the passionate high school football scene in Alabama to the fervently supported SEC conference at the college level, fans just seem to care a little more about their favorite teams around the Bible Belt. But do Southern cities actually produce more NFL players than others around the U.S.?
PointAfter combed its NFL Players database, which dates back to the dawn of the NFL, to identify the cities that have produced the most professional footballers in league history.
The results showed there are 27 cities where at least 100 NFL players have been born. Spoiler alert: five of them are Southern municipalities (more if you consider Texas and Florida part of the South, a blasphemous stance that we don’t share).
Note: The NFL Players database was built from data obtained from Sportradar. Of the 25,556 player listings in the database, 24,442 have birth city affiliations that we used for this article.
#27. Minneapolis, MN
Number of NFL players: 100
Famous retired natives: Dominique Byrd, Mike Arthur
Notable active players: Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Suggs, James Laurinaitis
#26. Baltimore, MD
Number of NFL players: 108
Famous retired natives: Calvin Hill, Antonio Freeman
Notable active players: Tavon Austin, Kyle Fuller
#25. Jacksonville, FL
Number of NFL players: 112
Famous retired natives: Laveranues Coles, Harold Carmichael
Notable active players: Rashean Mathis, Josh McCown, Cliff Avril
#24. Brooklyn, NY
Number of NFL players: 113
Famous retired natives: Randy Cross, Lyle Alzado
Notable active players: Dunta Robinson, Andrew Quarless
#23. Omaha, NE
Number of NFL players: 118
Famous retired natives: Ahman Green, David Vobora
Notable active players: Dan Carpenter, Niles Paul
#22. Columbus, OH
Number of NFL players: 122
Famous retired natives: Brady Quinn, Terry Glenn, Gregory Bell
Notable active players: Lance Moore, Isaiah Pead, Jeff Cumberland
#21. San Francisco, CA
Number of NFL players: 125
Famous retired natives: Tedy Bruschi, Dan Fouts, Jordan Gross
Notable active players: Desmond Bishop, Lamarr Houston, Shayne Skov
#20. Birmingham, AL
Number of NFL players: 135
Famous retired natives: Cornelius Bennett, Andre Tippett
Notable active players: Evan Mathis, Marcell Dareus, Karlos Dansby
#19. Memphis, TN
Number of NFL players: 136
Famous retired natives: Claude Humphrey, John Bramlett
Notable active players: Michael Oher, Barrett Jones, Morgan Burnett, Dontari Poe
#18. San Diego, CA
Number of NFL players: 146
Famous retired natives: Marcus Allen, Junior Seau, Terrell Davis
Notable active players: Tony Romo, Nick Novak, Ryan Lindley, Jairus Byrd
#17. Atlanta, GA
Number of NFL players: 150
Famous retired natives: Ken Whisenhunt, Jamal Lewis, Jon Stinchcomb
Notable active players: Cam Newton, Robert Mathis, Bruce Irvin
#16. Milwaukee, WI
Number of NFL players: 152
Famous retired natives: LaDainian Tomlinson, Richard Seymour, Bart Scott, Derrick Mason
Notable active players: Colin Kaepernick, DeAndre Levy, Lance Kendricks
#15. Baton Rouge, LA
Number of NFL players: 160
Famous retired natives: Vince Young, David Carr, Brian Dawkins, Warrick Dunn, Keith Brooking
Notable active players: Stephen Gostkowski, Jeremy Hill, Eric Reid, Phil Dawson
#14. New York, NY
Number of NFL players: 165
Famous retired natives: Vinny Testaverde, Doug Marrone
Notable active players: D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Tarell Brown, Mike DeVito
#13. Washington, DC
Number of NFL players: 172
Famous retired natives: Shawne Merriman, Brian Westbrook, Byron Leftwich
Notable active players: Andrew Luck, Vernon Davis, Vontae Davis
#12. St. Louis, MO
Number of NFL players: 176
Famous retired natives: Lawyer Milloy, Dan Connolly, Bryan Cox
Notable active players: Sheldon Richardson, Adrian Clayborn
#11. Cincinnati, OH
Number of NFL players: 176
Famous retired natives: Don Hasselbeck, Rocky Boiman
Notable active players: Luke Keuchly, Carlos Hyde, Brent Celek
#10. Philadelphia, PA
Number of NFL players: 186
Famous retired natives: Marvin Harrison, Eddie George, Rich Gannon, Mike Mayock
Notable active players: Brent Grimes, Chris Culliver, Jahri Evans
#9. Pittsburgh, PA
Number of NFL players: 201
Famous retired natives: Dan Marino, Bill Cowher, Johnny Unitas
Notable active players: Sean Lee, Aaron Donald, Matt Schaub
#8. Cleveland, OH
Number of NFL players: 204
Famous retired natives: Archie Manning, Desmond Howard
Notable active players: Travis Kelce, Aqib Talib, Jason Kelce
#7. New Orleans, LA
Number of NFL players: 216
Famous retired natives: Reggie Wayne, Marshall Faulk, Kordell Stewart
Notable active players: Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Mike Wallace, Odell Beckham Jr.
#6. Dallas, TX
Number of NFL players: 251
Famous retired natives: Jimmy Johnson, Tim Brown, Willis McGahee
Notable active players: Jared Allen, Von Miller, Terrance Williams
#5. Detroit, MI
Number of NFL players: 257
Famous retired natives: Jerome Bettis, Larry Foote
Notable active players: Antonio Gates, Allen Robinson, Calvin Pace
#4. Miami, FL
Number of NFL players: 275
Famous retired natives: Santana Moss, Brian Griese, Sean Taylor
Notable active players: Teddy Bridgewater, Frank Gore, Amari Cooper, Elvis Dumervil
#3. Houston, TX
Number of NFL players: 304
Famous retired natives: Randy Moss, Michael Strahan, Mike Singletary
Notable active players: Martellus Bennett, Josh Gordon, Brian Orakpo
#2. Chicago, IL
Number of NFL players: 465
Famous retired natives: Dick Butkus, Shannon Sharpe, Simeon Rice
Notable active players: Charles Tillman, Jason Avant
#1. Los Angeles, CA
Number of NFL players: 471
Famous retired natives: Warren Moon, Keyshawn Johnson, Lance Briggs, Mark Brunell
Notable active players: DeSean Jackson, Jordan Cameron, Vontaze Burfict, Tyron Smith
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