The NFL consists of thirty-two clubs. Each club is allowed a maximum of fifty-three players on their roster, but they may only dress forty-five to play each week during the regular season. Reflecting the population distribution of the United States as a whole, most teams are in the eastern half of the country; seventeen teams are in the Eastern Time Zone and nine others in the Central Time Zone.
Most major metropolitan areas in the United States have an NFL franchise, although Los Angeles, the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, has not hosted an NFL team since 1994.
The Rams and the Raiders called the Los Angeles area home from 1946–1994 and 1982–1994 respectively. In 2005, some Saints games were played in San Antonio and Baton Rouge because of Hurricane Katrina.
Unlike Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, the league has no full-time teams in Canada, although the Buffalo Billsplay one game per year in Toronto. Also, there is talk of possibly bringing the NFL to Toronto, the largest city in Canada.
The Dallas Cowboys are the highest valued American football franchise, valued at approximately $1.6 billion[14] and one of the most valuable franchises in all of professional sports worldwide, currently third behind Canadian ice hockey team Toronto Maple Leafs (valued at $2.25 billion)[15] and English soccer club Manchester United,[14] which has an approximate value of $1.8 billion at current exchange rates.[16](Incidentally, the majority shareholder in United, Malcolm Glazer, is also the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)
