The Super Bowl has become the biggest sports event of the year, and in the latest matchup, the New England Patriots are taking on the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. While each of these teams have been to the Super Bowl recently, there are four teams in the NFL which have never even played in the big game.
This year is Super Bowl LX, or 60 for those of us who aren’t Roman-numeral inclined. The first Super Bowl was in January of 1967 in Los Angeles. Since then, 28 of the 32 teams in the NFL have at least made it to this stage.
The Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars are the four current NFL teams that have never appeared in the Super Bowl.
The Cleveland Browns won four NFL Championships in the pre-Super Bowl era, taking home the title in 1950, 1954, 1955 and 1964. They have made it to the AFC Championship three times since then in 1986, 1987 and 1989, but they have not been back since the team was re-established in 1999 after the previous team moved to Baltimore in 1996 and become the Ravens.
The Detroit Lions are the only team in the NFC to have never reached the Super Bowl. They won four NFL Championships in the pre-Super Bowl era, winning in 1935, 1952, 1953 and 1957. Like the Browns, they have also had a few near-misses, making it to the NFC Championship Game in 1991 and in 2023, the later of which they lost to the 49ers. Since the Browns did have that interruption, the Lions are the only team to have played every year of the Super Bowl era without appearing in the game itself.
The Houston Texans are the newest team in the NFL, starting in 2002. The previous NFL team in Houston took its records and history when it moved to Tennessee and became the Titans. That franchise made its only Super Bowl appearance in 1999, which it lost to the Rams. The new Houston team has not even made it close to a Super Bowl yet and is the only NFL franchise to have never appeared in a conference championship game.
The other team that hasn’t made a Super Bowl yet is the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars were formed in the same year as the Carolina Panthers in 1996. The Panthers haven’t won yet, but they have been to two big games. Meanwhile, the Jaguars have made three runs to the AFC Championship, losing in 1996, 1999 and 2017, coming within just one win of having a chance at their first championship.
The two teams in this year’s games are regulars in the contest, especially compared to those which haven’t been on this stage. The Patriots are 6-6 in their 12 Super Bowl appearances, holding the record for the most Super Bowl appearances and matching the Steelers for the most wins. The Seahawks have appeared in the Super Bowl three times, including in 2015, when they lost to the Patriots.
The Seahawks are 4.5-point favorites in this year’s rematch on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set at 45.5. The Seahawks are -230 on the Moneyline and the Patriots are +190.
