This was one of the last threads I made on my old account. I hate to revive it under a new one, but I noticed I made an error in the OP, and the error was that the Arizona team was also called the Outlaws. I renamed them the Wranglers since that was the Arizona USFL team's original name.

https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/c...d_in_1986/

I found the picture above on Reddit, and I thought it could be a good topic of conversation.

I'm going to expand it, and show what I think the merger would have looked like had the teams in new markets were added:

AFC

East

Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Orlando Renegades

North

Baltimore Stars
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers

South

Houston Oilers
Jacksonville Bulls
Memphis Showboats
Oklahoma Outlaws
San Antonio Gunslingers

West

Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Invaders
San Diego Chargers

NFC

East

Dallas Cowboys
New Jersey Generals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins

North

Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
St. Louis Cardinals

South

Atlanta Falcons
Birmingham Stallions
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

West

Arizona Wranglers
Los Angeles Rams
Portland Breakers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks

Note: The Carolina Panthers would still be added as an expansion team to balance out the league at 40 teams.

Usually when a weaker league merges with the stronger league, only 3 to 4 franchises are brought in from.the weaker league. The NFL-AFL merger in 1970 being a big exception. But otherwise its usually like in 1950 when the NFL brought in 3 franchises from the old AAFC. The 49ers, Browns and a now defunct Colts franchise. When the NBA and ABA merged, the NBA only brought in 4 franchises from the ABA

With that in mind, you got to find the 4 best USFL franchises to bring into the NFL. That would probably be the Baltimore Stars. the Birmingham Stallions, the Oakland Invaders and the Memphis Showboats. With that in mind

With that in mind, I give you the 32-team NFL after the USFL merger in 1986

AFC West
SD Chargers, LA Raiders, Oakland Invaders, Denver Broncos

AFC East
NE Patriots, NY Jets, Buf Bills, Miami Dolphins

AFC North
Pitt Steelers, Cleve Browns, Cincy Bengals, Balt Stars

AFC South
Indy Colts, Houston Oilers, KC Chiefs, Memphis Showboats,

NFC East
NY Giants, Philly Eagles, Wash Redskins, Dal Cowboys

NFC West
LA Rams, SF 49's, Sea Seahawks, STL Cardinals

NFC North
Minn Vikings, GB Packers, Chi Bears, Det Lions

NFC South
Tampa Bucs, Atl Falcons, NO Saints, Birmingham Stallions

(05-31-2026 03:52 PM)goofus Wrote:  Usually when a weaker league merges with the stronger league, only 3 to 4 franchises are brought in from.the weaker league. The NFL-AFL merger in 1970 being a big exception. But otherwise its usually like in 1950 when the NFL brought in 3 franchises from the old AAFC. The 49ers, Browns and a now defunct Colts franchise. When the NBA and ABA merged, the NBA only brought in 4 franchises from the ABA

With that in mind, you got to find the 4 best USFL franchises to bring into the NFL. That would probably be the Baltimore Stars. the Birmingham Stallions, the Oakland Invaders and the Memphis Showboats. With that in mind

With that in mind, I give you the 32-team NFL after the USFL merger in 1986

AFC West
SD Chargers, LA Raiders, Oakland Invaders, Denver Broncos

AFC East
NE Patriots, NY Jets, Buf Bills, Miami Dolphins

AFC North
Pitt Steelers, Cleve Browns, Cincy Bengals, Balt Stars

AFC South
Indy Colts, Houston Oilers, KC Chiefs, Memphis Showboats,

NFC East
NY Giants, Philly Eagles, Wash Redskins, Dal Cowboys

NFC West
LA Rams, SF 49's, Sea Seahawks, STL Cardinals

NFC North
Minn Vikings, GB Packers, Chi Bears, Det Lions

NFC South
Tampa Bucs, Atl Falcons, NO Saints, Birmingham Stallions

Good point. It gets the NFL back into Baltimore and Oakland, and instead of expanding into Charlotte and Jacksonville, the NFL expands into Birmingham and Memphis.

Some questions still linger though:

Do the Cardinals still relocate from St. Louis to Phoenix?

Do the Rams still relocate from Los Angeles to St. Louis?

What happens to the Browns, Oilers and Raiders? Do they move or stay put?

(06-01-2026 08:37 PM)titanpredatorgrizzlie Wrote:  

(05-31-2026 03:52 PM)goofus Wrote:  Usually when a weaker league merges with the stronger league, only 3 to 4 franchises are brought in from.the weaker league. The NFL-AFL merger in 1970 being a big exception. But otherwise its usually like in 1950 when the NFL brought in 3 franchises from the old AAFC. The 49ers, Browns and a now defunct Colts franchise. When the NBA and ABA merged, the NBA only brought in 4 franchises from the ABA

With that in mind, you got to find the 4 best USFL franchises to bring into the NFL. That would probably be the Baltimore Stars. the Birmingham Stallions, the Oakland Invaders and the Memphis Showboats. With that in mind

With that in mind, I give you the 32-team NFL after the USFL merger in 1986

AFC West
SD Chargers, LA Raiders, Oakland Invaders, Denver Broncos

AFC East
NE Patriots, NY Jets, Buf Bills, Miami Dolphins

AFC North
Pitt Steelers, Cleve Browns, Cincy Bengals, Balt Stars

AFC South
Indy Colts, Houston Oilers, KC Chiefs, Memphis Showboats,

NFC East
NY Giants, Philly Eagles, Wash Redskins, Dal Cowboys

NFC West
LA Rams, SF 49's, Sea Seahawks, STL Cardinals

NFC North
Minn Vikings, GB Packers, Chi Bears, Det Lions

NFC South
Tampa Bucs, Atl Falcons, NO Saints, Birmingham Stallions

Good point. It gets the NFL back into Baltimore and Oakland, and instead of expanding into Charlotte and Jacksonville, the NFL expands into Birmingham and Memphis.

Some questions still linger though:

Do the Cardinals still relocate from St. Louis to Phoenix?

Do the Rams still relocate from Los Angeles to St. Louis?

What happens to the Browns, Oilers and Raiders? Do they move or stay put?

1988 - Cardinals to Phoenix (no change)
1995 - Rams to Saint Louis (no change)
1995 - Browns to Charlotte as Carolina Panthes, Stallions to Jacksonville Jaguars
1997 - Showboats to Nashville as Tennessee Titans
2016 - Rams to Los Angeles
2017 - Chargers to Cleveland Browns; swaps divisions with Houston, AFC South becomes AFC Central
2020 - Invaders to Las Vegas

The NFL does a "final" expansion in North America to 35 in the 2030s to re-establish the San Diego Chargers, and add teams in Saint Louis and Salt Lake City. A few years later they add five more teams in Europe, who play as one division.

Sign me up titanic! Did Oklahoma play out of Tulsa or OKC?

(06-05-2026 07:46 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  Sign me up titanic! Did Oklahoma play out of Tulsa or OKC?

According to their Wikipedia, they played at Skelly Stadium in Tulsa before they merged with Arizona IRL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_/...na_Outlaws

Got my. Answer at Wikipedia: Tulsa. It was a tumultuous start for the franchise.

(05-31-2026 03:52 PM)goofus Wrote:  Usually when a weaker league merges with the stronger league, only 3 to 4 franchises are brought in from.the weaker league. The NFL-AFL merger in 1970 being a big exception. But otherwise its usually like in 1950 when the NFL brought in 3 franchises from the old AAFC. The 49ers, Browns and a now defunct Colts franchise. When the NBA and ABA merged, the NBA only brought in 4 franchises from the ABA

With that in mind, you got to find the 4 best USFL franchises to bring into the NFL. That would probably be the Baltimore Stars. the Birmingham Stallions, the Oakland Invaders and the Memphis Showboats. With that in mind

With that in mind, I give you the 32-team NFL after the USFL merger in 1986

AFC West
SD Chargers, LA Raiders, Oakland Invaders, Denver Broncos

AFC East
NE Patriots, NY Jets, Buf Bills, Miami Dolphins

AFC North
Pitt Steelers, Cleve Browns, Cincy Bengals, Balt Stars

AFC South
Indy Colts, Houston Oilers, KC Chiefs, Memphis Showboats,

NFC East
NY Giants, Philly Eagles, Wash Redskins, Dal Cowboys

NFC West
LA Rams, SF 49's, Sea Seahawks, STL Cardinals

NFC North
Minn Vikings, GB Packers, Chi Bears, Det Lions

NFC South
Tampa Bucs, Atl Falcons, NO Saints, Birmingham Stallions

I think most everyone would've been fine with this. I certainly would have been.

In 1985, there were 28 NFL franchises and 14 USFL franchises. While other leagues (NBA and NHL) never did a full merger, both MLB and the NFL did when they combined the American/National leagues for each sport. I do think the NFL would add between 2 and 8 franchises but I doubt the focus would be on "success" rather than market penetration.

USFL franchises with NFL market competition in 1986: Denver Gold, Houston Gamblers, Los Angeles Express, New Jersey Generals, Oakland Invaders, Tampa Bay Bandits

USFL franchises without NFL market competition in 1986: Arizona Outlaws, Baltimore Stars, Birmingham Stallions, Jacksonville Bulls, Memphis Showboats, Orlando Renegades, Portland Breakers, San Antonio Gunslingers

Focusing on just the 2nd group above.

Arizona eventually got a team in the Cardinals but I presume the market gets picked. Baltimore had just lost a team and would soon get another - they get picked. Of the rest, Jacksonville would eventually get a team. While Nashville eventually landed the Oilers, I think Memphis would've been selected as #32.

Now which conferences and divisions? Here is where 1985 was sitting...

Somehow the AFC would still need to shift a Western team to join alongside Arizona so I suspect the Seahawks still move. That locks in the 2 West divisions. Baltimore must be AFC to split the DMV market between the conferences. With the AFC losing a team, the get both Memphis and Jacksonville. The divisions (other than the NFC East) divide geographically-ish.

My alignment:

AFC
East: Baltimore Stars, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets
North: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers
South: Houston Oilers, Jacksonville Bulls, Memphis Showboats, Miami Dolphins
West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Raiders, San Diego Chargers

NFC
East: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
South: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
West: Arizona Outlaws, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

With the Cardinals moving the Arizona, I can imagine the owner looking to other markets with the Outlaws already in Arizona. The Carolina Cardinals possibly becomes something in this timeline. I also don't have the Oilers moving anymore.

Presuming it’s 6 USFL teams coming into the NFL and that they are Baltimore, Jacksonville, Orlando, Birmingham, Memphis, and Arizona. I see it playing out like this:

NFC West: SEA^, SF, LA Rams, ARZ*
NFC North: MIN, GB, DET, CHI
NFC South: TB, NO, ATL, BHM*
NFL East: NYG, PHI, WASH, STL, DAL

AFC East: NE, NYJ, BUF, BAL*, MIA
AFC North: CLE, CIN, PIT, IND
AFC South: HOU, MEM*, JAX*, ORL*
AFC West: KC, DEN, LA Raiders, SD

Al Davis likely still moves his Raiders back to Oakland in 1995, but the Cardinals can’t go to Arizona, nor do the Browns go to Baltimore or the Rams to St Louis. I also wonder if Nashville is viable with a team in Memphis (unless Memphis moves to Nashville)

Franchises looking to leverage their cities for new stadiums are going to have limited leverage options. I see 2 places where teams could realistically move to if the USFL teams joined:

Charlotte
San Antonio

I think these 2 cities get 2 of the following Oilers/Rams/Browns/Cardinals

I’m also questioning if expansion ever occurs—although at 36, that would permit 6 even divisions of 6.

I find it hilarious that there are people who insist on trying to reinvent the wheel. With respect, y'all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

(06-07-2026 07:24 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:  I find it hilarious that there are people who insist on trying to reinvent the wheel. With respect, y'all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

You could make tat EXACTLY argument for college football! So. UHC for the point of this board!

(06-07-2026 11:01 PM)Erictelevision Wrote:  

(06-07-2026 07:24 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:  I find it hilarious that there are people who insist on trying to reinvent the wheel. With respect, y'all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

You could make tat EXACTLY argument for college football! So. UHC for the point of this board!

You're right. You could. The thing, sir, is that there's a board for that, where people are free to speculate about that sort of stuff. The College Sports and Realignment forum.

(06-07-2026 07:24 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:  I find it hilarious that there are people who insist on trying to reinvent the wheel. With respect, y'all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Point taken, GC.

I was just trying to create a scenario that involved maximum expansion, which could possibly prevent alot of unnecessary relocation IRL.

(06-08-2026 09:28 PM)titanpredatorgrizzlie Wrote:  

(06-07-2026 07:24 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:  I find it hilarious that there are people who insist on trying to reinvent the wheel. With respect, y'all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Point taken, GC.

I was just trying to create a scenario that involved maximum expansion, which could possibly prevent alot of unnecessary relocation IRL.

Fair enough, Andy B. I just think we have enough of similar scenarios (moving conferences and such) on the College Sports and Realignment Forum.