The Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl matchup on Sunday will be the 10th rematch in the 60-year history of the big game. Both teams have a combined seven championships between them, including the Pats’ record-tying six Lombardi Trophies. This Super Bowl is the latest reminder that the NFL might have the worst championship diversity problem in sports.
Twelve teams have never won the Super Bowl. Twelve.
Among the four major professional North American sports leagues, that is by far the most. However, the NBA and NHL are not far behind, with 10 teams in each league having never won it all.
Amazingly, only five of the MLB’s 30 teams have never won a World Series title. Baseball’s parity is likely up for debate, though, as the reigning two-time champion Dodgers don’t appear to be handing off their crown to any newcomers anytime soon.
Now, consider how many teams in each league have never even advanced to the championship round. This time, the NFL has company in the misery department:
NFL: Browns, Jaguars, Texans, Lions
NBA: Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Pelicans
NHL: Kraken, Mammoth, Jets (they suck at hockey too!), Blue Jackets, Wild
MLB: Mariners
Again, the MLB stands alone here. For a league like the NFL which is built on the premise of “Any Given Sunday,” that has simply not been the case.
The last time the NFL had a first-time Super Bowl champion was during the 2017 season, when the Eagles defeated the Patriots 41-33 in an all-time classic. The other leagues have come much sooner: NHL (Panthers – 2024), NBA (Nuggets – 2023) and MLB (Rangers – 2023).
Those were first-time winners, but what about a championship matchup when both teams are seeking their first ring?
The NFL hasn’t had one of those matchups since the 1982 Super Bowl between the Bengals and 49ers. San Francisco won that one 26-21, effectively launching their dynasty with Joe Montana and Bill Walsh at the helm.
In last year’s NBA Finals, the Thunder and Pacers were going for their first championship. Although this might be a cop-out, since the Thunder previously won the Finals in Seattle as the SuperSonics, this was their first title in Oklahoma City, so technically it counts. Yet, the 2006 Finals featuring the Heat and Mavericks is the REAL last time this actually happened.
In the NHL, the Golden Knights and Panthers played for their first Stanley Cup win in 2023, with Las Vegas coming out on top. As for the MLB, this is a difficult one because its history goes back a LONG WAY. There’s not a fair comparison in the league’s modern history. So, we have to go all the way back to the 1920 World Series when the Cleveland Indians defeated the Brooklyn Robins. Given the small number of teams that have never won the WS, the odds are slim for both teams to be playing for their first title compared to other leagues.
Parity was supposed to fix this problem in the NFL, but the top teams in the league continue showing up on the sport’s biggest stage. Until the league has a Super Bowl featuring two teams chasing their first ring again, championship diversity will remain a staggering and unsolved problem.
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