After exploring the naming history of arenas and stadiums in the other major professional sports leagues, here’s a deep dive into the NFL’s background with venue names.
With spring beginning and perhaps the busiest time of the year for sports on the way, it feels like football is the odd man out of sorts.
The 2026 MLB season commences next week, the NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs begin just a few weeks later in mid-April and NCAA March Madness is officially in full-swing.
For fans of the country’s most popular sport, most springtime anticipation has to do with the upcoming NFL Draft in April, as fans of teams with futile seasons in 2025 hope that the draft signifies a new beginning for their favorite club.
The 2026 season will mark a different kind of new beginning for the Buffalo Bills, who will be playing their first season in the brand-new Highmark Stadium, leaving their former home of over 50 seasons.
Despite the Bills playing in the old Highmark Stadium from 1973 until 2025, the venue went under a variety of different names during their time there – with the Bills being far from alone when it comes to having the name of their home stadium change.
Similar to NBA, NHL and MLB, corporate naming rights dominate the names of venues, an industry trend that began in the 1990’s and has only increased in prevalence over time.
Only three of the NFL’s 30 current stadiums do not utilize corporate naming rights, while 17 of the 30 venues have changed names at least once while serving as the home of an NFL team.
Of the 13 stadiums that have not changed names, most are relatively new or have simply held on to a corporate sponsor longer than what is typically seen – as exemplified by Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Gillette Stadium in New England, both of which have been open for more than 20 years.
Meanwhile, other stadiums have undergone a seemingly constant stream of name changes, with the Miami Dolphins being the most acquainted with a variety of marquees outside of their home venue over the years.
After exploring stadium name history in the other major professional sports leagues, here’s a look at how it shakes out in the NFL:
1. Acrisure Stadium – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Heinz Field (2001-2022)
2. AT&T Stadium – Dallas Cowboys
- Cowboys Stadium (2009-2013)
3. Carolina Panthers – Bank of America Stadium
- Ericsson Stadium (1996-2004)
4. Caesars Superdome – New Orleans Saints
- Louisiana Superdome (1975-2011)
- Mercedes-Benz Superdome (2011-2021)
5. Empower Field at Mile High – Denver Broncos
- Invesco Field (2001-2011)
- Sports Authority Field (2011-2018)
- Broncos Stadium (2018-2019)
6. EverBank Stadium – Jacksonville Jaguars
- Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (1995-1996, 2007-2010)
- Alltell Stadium (1997-2006)
- EverBank Field (2010-2018)
- TIAA Bank Field (2018-2023)
7. Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Dolphins
- Joe Robbie Stadium (1987-1996)
- Pro Player Park (1996)
- Pro Player Stadium (1996-2005)
- Dolphin Stadium (2006-2009)
- Land Shark Stadium (2009-2010)
- Sun Life Stadium (2010-2016)
- New Miami Stadium (2016)
8. Huntington Bank Field – Cleveland Browns
- Cleveland Browns Stadium (1999-2013, 2023-2024)
- FirstEnergy Stadium (2013-2023)
9. Lambeau Field – Green Bay Packers
- City Stadium (1957-1964)
10. Lumen Field – Seattle Seahawks
- Seahawks Stadium (2002-2004)
- Qwest Field (2004-2011)
- CenturyLink Field (2011-2020)
11. M&T Bank Stadium – Baltimore Ravens
- Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards (1998-1999)
- PSINet Stadium (1999-2002)
- Ravens Stadium (2002-2003)
12. MetLife Stadium – New York Giants, New York Jets
- New Meadowlands Stadium (2010-2011)
13. Nissan Stadium – Tennessee Titans
- Adelphia Coliseum (1999-2002)
- The Coliseum (2002-2006)
- LP Field (2006-2015)
14. Northwest Stadium – Washington Commanders
- Jack Kent Cooke Stadium (1997-1999)
- Redskins Stadium (1999)
- FedEx Field (1999-2024)
- Commanders Field (2024)
15. NRG Stadium – Houston Texans
- Reliant Stadium (2002-2014)
16. Paycor Stadium – Cincinnati Bengals
- Paul Brown Stadium (2000-2021)
17. State Farm Stadium – Arizona Cardinals
- Cardinals Stadium (August 2006 – September 2006)
- University of Phoenix Stadium (September 2006-2018)
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