Even Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Knows There’s Only One NFL Team in New York

It’s a point of pride (perhaps comical) among Western New York faithful: The Buffalo Bills are the only NFL team that plays in New York state.

In a league that features two franchises in the largest media market in the United States, the Bills are the only club that calls New York home. The New York Jets and Giants both play in the shadow of New York City, with MetLife Stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. There are obvious and understandable reasons why the city has struggled to fit an 80,000-seat sports arena into one of the most densely built-up concrete jungles in the world, but that doesn’t change the fact that neither the Jets nor the Giants play in the state they claim to represent.

Both New York-based clubs are also headquartered in New Jersey, meaning the Bills, with their stadium and offices in Orchard Park, New York, are truly New York’s only professional football team. Buffalo fans often like to throw this phrase in the faces of New York fans, especially those who cheer for the division-rival Jets: it’s a light-hearted dig that, while objectively true, doesn’t hurt anyone.

Related: Second-year QB surpasses Bills star Josh Allen in NFL MVP odds

Even Jets signal-caller Aaron Rodgers realizes there’s no refuting that sentiment. During a recent appearance on Barstool Sports’ Forgive my opinionThe four-time NFL MVP spoke about adjusting to the New York metropolitan area after a nearly 20-year stint in Green Bay, joking that his team really had nothing to do with New York proper.

“(I live in New Jersey), nobody lives in New York,” Rodgers said. “If you’re a Giant, you can, but I don’t see why you would, just because of the traffic and the tunnel. I joke about everything about us, I know the stadium was on Long Island, but we’re the New Jersey Jets. The Giants are, the Giants play in New Jersey.”

The hosts then joked that Buffalo was the only team that plays in New York state, prompting the 10-time Pro Bowler to nod.

The clip of Rodgers referring to his team as the “New Jersey Jets” will undoubtedly be added to every Buffalo fan’s arsenal, and they’ll be able to use it as early as Week 6 of the 2024 campaign when the Jets host the Bills in a Monday Night Football This will (hopefully) be the first time Buffalo faithful see Rodgers finish a game against the Bills in a Jets uniform; the veteran ruptured his Achilles tendon in a Week 1 game with Buffalo in the 2023 season.

The Bills are expected to remain the only NFL team in New York state for the foreseeable future, as the team is currently building a new stadium directly across the street from its current site in Orchard Park. The franchise signed a 30-year lease as part of the stadium deal.

— Get free Bills coverage from Buffalo Bills on SI —