The Old Line State has several major and minor professional sports teams. It is home to two NFL teams, the Washington Commanders in Prince George’s County and the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. They are also its two most valuable sports teams.
The MLB franchise Baltimore Orioles competes in Baltimore as well. Among the remaining professional sports franchises in Maryland is the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, the Baltimore Colts, who now play in Indianapolis, five minor league baseball teams, and an independent league baseball team.
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1. The Washington Commanders
The Commanders might be based in Washington, but this professional American football team plays its home games in Landover at FedExField. They compete in the NFL as a member of the league’s East NFC division.
The team’s training facility and headquarters are in Ashburn, Virginia. They are just one of five NFL teams with over 600 victories in total. They have played over 1,000 games.
The Commanders were one of the first NFL franchises that had a fight song. Their marching band played Hail to the Commanders each time the team scored a touchdown at a home game.
In 2022, Forbes valued the franchise at $5.6 billion, making them the sixth-most valuable team in the league this year.
2. The Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore-based Ravens compete in the NFL as members of the North AFC division. They are headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland, and play their home games in the city’s M&T Bank Stadium.
In 1996 Art Modell, who owned the Cleveland Browns, decided to move them to Baltimore. He had to leave their team colors, history, and records in Cleveland as part of a settlement between the city and the league. The replacement team and staff resumed playing three years later. In exchange, Modell could take his own team and staff to Baltimore, where they would build an expansion team.
DraftKings Maryland, one of the most popular bookmakers in the Old Line State, now has some of the best odds on the Baltimore Ravens for you to enjoy.
The current owner of the team is Steve Bisciotti. The Ravens’ value was set at just under $3 billion in 2021, making it the 33rd-most valuable sports franchise worldwide.
3. The Baltimore Orioles
This professional baseball team competes as a member of the East AL division in Major League Baseball (MLB). They spent their first year in the league as the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee before moving to St. Louis in 1902. After the move, they became the St. Louis Browns.
The Orioles spent more than half a century in St. Louis. A Baltimore syndicate led by Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. and Clarence Miles, a civic activist and a lawyer, bought the franchise in November 1953. It’s currently owned by Peter Angelos, who’s also a lawyer.
The state’s official bird is the oriole, which is where the team got its name. Its nicknames include the Birds and the O’s.
Previously, a number of baseball teams in Baltimore used this name too. The former name of the Yankees was the Baltimore Orioles.
The team’s estimated value was $1.38 in 2022.
4. The Baltimore Blast
The fourth most valuable team in the Old Line State is another Baltimore-based one, which plays professional indoor soccer. It has been victorious in 10 championships since its founding in 1980. Since the 2017-2018 season, the Blast has played its home games at SECU Arena, Towson University. Earlier, they played in downtown Baltimore.
The team has very memorable gold and red colors. Danny Kelly coached them for 16 years, after which David Bascome took over.
5. The Baltimore Colts
Baltimore has a rich history of horseracing and horse breeding. This was a professional football team founded in Baltimore in 1953, where they played until 1984. They are now the Indianapolis Colts.