Do Athletes Live in the City They Play For?

Across the four major professional sporting organizations in the United States, including the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL), there are just under 3,850 total players lucky enough to call themselves a professional athlete.

And with these players, and their respective team’s, scattered across the contiguous United States and Canada, deciding on where to live can become an interesting, albeit tricky, situation.

For these athletes, where money is typically not a concern, deciding on where to live is based more on what makes sense for them and their families and not necessarily what is cheapest.

Below, we are going to look a bit further into this and review just whether or not do major athletes live in the city that they play for.

Where Are Major Sports Team’s Located?

Within the four major professional sporting leagues in the United States, there is frequent overlap between differing leagues and the city of play. With, obvious, preference and multitude of team’s being located in larger, more populated city metropolises such as New York City and Los Angeles.

However, and dependent on sports league, some city’s may be more inclined towards a specific sports team than others.

As an example, Canada currently has seven NHL teams but no NFL team. And with Canada’s long and rich history with the sport of hockey, but relative little experience with American football, it makes sense that the country would have more hockey teams and fewer football ones.

So, where do the four major professional sporting leagues play in the United States and Canada?

NBA

With 30 teams, the NBA has franchise teams across both the United States and Canada. Below, in alphabetical order, are the current NBA teams:

Eastern Conference	Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference	Boston Celtics
Eastern Conference	Brooklyn Nets
Eastern Conference	Charlotte Hornets
Eastern Conference	Chicago Bulls
Eastern Conference	Cleveland Cavaliers
Eastern Conference	Detroit Pistons
Eastern Conference	Indiana Pacers
Eastern Conference	Miami Heat
Eastern Conference	Milwaukee Bucks
Eastern Conference	New York Knicks
Eastern Conference	Orlando Magic
Eastern Conference	Philadelphia 76ers
Eastern Conference	Toronto Raptors
Eastern Conference	Washington Wizards
Western Conference	Dallas Mavericks
Western Conference	Denver Nuggets
Western Conference	Golden State Warriors
Western Conference	Houston Rockets
Western Conference	Los Angeles Clippers
Western Conference	Los Angeles Lakers
Western Conference	Memphis Grizzlies
Western Conference	Minnesota Timberwolves
Western Conference	New Orleans Pelicans
Western Conference	Oklahoma City Thunder
Western Conference	Phoenix Suns
Western Conference	Portland Trail Blazers
Western Conference	Sacramento Kings
Western Conference	San Antonio Spurs
Western Conference	Utah Jazz

MLB

Similarly, the MLB also has 30 teams in the league. Below are the full 30 teams in the MLB in alphabetical order.

• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Atlanta Braves
• Baltimore Orioles 
• Boston Red Sox
• Chicago White Sox
• Chicago Cubs
• Cincinnati Reds
• Cleveland Indians
• Colorado Rockies
• Detroit Tigers
• Houston Astros
• Kansas City Royals
• Los Angeles Angels
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• Miami Marlins
• Milwaukee Brewers
• Minnesota Twins
• New York Yankees
• New York Mets
• Oakland Athletics
• Philadelphia Phillies
• Pittsburgh Pirates
• San Diego Padres
• San Francisco Giants
• Seattle Mariners
• St. Louis Cardinals
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Texas Rangers
• Toronto Blue Jays
• Washington Nationals

NHL

The NHL, as compared to the NBA and MLB, has 32 teams. Below are the full 32 teams in the NHL.

Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets

NFL

And similar to the NHL, the NFL has a total of 32 teams which play in the contiguous United States. Below is the full list of NFL teams in alphabetical order.

• Arizona Cardinals
• Atlanta Falcons
• Baltimore Ravens
• Buffalo Bills
• Carolina Panthers
• Chicago Bears
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Cleveland Browns
• Dallas Cowboys
• Denver Broncos
• Detroit Lions
• Green Bay Packers
• Houston Texans
• Indianapolis Colts
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Los Angeles Rams
• Miami Dolphins
• Minnesota Vikings
• New England Patriots
• New Orleans Saints
• New York Giants
• New York Jets
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• San Francisco 49ers
• Seattle Seahawks
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Tennessee Titans
• Washington Commanders

How do Athletes Determine Where to Live?

While, admittedly, a number of professional athletes look to purchase or rent a home near their team arena and city they play in, location is not the only factor these athletes look to before deciding on where to live.

Rather, athletes determine the best place for themselves and their family members to live based on a number of factors. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Affordability – while most athletes are highly and generously paid, many understand that their potential, future earnings are capped alongside their time in the respective league. And although most professional athletes can afford large homes, they will be on the hook for expensive repairs, tax bills, upkeep, and maintenance on a yearly basis.

• School and Educational Systems – while most professional athletes are a number of years removed from the schooling system, many professional athletes have young children of their own. And one major concern and consideration to any move that they will consider are the prospective schools that will be nearby their place of residence.

• Proximity to Family – similarly, for many athletes, one major consideration before purchasing a home is its proximity to their family and friends. With many athletes traveling and on the road for a majority of the season, they wish to remain near family and friends during the offseason.

• Marketability and Opportunities – even further, for many athletes, determining where to live may come down to the locations marketability and access to additional opportunities. For athletes looking for additional market exposure and careers beyond their respective sport, they may look to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and even Atlanta to provide those opportunities.

• Attractiveness of the City – lastly, but certainly not least, athletes will also look to an individual city’s offerings before deciding to commit to living there. With larger, bigger cities providing more fun and escapes, an athlete may opt to live there than smaller, less well-known and populated cities.

Benefits to an Athlete by Living in the City They Play For

While an athlete will look at all the factors associated with purchasing a home and moving to a new city or state, there are some benefits to choosing to live in the city they play for.

• Ease of Commute – perhaps the biggest reason so many athletes opt to purchase a home in the city they live in is due to the ease of commuting to a from their home to the arena and practice facility. With major professional teams running multiple practices and training sessions, being centrally located is definitely a major benefit.

• Commitment to the City – similarly, by living near or in the city that they play for, an athlete is able to show an implicit commitment to both the city and the team. A move to a city shows long-term thinking and planning and indicates that the athlete is serious about playing for the team.

• Avoidance of Hotels and Short-Term Rentals – in addition, one benefit for an athlete to move to the city they play for is the removal of the need to stay in a hotel or short-term rental unit. And while most athletes would be able to afford the cost, they would lose out on the comfort and convenience of having a place to call their own at the end of the day.

Where do Athletes Decide to Live?

While there are a number of reasons both for and against moving to the city that an athlete plays for, overall most athletes opt to not move to a new city or the city that they play for.

And while the above reasons break down the pros-and-cons, for professional athletes, comfort and access to a near unlimited amount of funds allows them to be a bit more picky on where they choose to live.

For most athletes, they will remain in the city in which they play for, for the days needed, and simply travel back to their home on their days off. And while definitely not convenient, it is the choice they believe is best for them.