Denver is one of the busiest sports markets in the country, keeping Colorado sports betting customers happy all year round. The city has entries in the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB and Major League Soccer. Now reports indicate that the National Women’s Soccer League has agreed in principle to grant Denver an expansion team, to begin play in 2026. The league has made no official announcement, but Sportico reported that the ownership group is putting up a $110 million expansion fee, which would be a record for a U.S. pro women’s sports team.
BetColorado.com, your source for the best Colorado sportsbook promos, dug into some history for expansion teams in town. Do new Denver teams tend to soar quickly, or do they take a while to meet Mile High hopes?
Team, League, Year | First Playoff Berth | First Championship |
Broncos, NFL, 1960 | 1977 (18th season) | 1997 (38th season) |
Nuggets, ABA, 1967 | 1967 (ABA first season) | 2023 (56th season) |
Rockies, MLB, 1993 | 1995 (third season) | None |
Rapids, MLS, 1996 | 1997 (second season) | 2010 (15th season) |
The Denver Broncos were one of eight original teams when the American Football League was founded in 1960. They were the worst of the bunch for most of the league’s existence, until the AFL merged with the National Football League in time for the 1970 season.
The Broncos joined their old AFL rivals (the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers) in the new AFC West division but didn’t fare any better until 1977. That season, the “Orange Crush” defense not only gave Denver its first playoff bid after 17 seasons of futility, but led the Broncos all the way to Super Bowl XII before they lost 27-10 to the Dallas Cowboys.
Since then, the Broncos have won four Super Bowls. This season, rookie quarterback Bo Nix helped Denver end an eight-year playoff drought, dating to when the team won Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 season, paying off futures wagers at Colorado sportsbook apps.
The Nuggets didn’t even start as the Nuggets, nor did the start in the NBA. When they were founded as a member of the American Basketball Association in 1967, they were called the Rockets. Of course, the NBA already had a team called the Rockets and by 1974 Denver was angling to join the NBA, so the team adopted a name with some city basketball history (more on that later).
The Nuggets were one of a handful of teams to move to the NBA when the ABA folded. Denver also made the playoffs in the franchise’s first NBA season, 1976-77, and they have made the postseason 30 times in 48 NBA seasons (not including 2024-25). Nikola Jokic led the franchise to its first NBA title at last in the 2022-23 season, their 56th year of existence and 47th in the NBA. As of Jan. 28, bet365 Colorado Sportsbook lists the Nuggets at +1200 odds to win the 2024-25 championship.
A quick note for history buffs: There was a Denver Nuggets team for one season, 1949-50, in the NBA’s formative years. They went 11-51 and disappeared as quickly as they appeared, so we’re not counting them here. But they still go down in history as Colorado’s first major pro sports team, predating the Broncos by more than a decade.
Major League Baseball arrived in Denver in 1993, as an old name was revived with a new team, the Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies got off to a promising start, making the playoffs in 1995, just their third season. But in 32 MLB seasons, Colorado has made the playoffs just five times. The most recent appearance was 2018 – and worse yet, the Rockies have not even won a game in a postseason series since 2009.
The past two years have seen the Rockies bottom out, with 103 defeats in 2023 and 101 last year, the only two 100-loss seasons in franchise history. DraftKings Colorado Sportsbook has the Rockies at +25000 odds to win the National League West in 2025 and +50000 to win the team’s first World Series, tied with the Chicago White Sox for the longest odds.
The Colorado Rapids were one of 10 founding teams when Major League Soccer launched in 1996. They were not the first pro soccer team in town, because the Caribous of Colorado (yes, that was their name) played a lone season, 1978, in the old North American Soccer League.
But the Rapids have stood the test of time, and now the Denver area has enough of a soccer culture to support a women’s pro team in the NWSL.
The Rapids have made the playoffs 16 times in 29 seasons and have +4200 odds at FanDuel Colorado Sportsbook to win a second MLS Cup in 2025, joining the 2010 team.
You might be wondering why there are no hockey teams on our list. That’s because the Mile High City has had two different NHL teams, but both moved from other locales and thus are not considered expansion teams.
The Kansas City Scouts moved west after two seasons and settled in Denver from 1976 to 1982, as the original Colorado Rockies. The franchise made the playoffs just once before decamping again for the East Coast, where they have remained ever since as the New Jersey Devils.
Denver’s second try in the NHL has been far more successful. The Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche in time for the 1995-96 season and won the Stanley Cup in their first season in town. The Avs have captured two more Stanley Cups since, the latest in 2022, and have +1500 odds at Caesars Colorado Sportsbook to do so again this season.
USA Today photo by Isaiah J. Downing
Author
Jim Tomlin has more than 30 years of experience at such publications as the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition. He now lends his expertise in sports, betting and the intersection of those two industries to BetColorado.com, among other sites.
Cited by leading media organizations, such as:
