The Baltimore Ravens became an NFL team in 1996, playing their first season that year after the Cleveland Browns’ owner Art Modell moved his franchise to Baltimore and the league treated the Ravens as a new expansion team.

Quick Scoop

  • The Ravens franchise was officially established in 1996 as part of an agreement that let Cleveland keep the Browns’ name, colors, and history.
  • Baltimore’s new team began play in the NFL in the 1996 season, so that year is generally given as “when the Ravens became a team.”
  • The name “Ravens,” inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, was publicly announced for the new Baltimore NFL team on March 29, 1996.

So if you’re answering a forum or trivia-style question about when did the Ravens become a team , the accepted answer is: 1996.

TL;DR: The Baltimore Ravens became an NFL team in 1996 , with the “Ravens” name unveiled on March 29, 1996, and their first season played that fall.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.