Here are the 9 active longest postseason droughts between the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
T-1. New York Jets — 13 seasons (last appearance in 2010)
A pair of New York fan bases have experienced misery over the last decade. The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since Mark Sanchez was playing quarterback and Rex Ryan was at the helm in 2010, when they upset the Patriots in the divisional round and appeared in a second straight AFC title game. The Jets slowly eroded from there, seemingly bottoming out in 2020 with a 2-14 mark. Unfortunately for Jets fans, this is only tied with the longest playoff drought in franchise history, as they missed the playoffs in every season between 1970-80.
T-1. Buffalo Sabres — 12 seasons (last appearance in 2010-11)
The Sabres have mostly finished in last place or close to last in their respective division since 2011. Buffalo drafted Jack Eichel with the No. 2 overall pick four seasons into its drought and traded the young star last season. The Sabres’ playoff drought is the longest in NHL history.
T-2. Detroit Tigers — nine seasons (last appearance in 2014)
The Tigers haven’t made the playoffs since featuring Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in their starting rotation.
T-2. Los Angeles Angels — nine seasons (last appearance in 2014)
The Angels might boast the two best players in baseball — three-time MVP Mike Trout and reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani — but they’ve fallen short of the postseason three times when one of them took home the individual hardware.
T-3. Kansas City Royals — eight seasons (last appearance in 2015)
The Royals reached baseball’s mountaintop in 2015, winning the World Series a year after they lost in seven games on baseball’s grandest stage. Kansas City holds one of the worst records in baseball this season.
T-3. Pittsburgh Pirates — eight seasons (last appearance in 2015)
The Pirates earned three playoff appearances in a row (2013-15), but they haven’t recovered since the Cubs beat them in the 2015 NL wild-card round.
T-4. Charlotte Hornets — seven seasons (last appearance in 2015-16)
The Hornets nearly squeaked into the playoffs this past spring. They made the play-in tournament but were blown out in the opening game. LaMelo Ball‘s emergence could lift them over the hump in 2022-23.
T-4. Detroit Red Wings — seven seasons (last appearance in 2015-16)
Longtime fans of the Red Wings haven’t been too accustomed to the team’s recent stretch. The franchise had a 25-year playoff streak prior to its current drought. Detroit still seems far from making it back to the postseason, after finishing 26 points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in 2021-22.
T-4. Denver Broncos — seven seasons (last appearance in 2015)
The Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since their triumphant Super Bowl win to cap off the 2015 campaign. That, of course, was Peyton Manning’s final game. Denver recently traded for quarterback Russell Wilson to solve its chronic quarterback problem, which could also solve its postseason problem.
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