This is a list of American football players who have played for the Detroit Lions or for the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–33), in the National Football League (NFL). It includes players that have played at least one match in the NFL regular season. The Detroit Lions franchise was founded in Portsmouth, Ohio as the Portsmouth Spartans. In 1934, the franchise moved to Detroit and changed their name to the Lions, which was a play on the name of the Detroit Tigers.