The Portsmouth Spartans formed in 1929, drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-pro teams in the local Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia tri-state area. Early highlights as the Portsmouth Spartans include the "iron man" game against Green Bay in 1932. In that game, Spartan coach Potsy Clark refused to make even a single substitution against the defending NFL champion Packers. Portsmouth won 19-0 and used only 11 players all game.

Despite great success on the field, poor revenues and the Great Depression threatened the Spartans' survival. In 1934, a group led by Detroit radio executive George Richards (owner of Detroit's powerful WJR) bought the Spartans and moved them to Detroit. Richards renamed the team the Lions, as a nod to the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit enjoyed its greatest success in the 1950s. Led by quarterback Bobby Layne, they won the league championship in 1952, 1953, and 1957. They defeated the Cleveland Browns in each of those NFL Championship Games, but also lost to the Browns in the 1954 Championship Game.

On November 22, 1963 William Clay Ford, Sr. purchased a controlling interest in the team for $4.5 million. This began a 43-year period that continues today, during which the Lions have won just one playoff game.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1974, after over 35 years, the Lions played their final game in Tiger Stadium, where they lost to the Denver Broncos 31–27 in front of 51,157, amidst snow flurries and a 21 point Broncos 3rd quarter. The Lions moved to the newly constructed Silverdome and have played their home games indoors ever since. The thanksgiving classic has lasted since and sells many Detroit Lions tickets each year.

The Lions selected University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford for the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The six-year contract reportedly contains $41.7 million in guaranteed money (the most guaranteed to any player in NFL history) and carries a total value of up to $78 million. On January 15, 2009, the Lions hired Jim Schwartz as head coach. Schwartz spent 10 seasons with the Tennessee Titans, eight of them as defensive coordinator, helping them compile a 13–3 record and first place in the AFC South in 2008. The Lions also hired a new offensive coordinator (Scott Linehan), and a new defensive coordinator (Gunther Cunningham) soon after.

The divisional schedule this football season includes the November 15 game at 1pm EST at Minnesota Vikings Mall of America Field, November 26 (Thanksgiving Classic) at 12:30pm EST with the Green Bay Packers at home in Ford Field, and January 3, 2010 at 1pm EST with the Chicago Bears at home in Ford Field. Look for cheap Detroit Lions tickets with the Seats and see if you can see Stafford play like he is the future of the franchise.