The league is headquartered in New York City. The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season.
Since the creation of the Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots both have the most championship titles at six. ==History== ===Founding and history=== On August 20, 1920, a meeting was held by representatives of the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, and Dayton Triangles at the Jordan and Hupmobile auto showroom in Canton, Ohio.
The Massillon Tigers from Massillon, Ohio was also at the September 17 meeting, but did not field a team in 1920.
Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals), remain. Although the league did not maintain official standings for its 1920 inaugural season and teams played schedules that included non-league opponents, the APFA awarded the Akron Pros the championship by virtue of their (8 wins, 0 losses, and 3 ties) record.
The first event occurred on September 26, 1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St.
On October 3, 1920, the first full week of league play occurred. The following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans.
This method had been used since the league's creation in 1920, but no situation had been encountered where two teams were tied for first.
These actions are among many the NFL is taking to reduce concussions and improve player safety. ===Season and playoff development=== From 1920 to 1934, the NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play, instead setting a minimum.
The first trophy, the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup, was donated to the NFL (then APFA) in 1920 by the Brunswick-Balke Collender Corporation.
The league awarded it to the Akron Pros, champions of the inaugural 1920 season; however, the trophy was discontinued and its current whereabouts are unknown. A second trophy, the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, was issued by the NFL from 1934 to 1967.
At the time, teams were ranked on a single table and the team with the highest winning percentage (not including ties, which were not counted towards the standings) at the end of the season was declared the champion; the only tiebreaker was that in the event of a tie if two teams played twice in a season, the result of the second game determined the title (the source of the 1921 controversy).
The league is headquartered in New York City. The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season.
On June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League (NFL). In 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears () and the Portsmouth Spartans () tied for first in the league standings.
The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure and coinciding with the removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball. The NFL was always the largest professional football league in the United States; it nevertheless faced numerous rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s.
On June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League (NFL). In 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears () and the Portsmouth Spartans () tied for first in the league standings.
After initially determining champions through end-of-season standings, a playoff system was implemented in 1933 that culminated with the NFL Championship Game until 1966.
Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, to split into two divisions with a championship game to be played between the division champions.
Proposals to increase the regular season to 18 games have been made, but have been rejected in labor negotiations with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The NFL operated in a two-conference system from 1933 to 1966, where the champions of each conference would meet in the NFL Championship Game.
The 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league.
These actions are among many the NFL is taking to reduce concussions and improve player safety. ===Season and playoff development=== From 1920 to 1934, the NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play, instead setting a minimum.
The league awarded it to the Akron Pros, champions of the inaugural 1920 season; however, the trophy was discontinued and its current whereabouts are unknown. A second trophy, the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, was issued by the NFL from 1934 to 1967.
The trophy's namesake, Ed Thorp, was a referee in the league and a friend to many early league owners; upon his death in 1934, the league created the trophy to honor him.
The league mandated a 12-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935, later shortening this to 11 games in 1937 and 10 games in 1943, mainly due to World War II.
Three NFL teams trace their histories to these rival leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams (who came from a 1936 iteration of the American Football League), the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers (the last two of which came from the AAFC).
The league mandated a 12-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935, later shortening this to 11 games in 1937 and 10 games in 1943, mainly due to World War II.
The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure and coinciding with the removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball. The NFL was always the largest professional football league in the United States; it nevertheless faced numerous rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s.
The league mandated a 12-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935, later shortening this to 11 games in 1937 and 10 games in 1943, mainly due to World War II.
The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure and coinciding with the removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball. The NFL was always the largest professional football league in the United States; it nevertheless faced numerous rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s.
After the war ended, the number of games returned to 11 games in 1946 and to 12 in 1947.
After the war ended, the number of games returned to 11 games in 1946 and to 12 in 1947.
By the 1950s, the NFL had an effective monopoly on professional football in the United States; its only competition in North America was the professional Canadian football circuit, which formally became the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1958.
By the 1950s, the NFL had an effective monopoly on professional football in the United States; its only competition in North America was the professional Canadian football circuit, which formally became the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1958.
With Canadian football being a different football code than the American game, the CFL established a niche market in Canada and still survives as an independent league. A new professional league, the fourth American Football League (AFL), began to play in 1960.
After the league merged, it was reorganized into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC), consisting of most of the pre-merger NFL teams, and the American Football Conference (AFC), consisting of all of the AFL teams as well as three pre-merger NFL teams. Today, the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America; much of its growth is attributed to former Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who led the league from 1960 to 1989.
The NFL also operated the Playoff Bowl (officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) from 1960 to 1969.
The NFL went to a 14-game schedule in 1961, which it retained until switching to the current 16-game schedule in 1978.
The NFL established NFL Properties in 1963.
After initially determining champions through end-of-season standings, a playoff system was implemented in 1933 that culminated with the NFL Championship Game until 1966.
The two leagues announced a merger on June 8, 1966, to take full effect in 1970.
Proposals to increase the regular season to 18 games have been made, but have been rejected in labor negotiations with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The NFL operated in a two-conference system from 1933 to 1966, where the champions of each conference would meet in the NFL Championship Game.
Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival American Football League (AFL), the Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine a champion between the best teams from the two leagues and has remained as the final game of each NFL season since the merger was completed in 1970.
In 1967, the NFL expanded from 15 teams to 16 teams.
The league awarded it to the Akron Pros, champions of the inaugural 1920 season; however, the trophy was discontinued and its current whereabouts are unknown. A second trophy, the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, was issued by the NFL from 1934 to 1967.
The NFL also operated the Playoff Bowl (officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) from 1960 to 1969.
Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival American Football League (AFL), the Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine a champion between the best teams from the two leagues and has remained as the final game of each NFL season since the merger was completed in 1970.
The two leagues announced a merger on June 8, 1966, to take full effect in 1970.
The league discontinued the Playoff Bowl in 1970 due to its perception as a game for losers. Following the addition of the former AFL teams into the NFL in 1970, the NFL split into two conferences with three divisions each.
The Super Bowl trophy was officially renamed in 1970 after Vince Lombardi, who as head coach led the Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls.
The NFL went to a 14-game schedule in 1961, which it retained until switching to the current 16-game schedule in 1978.
In 1978, the league added a second wild card team from each conference, bringing the total number of playoff teams to ten, and a further two wild card teams were added in 1990 to bring the total to twelve.
Commentator John Madden famously used a telestrator during games between the early 1980s to the mid-2000s, boosting the device's popularity. The NFL, as a one-time experiment, distributed the October 25, 2015 International Series game from Wembley Stadium in London between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Among them, the Skycam camera system was used for the first time in a live telecast, at a 1984 preseason NFL game in San Diego between the Chargers and 49ers, and televised by CBS.
Mexico also hosted an NFL regular-season game, a 2005 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals known as "Fútbol Americano", and 39 international preseason games were played from 1986 to 2005 as part of the American Bowl series.
After the league merged, it was reorganized into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC), consisting of most of the pre-merger NFL teams, and the American Football Conference (AFC), consisting of all of the AFL teams as well as three pre-merger NFL teams. Today, the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America; much of its growth is attributed to former Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who led the league from 1960 to 1989.
Overall annual attendance increased from 3 million at the beginning of his tenure to 17 million by the end of his tenure, and 400 million global viewers watched 1989's Super Bowl XXIII.
In 1978, the league added a second wild card team from each conference, bringing the total number of playoff teams to ten, and a further two wild card teams were added in 1990 to bring the total to twelve.
When the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002, the league realigned, changing the division structure from three divisions in each conference to four divisions in each conference.
The league holds expansion drafts, the most recent happening in 2002 when the Houston Texans began play as an expansion team.
This happened in the 2003 draft, when the Minnesota Vikings failed to make their selection on time.
Mexico also hosted an NFL regular-season game, a 2005 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals known as "Fútbol Americano", and 39 international preseason games were played from 1986 to 2005 as part of the American Bowl series.
television for the first time since it broadcast Super Bowl XL after the end of the 2005 NFL season.
Paul Tagliabue was elected as commissioner to succeed Rozelle; his seventeen-year tenure, which ended in 2006, was marked by large increases in television contracts and the addition of four expansion teams, as well as the introduction of league initiatives to increase the number of minorities in league and team management roles.
The current Commissioner of the National Football League is Roger Goodell, who was elected in 2006 after Paul Tagliabue, the previous commissioner, retired. ===Finances=== NFL revenue is from three primary sources: NFL Ventures (merchandising), NFL Enterprises (NFL Network and NFL Sunday Ticket, which the league controls), and the television contract.
The Kansas City Star obtained the Kansas City Chiefs' tax returns for 2008–2010.
According to the Star, the team's revenue rose from $231 million in 2008 to $302 million in 2010.
Since 2009, the Pro Bowl has been held the week before the Super Bowl; in previous years, the game was held the week following the Super Bowl, but in an effort to boost ratings, the game was moved to the week before.
, each team receives $255 million annually from the league's television contract, up 150% from $99.9 million in 2010. Most NFL teams' financial statements are secret.
According to the Star, the team's revenue rose from $231 million in 2008 to $302 million in 2010.
In 2010, two thirds of revenue came from the league: $99.8 million from NFL Ventures ($55.3 million) and NFL Enterprises ($44.6 million), and the $99.9 million share of the television contract.
The remaining one third was from tickets ($42.4 million), corporate sponsorships ($6.6 million), food sales ($5 million), parking passes ($4.7 million), in-stadium advertising ($3.7 million), radio contract ($2.7 million), and miscellaneous sources. The largest Chiefs expense in 2010 was $148 million for players, coaches, and other employees.
During the 2010 season, over 500,000 potential schedules were created by computers, 5,000 of which were considered "playable schedules" and were reviewed by the NFL's scheduling team.
Since 2011, the league has reserved the right to give Sunday games that, under the contract, would normally air on one network to the other network (known as "flexible scheduling").
In 2011, all four stations signed new nine-year contracts with the NFL, each running until 2022; CBS, Fox, and NBC are estimated by Forbes to pay a combined total of US$3 billion a year, while ESPN will pay US$1.9 billion a year.
The vast majority of NFL games were not blacked out; only 6% of games were blacked out during the 2011 season, and only two games were blacked out in and none in .
According to Nielsen, the NFL regular season since 2012 was watched by at least 200 million individuals, accounting for 80% of all television households in the United States and 69% of all potential viewers in the United States.
Super Bowls account for the 22 most-watched programs (based on total audience) in US history, including a record 167 million people that watched Super Bowl XLVIII, the conclusion to the 2013 season. In addition to radio networks run by each NFL team, select NFL games are broadcast nationally by Westwood One (known as Dial Global for the 2012 season).
The NFL's deal with Westwood One was extended in 2012 and continued through 2017. Some broadcasting innovations have either been introduced or popularized during NFL telecasts.
Although no team is based in a foreign country, the Jacksonville Jaguars began playing one home game a year at Wembley Stadium in London, England, in 2013 as part of the NFL International Series.
Super Bowls account for the 22 most-watched programs (based on total audience) in US history, including a record 167 million people that watched Super Bowl XLVIII, the conclusion to the 2013 season. In addition to radio networks run by each NFL team, select NFL games are broadcast nationally by Westwood One (known as Dial Global for the 2012 season).
The NFL's own network, NFL Network, broadcasts a series titled Thursday Night Football, which was originally exclusive to the network, but which in recent years has had several games simulcast on CBS (since 2014) and NBC (since 2016) (except the Thanksgiving and kickoff games, which remain exclusive to NBC).
The league's contracts do not cover preseason games, which individual teams are free to sell to local stations directly; a minority of preseason games are distributed among the league's national television partners. Through the 2014 season, the NFL had a blackout policy in which games were 'blacked out' on local television in the home team's area if the home stadium was not sold out.
Also in current agreement, Amazon will be the new home for Thursday Night Football starting in 2023. ==Draft== Each April (excluding 2014 when it took place in May), the NFL holds a draft of college players.
television broadcasts by 2015.
Up until 2015, the league was an unincorporated nonprofit 501(c)(6) association.
In contrast, each individual team (except the non-profit Green Bay Packers) is subject to tax because they make a profit. The NFL gave up the tax-exempt status in 2015 following public criticism; in a letter to the club owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell labeled it a "distraction", saying "the effects of the tax-exempt status of the league office have been mischaracterized repeatedly in recent years...
The NFL announced in March 2015 that it would suspend its blackout policy for at least the 2015 season.
Commentator John Madden famously used a telestrator during games between the early 1980s to the mid-2000s, boosting the device's popularity. The NFL, as a one-time experiment, distributed the October 25, 2015 International Series game from Wembley Stadium in London between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars' agreement with Wembley was originally set to expire in 2016 but was extended through 2020 prior to travel restrictions relating to the coronavirus.
The Raiders and Houston Texans played a game in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca on November 21, 2016. According to Forbes, the Dallas Cowboys, at approximately US$5 billion, are the most valuable NFL franchise and the most valuable sports team in the world.
The NFL's own network, NFL Network, broadcasts a series titled Thursday Night Football, which was originally exclusive to the network, but which in recent years has had several games simulcast on CBS (since 2014) and NBC (since 2016) (except the Thanksgiving and kickoff games, which remain exclusive to NBC).
For the 2017 season, the NFL Network will broadcast 18 regular season games under its Thursday Night Football brand, 16 Thursday-evening contests (10 of which are simulcast on either NBC or CBS) as well as one of the NFL International Series games on a Sunday morning and one of the 2017 Christmas afternoon games.
In 2017, the NFL games occupied the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $699,602 for Sunday Night Football, $550,709 for Thursday Night Football (NBC), and $549,791 for Thursday Night Football (CBS). The Super Bowl television rights are rotated on a three-year basis between CBS, Fox, and NBC.
The NFL's deal with Westwood One was extended in 2012 and continued through 2017. Some broadcasting innovations have either been introduced or popularized during NFL telecasts.
The playoffs expanded again in 2020, adding two more wild card teams to bring the total to fourteen playoff teams. ==Corporate structure== At the corporate level, the National Football League considers itself a trade association made up of and financed by its 32 member teams.
The Jaguars' agreement with Wembley was originally set to expire in 2016 but was extended through 2020 prior to travel restrictions relating to the coronavirus.
The quality of preseason games has been criticized by some fans, who dislike having to pay full price for exhibition games, as well as by some players and coaches, who dislike the risk of injury the games have, while others have felt the preseason is a necessary part of the NFL season. ===Regular season=== This chart of the 2020 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula.
The Buccaneers in 2020 (highlighted in green) finished in second place in the NFC South.
While Saturday games late in the season are common, the league rarely holds Friday games, the most recent one being on Christmas Day in 2020.
Since 2021, the season has begun the week after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) and concluded the week after New Year.
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