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The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States and the highest professional level of American football in the world. It was formed in 1920 as the ''American Professional Football Association'' (APFA) before adopting its current name for the 1922 season. After initially determining champions through end-of-season standings, a playoff system was implemented in 1933 that culminated with the NFL Championship Game. Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) in 1966, the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
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. After the merger, all AFL Championship Games and records were included in NFL record books, and the teams have been divided between the
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(AFC) and the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ...
(NFC). Since 2002, the league has consisted of 32 teams based across the United States. Each NFL season since 2021 has started with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Super Bowl, which is contested in February and is played between the AFC and
NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...
conference champions.


Early years (1920–1932)

Early championships between 1920 to 1932 were awarded to the team with the best won-lost record, initially rather haphazardly, as some teams played more or fewer games than others, or scheduled games against non-league, amateur or collegiate teams; this led to the 1920 title being determined during a league meeting after the season, the 1921 title being decided on a controversial tiebreaker, a disputed 1925 title, and the scheduling of an impromptu 1932 indoor playoff game.


1933–1959

In 1933, the teams were divided between the Eastern Division and Western Division. This became the American and National conferences in 1950 after absorbing the rival
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
(AAFC), then the Eastern and Western conferences in 1953. The two division/conference regular season champions then played in the NFL Championship Game. If two teams tied for the division/conference championship at the end of the regular season, then a
one-game playoff A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff, tiebreaker game or knockout game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a ...
was played to determine who would advance to the NFL Championship Game.


War with the AFL (1960–1969)

The rival
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) began play in 1960 with its own Eastern and Western divisions and AFL Championship Game. Following an agreement to merge the NFL with AFL, the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
was first held at the conclusion of the 1966 season to determine a champion between the best teams from the two leagues. The NFL then established a four-team postseason tournament in 1967, and the AFL did the same in 1969.


Modern era (1970–present)

The AFL–NFL merger between the two leagues was completed before the 1970 season. The teams were divided between the
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(AFC) and the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ...
(NFC). The two conference playoff champions then played in the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion.


Future seasons

Listed below is the current schedule of division match-ups for the next few upcoming regular seasons, based on the three-year intra-conference and four-year inter-conference rotations in place since 2021. In each year, besides the home and away games against their three division rivals, all four teams in each division listed at the top will play one game against all four teams in both of the divisions to which it has been assigned — one from the AFC, the other from the NFC. Each team will also play an additional inter-conference "17th game" from another division based on the prior season's standings, with the AFC team hosting it in odd years and the NFC team hosting it in even years. This table also lists the sites of the regular season games that are planned to be held outside the United States as part of the NFL International Series, as well as the sites and US TV networks of the corresponding
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
s. Current listing of International Series games are based on extant contracts. The league stated in 2017 that it was using "inventory management" to wait until current agreements expire before potentially expanding the series, particularly into Germany. The current agreement with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London runs through 2027. Germany will host four games between 2022 and 2025, two each in Allianz Arena, Munich and Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, starting with Munich.


See also

* Lists of National Football League team seasons *
Timeline of the National Football League This article is a timeline of the National Football League (NFL). It tracks the history of each of the league's 32 current franchises from the early days of the league, through its merger with the American Football League (AFL). The history of fr ...
* American Football League (1926) (AFL I) **
1926 American Football League season The 1926 AFL season is the only season of the first American Football League. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, Ohio, but by the end of the season (December 14, 1926), ...
* American Football League (1936) (AFL II) **
1936 American Football League season The 1936 AFL season is the first season of the second American Football League, the formation of which was announced by Harry March, former personnel director of the NFL's New York Giants, on December 15, 1935. Fifteen cities bid for charter fran ...
**
1937 American Football League season The 1937 AFL season is the second and final season of the second American Football League. After the folding of the Syracuse/Rochester Braves in the 1936 season
* American Football League (1940) (AFL III) **
1940 American Football League season The 1940 AFL season was the first season of the third American Football League. The league was formed when the New York Yankees, Boston Bears, and Buffalo Indians were joined by the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs of the ...
**
1941 American Football League season The 1941 AFL season was the second and final season of the third American Football League. After deeming the 1940 season to be a success, the league made overtures of expansion, even going to the point of having a press conference to announce the ad ...
*
All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
(AAFC) **
1946 AAFC season The 1946 AAFC season was the first season of the All-America Football Conference, a new professional league established to challenge the market dominance of the established National Football League. The league included eight teams, broken up into Ea ...
**
1947 AAFC season The 1947 AAFC season was the second season of the All-America Football Conference. The league included eight teams, broken up into Eastern and Western divisions, which played a 14-game official schedule, culminating in a league Championship Game. A ...
**
1948 AAFC season The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
**
1949 AAFC season The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
**
AAFC–NFL merger The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles ...
* Ohio League * New York Pro Football League * Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit *
Anthracite League The Anthracite League, also referred to as the Anthracite Association, was a short-lived American football minor league comprising teams based in coal-mining towns in eastern Pennsylvania (hence the league name's reference to anthracite coal). Th ...
*
Midwest Football League (1935–1940) The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a professional american football minor league that existed from 1935 to 1940. Originally comprising teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, the league eventually expanded its reach to include teams ...


References

;General * * * * * * ;Specific {{NFL seasons, state=expanded Seasons