History of the NFL championship

The National Football League was founded in September of 1920 when representatives from 10 professional football teams met in Canton, Ohio. The league was initially established as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) but it was renamed the NFL in 1922.

There have been three eras of the NFL since it's founding in 1920:

1) The League Standings era from 1920 to 1932

2) The NFL Championship Game era from 1933 to 1965

3) The Super Bowl era from 1966 to the present day

All championships awarded in each era count the same in the NFL record books.

The Green Bay Packers have won the most NFL championship titles with 13 (nine pre-Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls). The Chicago Bears have won the second most overall championships with 9 (eight pre-Super Bowl era and one Super Bowl) and the New York Giants have won the third most with 8 (four pre-Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls).

The rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and American Football League (AFL) were two other professional football leagues that have since merged with the NFL (the only two AAFC teams that currently exist, the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers, joined the NFL in 1950). The AFL began play in 1960 and existed through the 1969 season and then merged with the NFL in 1970. The AAFC operated from 1946 to 1949 and then folded after that.