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Wikipedia

National Football League

March 23, 2023

"NFL" redirects here. For other leagues of the same name and other uses, see National Football League (disambiguation) and NFL (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with CFL or NRL.

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world.[5] Each NFL season begins 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 conference champions. The league is headquartered in New York City.

National Football League
Upcoming season or competition:
2023 NFL season
FormerlyAmerican Professional Football Conference (1920)
American Professional Football Association
(1920–1921)
SportAmerican football
FoundedSeptember 17, 1920; 102 years ago (1920-09-17)
Canton, Ohio, U.S.[1][2]
Inaugural season1920
CommissionerRoger Goodell
No. of teams32
CountryUnited States[A]
Headquarters345 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10154
U.S.[3]
Most recent
champion(s)		Kansas City Chiefs
(3rd title)
Most titlesGreen Bay Packers
(13 titles)
TV partner(s)United States[4]
CBS
Fox
NBC
ESPN (ABC, ESPN2)
Amazon
NFL Network
Telemundo Deportes
International
See list
Official websitewww.nfl.com

The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League 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 until 1966. 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.[6]

The NFL is the wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue[7] and the sports league with the most valuable teams.[8] The NFL also has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world[9] and is the most popular sports league in the United States.[10] The Super Bowl is also among the biggest club sporting events in the world,[11] with the individual games accounting for many of the most watched television programs in American history and all occupying the Nielsen's Top 5 tally of the all-time most watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015.[12]

The Green Bay Packers hold the most combined NFL championships with thirteen, winning nine titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls afterwards. Since the creation of the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl victories at six each. The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning league champions, as they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 in Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023, to mark the end of the 2022 season.

History

Main articles: History of the National Football League and History of American football

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.[13] This meeting resulted in the formation of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), a group who, according to the Canton Evening Repository, intended to "raise the standard of professional football in every way possible, to eliminate bidding for players between rival clubs and to secure cooperation in the formation of schedules".[14]

Another meeting was held on September 17, 1920, with representatives from teams from four states: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, and Dayton from Ohio; the Hammond Pros and Muncie Flyers from Indiana; the Rochester Jeffersons from New York; and the Rock Island Independents, Decatur Staleys, and Racine (Chicago) Cardinals from Illinois.[15][16] The league was renamed to the American Professional Football Association (APFA).[14] The league elected Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams (the Buffalo All-Americans, Chicago Tigers, Columbus Panhandles and Detroit Heralds joined the league during the year). 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 in the NFL.[17]

 
The Akron Pros won the first APFA (NFL) Championship in 1920.

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 8–0–3 record.[18] The first event occurred on September 26, 1920, when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park.[13][19] On October 3, 1920, the first full week of league play occurred.[20][21] The following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans.[22] On June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League (NFL).[23][24]

In 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears (6–1–6) and the Portsmouth Spartans (6–1–4) tied for first in the league standings.[25] 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). 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. The league quickly determined that a playoff game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the league's champion. The teams were originally scheduled to play the playoff game, officially a regular-season game that would count towards the regular season standings, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, but a combination of heavy snow and extreme cold forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium, which did not have a regulation-size football field. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the smaller playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0 and thus won the championship. 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.[26] The 1934 season also marked the first of twelve seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure and coinciding with the removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball.[27]

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. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), on top of various regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these rival leagues; the Los Angeles Rams who came from a 1936 iteration of the American Football League, and the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, both from the AAFC. 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. The upstart AFL began to challenge the established NFL in popularity, gaining lucrative television contracts and engaging in a bidding war with the NFL for free agents and draft picks. The two leagues announced a merger on June 8, 1966, to take full effect in 1970. In the meantime, the leagues would hold a common draft and championship game. The game, the Super Bowl, was held four times before the merger, with the NFL winning Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II, and the AFL winning Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV.[28] 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.[29]

Today, the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America[30] – with much of the league's growth and popularity attributable 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.[31] The NFL established NFL Properties in 1963. The league's licensing wing, NFL Properties, earns the league billions of dollars annually; Rozelle's tenure also marked the creation of NFL Charities and a national partnership with United Way.[31] Paul Tagliabue was elected as commissioner to succeed Rozelle; his 17-year tenure, which ended in 2006, was marked by large increases in television contracts and the addition of four expansion teams,[32] as well as the introduction of league initiatives to increase the number of minorities in league and team management roles.[33] The league's current Commissioner, Roger Goodell, has focused on reducing the number of illegal hits and making the sport safer, mainly through fining or suspending players who break rules.[34] These actions are among many the NFL is taking to reduce concussions and improve player safety.[35] Prior to 2021, the NFL had utilized race-based adjustments of dementia claims in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims, which had been criticized by critics before the NFL decided to end what was called "race-norming".[36][37]

Season and playoff development

Main article: List of National Football League seasons

From 1920 to 1934, the NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play, instead setting a minimum. The league mandated a twelve-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935, later shortening this to eleven games in 1937 and ten games in 1943, mainly due to World War II. After the war ended, the number of games returned to eleven games in 1946, and later back to twelve in 1947. The NFL went to a 14-game schedule in 1961, which it retained until switching to a 16-game schedule in 1978.[38] In March 2021, the NFL officially adopted a 17-game schedule after gaining the agreement of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).[39]

Having an odd number of games in the schedule will give half the teams nine games as the home team, while half the teams have only eight home games. To minimize the perceived benefit on competition of having more home games, the extra home game will be rotated between the two conferences each year. This is because playoff berths are allocated at the conference level, so all teams within the conference will have played the same number of home games.

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. If two teams tied for the conference lead, they would meet in a one-game playoff to determine the conference champion. In 1967, the NFL expanded from 15 teams to 16 teams. Instead of just evening out the conferences by adding the expansion New Orleans Saints to the seven-member Western Conference, the NFL realigned the conferences and split each into two four-team divisions. The four division champions would meet in the NFL playoffs, a two-round playoff.[40] The NFL also operated the Playoff Bowl (officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) from 1960 to 1969. Effectively, a third-place game, pitting the two conference runners-up against each other, the league considers Playoff Bowls to have been exhibitions rather than playoff games. The league discontinued the Playoff Bowl in 1970 due to its perception as a game for losers.[41]

Following the addition of the former AFL teams into the NFL in 1970, the NFL split into two conferences with three divisions each. The expanded league, now with twenty-six teams,[29] would also feature an expanded eight-team playoff, the participants being the three division champions from each conference as well as one 'wild card' team (the team with the best win percentage) from each conference. 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. As each division champion gets a playoff bid, the number of wild card teams from each conference dropped from three to two.[42] The playoffs expanded again in 2020, adding two more wild card teams to bring the total to 14 playoff teams.[43]

Corporate structure

See also: History of the NFL Commissioner
 
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

At the corporate level, the National Football League considers itself a trade association made up of and financed by its 32 member teams.[44] Up until 2015, the league was an unincorporated nonprofit 501(c)(6) association.[45] Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code provides an exemption from federal income taxation for "Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players), not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual."[46] In contrast, each individual team (except the non-profit Green Bay Packers[47]) is subject to tax because they make a profit.[48]

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… Every dollar of income generated through television rights fees, licensing agreements, sponsorships, ticket sales, and other means is earned by the 32 clubs and is taxable there. This will remain the case even when the league office and Management Council file returns as taxable entities, and the change in filing status will make no material difference to our business." As a result, the league office might owe around US$10 million in income taxes, but it is no longer required to disclose the salaries of its executive officers.[49]

The league has three defined officers: the commissioner, secretary, and treasurer. Each conference has one defined officer, the president, which is essentially an honorary position with few powers and mostly ceremonial duties, including awarding the conference championship trophy.

The commissioner is elected by the affirmative vote of two-thirds or eighteen (whichever is greater) of the members of the league, while the president of each conference is elected by an affirmative vote of three-fourths or 10 of the conference members.[50] The commissioner appoints the secretary and treasurer and has broad authority in disputes between clubs, players, coaches, and employees. He is the "principal executive officer"[51] of the NFL and also has authority in hiring league employees, negotiating television contracts, disciplining individuals that own part or all of an NFL team, clubs, or employed individuals of an NFL club if they have violated league by-laws or committed "conduct detrimental to the welfare of the League or professional football".[51] The commissioner can, in the event of misconduct by a party associated with the league, suspend individuals, hand down a fine of up to US$500,000, cancel contracts with the league, and award or strip teams of draft picks.[51]

In extreme cases, the commissioner can offer recommendations to the NFL's executive committee, up to and including the "cancellation or forfeiture"[51] of a club's franchise or any other action, he deems necessary. The commissioner can also issue sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban from the league if an individual connected to the NFL has bet on games or failed to notify the league of conspiracies or plans to bet on or fix games.[51] The current Commissioner of the National Football League is Roger Goodell, who was elected in 2006 after Paul Tagliabue, the previous commissioner, retired.[52]

Teams

See also: List of defunct National Football League franchises, Timeline of the National Football League, and National Football League franchise moves and mergers
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML

The NFL consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences of 16 teams each. Each conference is divided into four divisions of four clubs each. During the regular season, each team is allowed a maximum of 55 players on its roster; only 48 of these may be active (eligible to play) on game days.[53] Each team can also have a sixteen-player practice squad separate from its main roster.[54]

Each NFL club is granted a franchise, the league's authorization for the team to operate in its home city. This franchise covers 'Home Territory' (the 75 miles surrounding the city limits, or, if the team is within 100 miles of another league city, half the distance between the two cities) and 'Home Marketing Area' (Home Territory plus the rest of the state the club operates in, as well as the area the team operates its training camp in for the duration of the camp). Each NFL member has the exclusive right to host professional football games inside its Home Territory and the exclusive right to advertise, promote, and host events in its Home Marketing Area. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, mostly relating to teams with close proximity to each other: teams that operate in the same city (e.g. New York City and Los Angeles) or the same state (e.g. California, Florida, and Texas) share the rights to the city's Home Territory and the state's Home Marketing Area, respectively.[55]

Every NFL team is based in the contiguous United States. 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.[56] 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.[57] The Las Vegas Raiders (then in Oakland) played one game each in the 2018 and 2019 seasons in London, while each of the Los Angeles teams (Rams, Chargers) played a game there from 2016 to 2019.[58][59][60]

The Buffalo Bills played one home game every season at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013. Mexico also hosted an NFL regular-season game, a 2005 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals known as "Fútbol Americano",[61] and 39 international preseason games were played from 1986 to 2005 as part of the American Bowl series.[62] Three additional games have since been played in Mexico.[63]

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.[64] Also, 26 of the 32 NFL teams rank among the Top 50 most valuable sports teams in the world;[8] and 16 of the NFL's owners are listed on the Forbes 400, the most of any sports league or organization.[65]

The 32 teams are organized into eight geographic divisions of four teams each. These divisions are further organized into two conferences, the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The two-conference structure has its origins in a time when major American professional football was organized into two independent leagues, the National Football League and its younger rival, the American Football League. The leagues merged 1970, adopting the older league's name and reorganizing slightly to ensure the same number of teams in both conferences.

Division[66] Club[66] City Stadium[67] Capacity Coordinates First season[68] Head coach
American Football Conference
East Buffalo Bills Orchard Park, New York Highmark Stadium 71,608 42°46′26″N 78°47′13″W / 42.774°N 78.787°W / 42.774; -78.787 (Buffalo Bills) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Sean McDermott
Miami Dolphins Miami Gardens, Florida Hard Rock Stadium 64,767 25°57′29″N 80°14′20″W / 25.958°N 80.239°W / 25.958; -80.239 (Miami Dolphins) 1966 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Mike McDaniel
New England Patriots Foxborough, Massachusetts Gillette Stadium 65,878 42°05′28″N 71°15′50″W / 42.091°N 71.264°W / 42.091; -71.264 (New England Patriots) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Bill Belichick
New York Jets East Rutherford, New Jersey MetLife Stadium[B] 82,500 40°48′50″N 74°04′26″W / 40.814°N 74.074°W / 40.814; -74.074 (New York Jets) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Robert Saleh
North Baltimore Ravens Baltimore, Maryland M&T Bank Stadium 71,008 39°16′41″N 76°37′23″W / 39.278°N 76.623°W / 39.278; -76.623 (Baltimore Ravens) 1996[C] John Harbaugh
Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati, Ohio Paycor Stadium 65,515 39°05′42″N 84°30′58″W / 39.095°N 84.516°W / 39.095; -84.516 (Cincinnati Bengals) 1968 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Zac Taylor
Cleveland Browns Cleveland, Ohio FirstEnergy Stadium 67,895 41°30′22″N 81°41′56″W / 41.506°N 81.699°W / 41.506; -81.699 (Cleveland Browns) 1946 (AAFC), 1950 (NFL)[C] Kevin Stefanski
Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Acrisure Stadium 68,400 40°26′49″N 80°00′58″W / 40.447°N 80.016°W / 40.447; -80.016 (Pittsburgh Steelers) 1933 Mike Tomlin
South Houston Texans Houston, Texas NRG Stadium 71,995 29°41′06″N 95°24′40″W / 29.685°N 95.411°W / 29.685; -95.411 (Houston Texans) 2002 DeMeco Ryans
Indianapolis Colts* Indianapolis, Indiana Lucas Oil Stadium 67,000 39°45′36″N 86°09′50″W / 39.760°N 86.164°W / 39.760; -86.164 (Indianapolis Colts) 1953 Shane Steichen
Jacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville, Florida TIAA Bank Field[D] 67,814 30°19′26″N 81°38′17″W / 30.324°N 81.638°W / 30.324; -81.638 (Jacksonville Jaguars) 1995 Doug Pederson
Tennessee Titans* Nashville, Tennessee Nissan Stadium 69,143 36°09′58″N 86°46′16″W / 36.166°N 86.771°W / 36.166; -86.771 (Tennessee Titans) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Mike Vrabel
West Denver Broncos Denver, Colorado Empower Field at Mile High 76,125 39°44′38″N 105°01′12″W / 39.744°N 105.020°W / 39.744; -105.020 (Denver Broncos) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Sean Payton
Kansas City Chiefs* Kansas City, Missouri GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium 76,416 39°02′56″N 94°29′02″W / 39.049°N 94.484°W / 39.049; -94.484 (Kansas City Chiefs) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Andy Reid
Las Vegas Raiders* Paradise, Nevada Allegiant Stadium 65,000 36°05′24″N 115°11′02″W / 36.090°N 115.184°W / 36.090; -115.184 (Las Vegas Raiders) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Josh McDaniels
Los Angeles Chargers* Inglewood, California SoFi Stadium[E] 70,240 33°57′11″N 118°20′20″W / 33.953°N 118.339°W / 33.953; -118.339 (Los Angeles Chargers) 1960 (AFL), 1970 (NFL) Brandon Staley
National Football Conference
East Dallas Cowboys Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium 80,000 32°44′53″N 97°05′35″W / 32.748°N 97.093°W / 32.748; -97.093 (Dallas Cowboys) 1960 Mike McCarthy
New York Giants East Rutherford, New Jersey MetLife Stadium[B] 82,500 40°48′50″N 74°04′26″W / 40.814°N 74.074°W / 40.814; -74.074 (New York Giants) 1925 Brian Daboll
Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Lincoln Financial Field 69,176 39°54′04″N 75°10′05″W / 39.901°N 75.168°W / 39.901; -75.168 (Philadelphia Eagles) 1933 Nick Sirianni
Washington Commanders* Landover, Maryland FedExField 82,000 38°54′29″N 76°51′50″W / 38.908°N 76.864°W / 38.908; -76.864 (Washington Commanders) 1932 Ron Rivera
North Chicago Bears*† Chicago, Illinois Soldier Field 61,500 41°51′47″N 87°37′01″W / 41.863°N 87.617°W / 41.863; -87.617 (Chicago Bears) 1920 Matt Eberflus
Detroit Lions* Detroit, Michigan Ford Field 65,000 42°20′24″N 83°02′46″W / 42.340°N 83.046°W / 42.340; -83.046 (Detroit Lions) 1930 Dan Campbell
Green Bay Packers Green Bay, Wisconsin Lambeau Field 81,441 44°30′04″N 88°03′43″W / 44.501°N 88.062°W / 44.501; -88.062 (Green Bay Packers) 1921 Matt LaFleur
Minnesota Vikings Minneapolis, Minnesota U.S. Bank Stadium 66,860 44°58′26″N 93°15′29″W / 44.974°N 93.258°W / 44.974; -93.258 (Minnesota Vikings) 1961 Kevin O'Connell
South Atlanta Falcons Atlanta, Georgia Mercedes-Benz Stadium 71,000 33°45′18″N 84°24′04″W / 33.755°N 84.401°W / 33.755; -84.401 (Atlanta Falcons) 1966 Arthur Smith
Carolina Panthers Charlotte, North Carolina Bank of America Stadium 75,523 35°13′34″N 80°51′11″W / 35.226°N 80.853°W / 35.226; -80.853 (Carolina Panthers) 1995 Frank Reich
New Orleans Saints New Orleans, Louisiana Caesars Superdome 73,208 29°57′04″N 90°04′52″W / 29.951°N 90.081°W / 29.951; -90.081 (New Orleans Saints) 1967 Dennis Allen
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa, Florida Raymond James Stadium 65,618 27°58′34″N 82°30′11″W / 27.976°N 82.503°W / 27.976; -82.503 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) 1976 Todd Bowles
West Arizona Cardinals*† Glendale, Arizona State Farm Stadium 63,400 33°31′41″N 112°15′47″W / 33.528°N 112.263°W / 33.528; -112.263 (Arizona Cardinals) 1920 Jonathan Gannon
Los Angeles Rams* Inglewood, California SoFi Stadium[E] 70,240 33°57′11″N 118°20′20″W / 33.953°N 118.339°W / 33.953; -118.339 (Los Angeles Rams) 1936 (Second AFL), 1937 (NFL) Sean McVay
San Francisco 49ers Santa Clara, California Levi's Stadium 68,500 37°24′11″N 121°58′12″W / 37.403°N 121.970°W / 37.403; -121.970 (San Francisco 49ers) 1946 (AAFC), 1950 (NFL) Kyle Shanahan
Seattle Seahawks Seattle, Washington Lumen Field 69,000 47°35′42″N 122°19′55″W / 47.595°N 122.332°W / 47.595; -122.332 (Seattle Seahawks) 1976 Pete Carroll
* Club has relocated at some point in its existence
† Club was a founding member of the NFL

Season format

Main article: List of National Football League seasons

The NFL season format consists of a three-week preseason, an 18-week regular season (each team plays 17 games), and a 14-team single-elimination playoff culminating in the Super Bowl, the league's championship game.

Preseason

Main article: National Football League preseason

The NFL preseason begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.[74] Each NFL team is required to schedule three preseason games. NFC teams must play at least two of these at home in odd numbered years and AFC teams must play at least two at home in even numbered years. However, the teams involved in the Hall of Fame game, as well as any team that played in an American Bowl game, play four preseason games.[75] Preseason games are exhibition matches and do not count towards regular-season totals.[76] Because the preseason does not count towards standings, teams generally do not focus on winning games; instead, they are used by coaches to evaluate their teams and by players to show their performance, both to their current team and to other teams if they get cut.[77] The quality of preseason games has been criticized by some fans, who dislike having to pay full price for exhibition games,[78] 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.[77][78]

Regular season

Main article: NFL regular season
POS AFC East AFC North AFC South AFC West
1st Bills Bengals Titans Chiefs
2nd Patriots Steelers Colts Raiders
3rd Dolphins Browns Texans Chargers
4th Jets Ravens Jaguars Broncos
POS NFC East NFC North NFC South NFC West
1st Cowboys Packers Buccaneers Rams
2nd Eagles Vikings Saints Cardinals
3rd Commanders Bears Falcons 49ers
4th Giants Lions Panthers Seahawks
This chart of the 2021 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula. The Rams in 2021 (highlighted in green) finished in first place in the NFC West. Thus, in 2022, the Rams will play two games against each of its division rivals (highlighted in light blue), one game against each team in the NFC South and AFC West (highlighted in yellow), one game each against the first-place finishers in the NFC East and NFC North (highlighted in orange) and one game against the team who finished first in the AFC East (highlighted in pink).

Currently, the 14 opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a pre-determined formula:[79] The league runs an 18-week, 272-game regular season. Since 2021, the season has begun the week after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) and concluded the week after New Year.[80] The opening game of the season is normally a home game on a Thursday for the league's defending champion.[81]

Most NFL games are played on Sundays, with a Monday night game typically held at least once a week and Thursday night games occurring on most weeks as well.[81] NFL games are not normally played on Fridays or Saturdays until late in the regular season, as federal law prohibits professional football leagues from competing with college or high school football. Because high school and college teams typically play games on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the NFL cannot hold games on those days until the Friday before the third Saturday in December. 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.[82] NFL games are rarely scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, and those days have only been used three times since 1948: in 2010, when a Sunday game was rescheduled to Tuesday due to a blizzard; in 2012, when the Kickoff game was moved from Thursday to Wednesday to avoid conflict with the Democratic National Convention;[83][84] and in 2020, when a game was postponed from Sunday to Tuesday due to players testing positive for COVID-19.

NFL regular season matchups are determined according to a scheduling formula. Within a division, all four teams play 14 out of their 17 games against common opponents or each other– two games (home and away) are played against the other three teams in the division, while one game is held against all the members of a division from the NFC and a division from the AFC as determined by a rotating cycle (three years for the conference the team is in, and four years in the conference they are not in). Two of the other games are intraconference games, determined by the standings of the previous year – for example, if a team finishes first in its division, it will play two other first-place teams in its conference, while a team that finishes last would play two other last-place teams in the conference. The final game is an inter-conference based on a rotating cycle and determined by previous season's standings.[85] In total, each team plays 17 games and has one bye week, where it does not play a game.[86]

Although a team's home and away opponents are known by the end of the previous year's regular season, the exact dates and times for NFL games are not determined until much later because the league has to account for, among other things, the Major League Baseball postseason and local events that could pose a scheduling conflict with NFL games. 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. After arriving at what they felt was the best schedule out of the group, nearly 50 more potential schedules were developed to try to ensure that the chosen schedule would be the best possible one.[87]

Postseason

Main articles: NFL playoffs, Pro Bowl, and Super Bowl
 
The seeding bracket for the NFL playoffs through the 2019 NFL season

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the NFL Playoffs, a 14-team single-elimination tournament, is then held. Seven teams are selected from each conference: the winners of each of the four divisions as well as three wild card teams (the three remaining teams with the best overall record, with tiebreakers in the event of two or more teams having the same record). These teams are seeded according to overall record and tiebreakers, with the division champions always ranking higher than the wild card teams.[88] The top team (seeded one) from each conference are awarded a bye week, while the remaining six teams (seeded 2–7) from each conference compete in the first round of the playoffs, the Wild Card round, with the 2-seed competing against the 7-seed, the 3-seed competing against the 6-seed and the 4-seed competing against the 5-seed. The winners of the Wild Card round advance to the Divisional Round, which matches the lower seeded team against the 1-seed and the two remaining teams against each other. The winners of those games then compete in the Conference Championships, with the higher remaining seed hosting the lower remaining seed. The AFC and NFC champions then compete in the Super Bowl to determine the league champion.

The only other postseason event hosted by the NFL is the Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game. 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.[89] Because of this, players from the teams participating in the Super Bowl are exempt from participating in the game. The Pro Bowl is not considered as competitive as a regular-season game because the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the players.[90]

Trophies and awards

Main article: List of National Football League awards

Team trophies

Main articles: Vince Lombardi Trophy, Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, and Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup

The National Football League has used three different trophies to honor its champion over its existence. The first trophy, the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup, was donated to the NFL (then APFA) in 1920 by the Brunswick-Balke Collender Corporation. The trophy, the appearance of which is only known by its description as a "silver loving cup", was intended to be a traveling trophy and not to become permanent until a team had won at least three titles. 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.[91]

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. In addition to the main trophy, which would be in the possession of the current league champion, the league issued a smaller replica trophy to each champion, who would maintain permanent control over it. The current location of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, long thought to be lost,[92] is believed to be possessed by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[93]

The current trophy of the NFL is the Vince Lombardi Trophy. 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. Unlike the previous trophies, a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is issued to each year's champion, who maintains permanent control of it. Lombardi Trophies are made by Tiffany & Co. out of sterling silver and are worth anywhere from US$25,000 to US$300,000.[94] Additionally, each player on the winning team as well as coaches and personnel are awarded Super Bowl rings to commemorate their victory. The winning team chooses the company that makes the rings; each ring design varies, with the NFL mandating certain ring specifications (which have a degree of room for deviation), in addition to requiring the Super Bowl logo be on at least one side of the ring.[95] The losing team are also awarded rings, which must be no more than half as valuable as the winners' rings, but those are almost never worn.[96]

The conference champions receive trophies for their achievement. The champions of the NFC receive the George Halas Trophy,[97] named after Chicago Bears founder George Halas, who is also considered one of the co-founders of the NFL. The AFC champions receive the Lamar Hunt Trophy,[98] named after Lamar Hunt, the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and the principal founder of the American Football League. Players on the winning team also receive a conference championship ring.[99][100]

Player and coach awards

See also: Category:National Football League trophies and awards

The NFL recognizes a number of awards for its players and coaches at its annual NFL Honors presentation. The most prestigious award is the AP Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.[101] Other major awards include the AP Offensive Player of the Year, AP Defensive Player of the Year, AP Comeback Player of the Year, and the AP Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards.[102] Another prestigious award is the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes a player's off-field work in addition to his on-field performance.[103] The NFL Coach of the Year award is the highest coaching award.[104] The NFL also gives out weekly awards such as the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week[105] and the Pepsi MAX NFL Rookie of the Week awards.[106]

Media coverage

Main article: National Football League on television
See also: List of current National Football League broadcasters

In the United States, the National Football League has television contracts with five networks: ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC. Collectively, these contracts cover every regular season and postseason game. In general, CBS televises afternoon games in which the away team is an AFC team, and Fox carries afternoon games in which the away team belongs to the NFC. These afternoon games are not carried on all affiliates, as multiple games are being played at once; each network affiliate is assigned one game per time slot, according to a complicated set of rules.[107] 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").[108] The only way to legally watch a regionally televised game not being carried on the local network affiliates is to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket, the league's out-of-market sports package, which is only available to subscribers to the DirecTV satellite service. The league also provides RedZone, an omnibus telecast that cuts to the most relevant plays in each game, live as they happen.

In addition to the regional games, the league also has packages of telecasts, mostly in prime time, that are carried nationwide. NBC broadcasts the primetime Sunday Night Football package', which includes the Thursday NFL Kickoff game that starts the regular season and a primetime Thanksgiving Day game. ESPN carries all Monday Night Football games.[107] 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).[109] 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 addition, 10 of the Thursday night games will be streamed live on Amazon Prime. 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).[110]

The Super Bowl television rights are rotated on a three-year basis between CBS, Fox, and NBC.[107] 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.[111] The league also has deals with Spanish-language broadcasters NBC Universo, Fox Deportes, and ESPN Deportes, which air Spanish language dubs of their respective English-language sister networks' games.[112][113] 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. Clubs could elect to set this requirement at only 85%, but they would have to give more ticket revenue to the visiting team; teams could also request a specific exemption from the NFL for the game. The vast majority of NFL games were not blacked out; only 6% of games were blacked out during the 2011 season,[114] and only two games were blacked out in 2013 and none in 2014.[115] The NFL announced in March 2015 that it would suspend its blackout policy for at least the 2015 season.[115] 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. NFL regular season games accounted for 31 out of the top 32 most-watched programs in the fall season and an NFL game ranked as the most-watched television show in all 17 weeks of the regular season. At the local level, NFL games were the highest-ranked shows in NFL markets 92% of the time.[116] 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.[117]

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). These games are broadcast on over 500 networks, giving all NFL markets access to each primetime game. The NFL's deal with Westwood One was extended in 2012 and continued through 2017.[118] Other NFL games are nationally distributed by Compass Media Networks and Sports USA Radio Network under contracts with individual teams.

Some broadcasting innovations have either been introduced or popularized during NFL telecasts. 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.[119] Commentator John Madden famously used a telestrator during games between the early 1980s to the mid-2000s, boosting the device's popularity.[120]

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 game was live streamed on the Internet exclusively via Yahoo!, except for over-the-air broadcasts on the local CBS-TV affiliates in the Buffalo and Jacksonville markets.[121][122][123]

In 2015, the NFL began sponsoring a series of public service announcements to bring attention to domestic abuse and sexual assault in response to what was seen as poor handling of incidents of violence by players.[124]

The NFL finished the new contract negotiation for the media rights deal worth over $110 billion on March 18, 2021. In this contract, ABC would be eligible to broadcast the Super Bowl on U.S. television for the first time since it broadcast Super Bowl XL after the end of the 2005 NFL season. Also in current agreement, Amazon would be the new home for Thursday Night Football starting in 2023.[125][126][127]

On August 25, 2021, the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams that only fully vaccinated personnel, with a maximum of 50 people, will have access to locker rooms while players are present on game days. The memo also stated that non-club-affiliated media are not permitted in the locker room.[128]

On February 9, 2022, as part of efforts to increase the sport's international reach, the NFL announced that Munich will host its first regular-season game in Germany in 2022.[129]

Draft

Main article: National Football League Draft
 
Jaguars linebacker Travon Walker, first overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Each April (excluding 2014 when it took place in May), the NFL holds a draft of college players. The draft consists of seven rounds, with each of the 32 clubs getting one pick in each round.[130] The draft order for non-playoff teams is determined by regular-season record; among playoff teams, teams are first ranked by the furthest round of the playoffs they reached, and then are ranked by regular-season record. For example, any team that reached the divisional round will be given a higher pick than any team that reached the conference championships, but will be given a lower pick than any team that did not make the divisional round. The Super Bowl champion always drafts last, and the losing team from the Super Bowl always drafts next-to-last.[131] All potential draftees must be at least three years removed from high school in order to be eligible for the draft.[132] Underclassmen that have met that criterion to be eligible for the draft must write an application to the NFL by January 15 renouncing their remaining college eligibility.[133] Clubs can trade away picks for future draft picks, but cannot trade the rights to players they have selected in previous drafts.[134]

Aside from the seven picks each club gets, compensatory draft picks are given to teams that have lost more compensatory free agents than they have gained. These are spread out from rounds 3 to 7, and a total of 32 are given.[135] Clubs are required to make their selection within a certain period of time, the exact time depending on which round the pick is made in. If they fail to do so on time, the clubs behind them can begin to select their players in order, but they do not lose the pick outright. This happened in the 2003 draft, when the Minnesota Vikings failed to make their selection on time. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were able to make their picks before the Vikings were able to use theirs.[136] Selected players are only allowed to negotiate contracts with the team that picked them, but if they choose not to sign they become eligible for the next year's draft.[137] Under the current collective bargaining contract, all contracts to drafted players must be four-year deals with a club option for a fifth. Contracts themselves are limited to a certain amount of money, depending on the exact draft pick the player was selected with.[138] Players who were draft eligible but not picked in the draft are free to sign with any club.[130]

The NFL operates several other drafts in addition to the NFL draft. The league holds a supplemental draft annually. Clubs submit emails to the league stating the player they wish to select and the round they will do so, and the team with the highest bid wins the rights to that player. The exact order is determined by a lottery held before the draft, and a successful bid for a player will result in the team forfeiting the rights to its pick in the equivalent round of the next NFL draft.[139] Players are only eligible for the supplemental draft after being granted a petition for special eligibility.[140] The league holds expansion drafts, the most recent happening in 2002 when the Houston Texans began play as an expansion team.[141] Other drafts held by the league include an allocation draft in 1950 to allocate players from several teams that played in the dissolved All-America Football Conference[142] and a supplemental draft in 1984 to give NFL teams the rights to players who had been eligible for the main draft but had not been drafted because they had signed contracts with the United States Football League or Canadian Football League.[143]

Like the other major sports leagues in the United States, the NFL maintains protocol for a disaster draft. In the event of a 'near disaster' (less than 15 players killed or disabled) that caused the club to lose a quarterback, they could draft one from a team with at least three quarterbacks. In the event of a 'disaster' (15 or more players killed or disabled) that results in a club's season being canceled, a restocking draft would be held. Neither of these protocols has ever had to be implemented.[144]

Free agency

Free agents in the National Football League are divided into restricted free agents, who have three accrued seasons and whose current contract has expired, and unrestricted free agents, who have four or more accrued seasons and whose contract has expired. An accrued season is defined as "six or more regular-season games on a club's active/inactive, reserved/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists".[145] Restricted free agents are allowed to negotiate with other clubs besides their former club, but the former club has the right to match any offer. If they choose not to, they are compensated with draft picks. Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any club, and no compensation is owed if they sign with a different club.[145]

Clubs are given one franchise tag to offer to any unrestricted free agent. The franchise tag is a one-year deal that pays the player 120% of his previous contract or no less than the average of the five highest-paid players at his position, whichever is greater. There are two types of franchise tags: exclusive tags, which do not allow the player to negotiate with other clubs, and non-exclusive tags, which allow the player to negotiate with other clubs but gives his former club the right to match any offer and two first-round draft picks if they decline to match it.[146]

Clubs also have the option to use a transition tag, which is similar to the non-exclusive franchise tag but offers no compensation if the former club refuses to match the offer.[147] Due to that stipulation, the transition tag is rarely used,[148] even with the removal of the "poison pill" strategy (offering a contract with stipulations that the former club would be unable to match) that essentially ended the usage of the tag league-wide.[149] Each club is subject to a salary cap, which is set at US$188.2 million for the 2019 season,[150] US$11 million more than that of 2018.[150]

Members of clubs' practice squads, despite being paid by and working for their respective clubs, are also simultaneously a kind of free agent and are able to sign to any other club's active roster (provided their new club is not their previous club's next opponent within a set number of days) without compensation to their previous club; practice squad players cannot be signed to other clubs' practice squads, however, unless released by their original club first.[151]

See also

References

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ All teams are based in the United States, but several preseason and regular season games have been held internationally.
  2. ^ a b The New York Jets and New York Giants share MetLife Stadium.[69]
  3. ^ a b Due to an agreement with the city of Cleveland as part of the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, the Browns name, colors, and team history/records were left in Cleveland, while the team, personnel, and staff were allowed to move to Baltimore what was considered a new franchise.[70] As such, the Ravens are considered to have begun play in 1996 while the current Cleveland Browns are considered to have been founded in 1946, joined the NFL in 1950, became inactive from 1996 to 1998, and resumed play in 1999.[68][71]
  4. ^ The Jacksonville Jaguars began playing one home game each season at Wembley Stadium in London, England in 2013, and will continue to do so through 2020. In 2020, the Jaguars were originally scheduled to play two home games at Wembley Stadium, but the plans were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[56][57][72]
  5. ^ a b The Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams share SoFi Stadium.[73]

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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Football League.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for American Football.
  • Official website  
  • Pro Football Reference – historical stats of teams, players and coaches in the NFL
  • Jared Dubin (April 28, 2015), "NFL ends tax exempt status after 73 years: 3 things to know", CBS Sports

March 23, 2023
national, football, league, redirects, here, other, leagues, same, name, other, uses, disambiguation, disambiguation, confused, with, professional, american, football, league, that, consists, teams, divided, equally, between, american, football, conference, na. NFL redirects here For other leagues of the same name and other uses see National Football League disambiguation and NFL disambiguation Not to be confused with CFL or NRL The National Football League NFL is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference AFC and the National Football Conference NFC The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world 5 Each NFL season begins 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 conference champions The league is headquartered in New York City National Football LeagueUpcoming season or competition 2023 NFL seasonFormerlyAmerican Professional Football Conference 1920 American Professional Football Association 1920 1921 SportAmerican footballFoundedSeptember 17 1920 102 years ago 1920 09 17 Canton Ohio U S 1 2 Inaugural season1920CommissionerRoger GoodellNo of teams32CountryUnited States A Headquarters345 Park AvenueNew York NY 10154U S 3 Most recentchampion s Kansas City Chiefs 3rd title Most titlesGreen Bay Packers 13 titles TV partner s United States 4 CBSFoxNBCESPN ABC ESPN2 AmazonNFL NetworkTelemundo DeportesInternationalSee listOfficial websitewww wbr nfl wbr comThe NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association APFA before renaming itself the National Football League 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 until 1966 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 6 The NFL is the wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue 7 and the sports league with the most valuable teams 8 The NFL also has the highest average attendance 67 591 of any professional sports league in the world 9 and is the most popular sports league in the United States 10 The Super Bowl is also among the biggest club sporting events in the world 11 with the individual games accounting for many of the most watched television programs in American history and all occupying the Nielsen s Top 5 tally of the all time most watched U S television broadcasts by 2015 12 The Green Bay Packers hold the most combined NFL championships with thirteen winning nine titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls afterwards Since the creation of the Super Bowl the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl victories at six each The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning league champions as they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38 35 in Super Bowl LVII on February 12 2023 to mark the end of the 2022 season Contents 1 History 1 1 Founding and history 1 2 Season and playoff development 2 Corporate structure 3 Teams 4 Season format 4 1 Preseason 4 2 Regular season 4 3 Postseason 5 Trophies and awards 5 1 Team trophies 5 2 Player and coach awards 6 Media coverage 7 Draft 8 Free agency 9 See also 10 References 10 1 Explanatory notes 10 2 Citations 10 3 Bibliography 11 External linksHistoryMain articles History of the National Football League and History of American football 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 13 This meeting resulted in the formation of the American Professional Football Conference APFC a group who according to the Canton Evening Repository intended to raise the standard of professional football in every way possible to eliminate bidding for players between rival clubs and to secure cooperation in the formation of schedules 14 Another meeting was held on September 17 1920 with representatives from teams from four states Akron Canton Cleveland and Dayton from Ohio the Hammond Pros and Muncie Flyers from Indiana the Rochester Jeffersons from New York and the Rock Island Independents Decatur Staleys and Racine Chicago Cardinals from Illinois 15 16 The league was renamed to the American Professional Football Association APFA 14 The league elected Jim Thorpe as its first president and consisted of 14 teams the Buffalo All Americans Chicago Tigers Columbus Panhandles and Detroit Heralds joined the league during the year 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 in the NFL 17 The Akron Pros won the first APFA NFL Championship in 1920 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 0 3 record 18 The first event occurred on September 26 1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non league St Paul Ideals 48 0 at Douglas Park 13 19 On October 3 1920 the first full week of league play occurred 20 21 The following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All Americans 22 On June 24 1922 the APFA changed its name to the National Football League NFL 23 24 In 1932 the season ended with the Chicago Bears 6 1 6 and the Portsmouth Spartans 6 1 4 tied for first in the league standings 25 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 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 The league quickly determined that a playoff game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the league s champion The teams were originally scheduled to play the playoff game officially a regular season game that would count towards the regular season standings at Wrigley Field in Chicago but a combination of heavy snow and extreme cold forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium which did not have a regulation size football field Playing with altered rules to accommodate the smaller playing field the Bears won the game 9 0 and thus won the championship 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 26 The 1934 season also marked the first of twelve seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946 following public pressure and coinciding with the removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball 27 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 Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All America Football Conference AAFC on top of various regional leagues of varying caliber Three NFL teams trace their histories to these rival leagues the Los Angeles Rams who came from a 1936 iteration of the American Football League and the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers both from the AAFC 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 The upstart AFL began to challenge the established NFL in popularity gaining lucrative television contracts and engaging in a bidding war with the NFL for free agents and draft picks The two leagues announced a merger on June 8 1966 to take full effect in 1970 In the meantime the leagues would hold a common draft and championship game The game the Super Bowl was held four times before the merger with the NFL winning Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II and the AFL winning Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV 28 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 29 Today the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America 30 with much of the league s growth and popularity attributable 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 31 The NFL established NFL Properties in 1963 The league s licensing wing NFL Properties earns the league billions of dollars annually Rozelle s tenure also marked the creation of NFL Charities and a national partnership with United Way 31 Paul Tagliabue was elected as commissioner to succeed Rozelle his 17 year tenure which ended in 2006 was marked by large increases in television contracts and the addition of four expansion teams 32 as well as the introduction of league initiatives to increase the number of minorities in league and team management roles 33 The league s current Commissioner Roger Goodell has focused on reducing the number of illegal hits and making the sport safer mainly through fining or suspending players who break rules 34 These actions are among many the NFL is taking to reduce concussions and improve player safety 35 Prior to 2021 the NFL had utilized race based adjustments of dementia claims in the 1 billion settlement of concussion claims which had been criticized by critics before the NFL decided to end what was called race norming 36 37 Season and playoff development Main article List of National Football League seasons From 1920 to 1934 the NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play instead setting a minimum The league mandated a twelve game regular season for each team beginning in 1935 later shortening this to eleven games in 1937 and ten games in 1943 mainly due to World War II After the war ended the number of games returned to eleven games in 1946 and later back to twelve in 1947 The NFL went to a 14 game schedule in 1961 which it retained until switching to a 16 game schedule in 1978 38 In March 2021 the NFL officially adopted a 17 game schedule after gaining the agreement of the National Football League Players Association NFLPA 39 Having an odd number of games in the schedule will give half the teams nine games as the home team while half the teams have only eight home games To minimize the perceived benefit on competition of having more home games the extra home game will be rotated between the two conferences each year This is because playoff berths are allocated at the conference level so all teams within the conference will have played the same number of home games 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 If two teams tied for the conference lead they would meet in a one game playoff to determine the conference champion In 1967 the NFL expanded from 15 teams to 16 teams Instead of just evening out the conferences by adding the expansion New Orleans Saints to the seven member Western Conference the NFL realigned the conferences and split each into two four team divisions The four division champions would meet in the NFL playoffs a two round playoff 40 The NFL also operated the Playoff Bowl officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl from 1960 to 1969 Effectively a third place game pitting the two conference runners up against each other the league considers Playoff Bowls to have been exhibitions rather than playoff games The league discontinued the Playoff Bowl in 1970 due to its perception as a game for losers 41 Following the addition of the former AFL teams into the NFL in 1970 the NFL split into two conferences with three divisions each The expanded league now with twenty six teams 29 would also feature an expanded eight team playoff the participants being the three division champions from each conference as well as one wild card team the team with the best win percentage from each conference 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 As each division champion gets a playoff bid the number of wild card teams from each conference dropped from three to two 42 The playoffs expanded again in 2020 adding two more wild card teams to bring the total to 14 playoff teams 43 Corporate structureSee also History of the NFL Commissioner NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell At the corporate level the National Football League considers itself a trade association made up of and financed by its 32 member teams 44 Up until 2015 the league was an unincorporated nonprofit 501 c 6 association 45 Section 501 c 6 of the Internal Revenue Code provides an exemption from federal income taxation for Business leagues chambers of commerce real estate boards boards of trade or professional football leagues whether or not administering a pension fund for football players not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual 46 In contrast each individual team except the non profit Green Bay Packers 47 is subject to tax because they make a profit 48 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 Every dollar of income generated through television rights fees licensing agreements sponsorships ticket sales and other means is earned by the 32 clubs and is taxable there This will remain the case even when the league office and Management Council file returns as taxable entities and the change in filing status will make no material difference to our business As a result the league office might owe around US 10 million in income taxes but it is no longer required to disclose the salaries of its executive officers 49 The league has three defined officers the commissioner secretary and treasurer Each conference has one defined officer the president which is essentially an honorary position with few powers and mostly ceremonial duties including awarding the conference championship trophy The commissioner is elected by the affirmative vote of two thirds or eighteen whichever is greater of the members of the league while the president of each conference is elected by an affirmative vote of three fourths or 10 of the conference members 50 The commissioner appoints the secretary and treasurer and has broad authority in disputes between clubs players coaches and employees He is the principal executive officer 51 of the NFL and also has authority in hiring league employees negotiating television contracts disciplining individuals that own part or all of an NFL team clubs or employed individuals of an NFL club if they have violated league by laws or committed conduct detrimental to the welfare of the League or professional football 51 The commissioner can in the event of misconduct by a party associated with the league suspend individuals hand down a fine of up to US 500 000 cancel contracts with the league and award or strip teams of draft picks 51 In extreme cases the commissioner can offer recommendations to the NFL s executive committee up to and including the cancellation or forfeiture 51 of a club s franchise or any other action he deems necessary The commissioner can also issue sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban from the league if an individual connected to the NFL has bet on games or failed to notify the league of conspiracies or plans to bet on or fix games 51 The current Commissioner of the National Football League is Roger Goodell who was elected in 2006 after Paul Tagliabue the previous commissioner retired 52 TeamsSee also List of defunct National Football League franchises Timeline of the National Football League and National Football League franchise moves and mergers Bills Dolphins Patriots Jets Ravens Bengals Browns Steelers Texans Colts Titans Broncos Chiefs Chargers Raiders Cowboys Giants Eagles Commanders Bears Lions Packers Vikings Falcons Panthers Saints Buccaneers Jaguars Cardinals Rams 49ers Seahawks Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KMLThe NFL consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences of 16 teams each Each conference is divided into four divisions of four clubs each During the regular season each team is allowed a maximum of 55 players on its roster only 48 of these may be active eligible to play on game days 53 Each team can also have a sixteen player practice squad separate from its main roster 54 Each NFL club is granted a franchise the league s authorization for the team to operate in its home city This franchise covers Home Territory the 75 miles surrounding the city limits or if the team is within 100 miles of another league city half the distance between the two cities and Home Marketing Area Home Territory plus the rest of the state the club operates in as well as the area the team operates its training camp in for the duration of the camp Each NFL member has the exclusive right to host professional football games inside its Home Territory and the exclusive right to advertise promote and host events in its Home Marketing Area There are a couple of exceptions to this rule mostly relating to teams with close proximity to each other teams that operate in the same city e g New York City and Los Angeles or the same state e g California Florida and Texas share the rights to the city s Home Territory and the state s Home Marketing Area respectively 55 Every NFL team is based in the contiguous United States 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 56 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 57 The Las Vegas Raiders then in Oakland played one game each in the 2018 and 2019 seasons in London while each of the Los Angeles teams Rams Chargers played a game there from 2016 to 2019 58 59 60 The Buffalo Bills played one home game every season at Rogers Centre in Toronto Ontario Canada as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013 Mexico also hosted an NFL regular season game a 2005 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals known as Futbol Americano 61 and 39 international preseason games were played from 1986 to 2005 as part of the American Bowl series 62 Three additional games have since been played in Mexico 63 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 64 Also 26 of the 32 NFL teams rank among the Top 50 most valuable sports teams in the world 8 and 16 of the NFL s owners are listed on the Forbes 400 the most of any sports league or organization 65 The 32 teams are organized into eight geographic divisions of four teams each These divisions are further organized into two conferences the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference The two conference structure has its origins in a time when major American professional football was organized into two independent leagues the National Football League and its younger rival the American Football League The leagues merged 1970 adopting the older league s name and reorganizing slightly to ensure the same number of teams in both conferences Division 66 Club 66 City Stadium 67 Capacity Coordinates First season 68 Head coachAmerican Football ConferenceEast Buffalo Bills Orchard Park New York Highmark Stadium 71 608 42 46 26 N 78 47 13 W 42 774 N 78 787 W 42 774 78 787 Buffalo Bills 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Sean McDermottMiami Dolphins Miami Gardens Florida Hard Rock Stadium 64 767 25 57 29 N 80 14 20 W 25 958 N 80 239 W 25 958 80 239 Miami Dolphins 1966 AFL 1970 NFL Mike McDanielNew England Patriots Foxborough Massachusetts Gillette Stadium 65 878 42 05 28 N 71 15 50 W 42 091 N 71 264 W 42 091 71 264 New England Patriots 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Bill BelichickNew York Jets East Rutherford New Jersey MetLife Stadium B 82 500 40 48 50 N 74 04 26 W 40 814 N 74 074 W 40 814 74 074 New York Jets 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Robert SalehNorth Baltimore Ravens Baltimore Maryland M amp T Bank Stadium 71 008 39 16 41 N 76 37 23 W 39 278 N 76 623 W 39 278 76 623 Baltimore Ravens 1996 C John HarbaughCincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Ohio Paycor Stadium 65 515 39 05 42 N 84 30 58 W 39 095 N 84 516 W 39 095 84 516 Cincinnati Bengals 1968 AFL 1970 NFL Zac TaylorCleveland Browns Cleveland Ohio FirstEnergy Stadium 67 895 41 30 22 N 81 41 56 W 41 506 N 81 699 W 41 506 81 699 Cleveland Browns 1946 AAFC 1950 NFL C Kevin StefanskiPittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Acrisure Stadium 68 400 40 26 49 N 80 00 58 W 40 447 N 80 016 W 40 447 80 016 Pittsburgh Steelers 1933 Mike TomlinSouth Houston Texans Houston Texas NRG Stadium 71 995 29 41 06 N 95 24 40 W 29 685 N 95 411 W 29 685 95 411 Houston Texans 2002 DeMeco RyansIndianapolis Colts Indianapolis Indiana Lucas Oil Stadium 67 000 39 45 36 N 86 09 50 W 39 760 N 86 164 W 39 760 86 164 Indianapolis Colts 1953 Shane SteichenJacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville Florida TIAA Bank Field D 67 814 30 19 26 N 81 38 17 W 30 324 N 81 638 W 30 324 81 638 Jacksonville Jaguars 1995 Doug PedersonTennessee Titans Nashville Tennessee Nissan Stadium 69 143 36 09 58 N 86 46 16 W 36 166 N 86 771 W 36 166 86 771 Tennessee Titans 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Mike VrabelWest Denver Broncos Denver Colorado Empower Field at Mile High 76 125 39 44 38 N 105 01 12 W 39 744 N 105 020 W 39 744 105 020 Denver Broncos 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Sean PaytonKansas City Chiefs Kansas City Missouri GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium 76 416 39 02 56 N 94 29 02 W 39 049 N 94 484 W 39 049 94 484 Kansas City Chiefs 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Andy ReidLas Vegas Raiders Paradise Nevada Allegiant Stadium 65 000 36 05 24 N 115 11 02 W 36 090 N 115 184 W 36 090 115 184 Las Vegas Raiders 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Josh McDanielsLos Angeles Chargers Inglewood California SoFi Stadium E 70 240 33 57 11 N 118 20 20 W 33 953 N 118 339 W 33 953 118 339 Los Angeles Chargers 1960 AFL 1970 NFL Brandon StaleyNational Football ConferenceEast Dallas Cowboys Arlington Texas AT amp T Stadium 80 000 32 44 53 N 97 05 35 W 32 748 N 97 093 W 32 748 97 093 Dallas Cowboys 1960 Mike McCarthyNew York Giants East Rutherford New Jersey MetLife Stadium B 82 500 40 48 50 N 74 04 26 W 40 814 N 74 074 W 40 814 74 074 New York Giants 1925 Brian DabollPhiladelphia Eagles Philadelphia Pennsylvania Lincoln Financial Field 69 176 39 54 04 N 75 10 05 W 39 901 N 75 168 W 39 901 75 168 Philadelphia Eagles 1933 Nick SirianniWashington Commanders Landover Maryland FedExField 82 000 38 54 29 N 76 51 50 W 38 908 N 76 864 W 38 908 76 864 Washington Commanders 1932 Ron RiveraNorth Chicago Bears Chicago Illinois Soldier Field 61 500 41 51 47 N 87 37 01 W 41 863 N 87 617 W 41 863 87 617 Chicago Bears 1920 Matt EberflusDetroit Lions Detroit Michigan Ford Field 65 000 42 20 24 N 83 02 46 W 42 340 N 83 046 W 42 340 83 046 Detroit Lions 1930 Dan CampbellGreen Bay Packers Green Bay Wisconsin Lambeau Field 81 441 44 30 04 N 88 03 43 W 44 501 N 88 062 W 44 501 88 062 Green Bay Packers 1921 Matt LaFleurMinnesota Vikings Minneapolis Minnesota U S Bank Stadium 66 860 44 58 26 N 93 15 29 W 44 974 N 93 258 W 44 974 93 258 Minnesota Vikings 1961 Kevin O ConnellSouth Atlanta Falcons Atlanta Georgia Mercedes Benz Stadium 71 000 33 45 18 N 84 24 04 W 33 755 N 84 401 W 33 755 84 401 Atlanta Falcons 1966 Arthur SmithCarolina Panthers Charlotte North Carolina Bank of America Stadium 75 523 35 13 34 N 80 51 11 W 35 226 N 80 853 W 35 226 80 853 Carolina Panthers 1995 Frank ReichNew Orleans Saints New Orleans Louisiana Caesars Superdome 73 208 29 57 04 N 90 04 52 W 29 951 N 90 081 W 29 951 90 081 New Orleans Saints 1967 Dennis AllenTampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Florida Raymond James Stadium 65 618 27 58 34 N 82 30 11 W 27 976 N 82 503 W 27 976 82 503 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976 Todd BowlesWest Arizona Cardinals Glendale Arizona State Farm Stadium 63 400 33 31 41 N 112 15 47 W 33 528 N 112 263 W 33 528 112 263 Arizona Cardinals 1920 Jonathan GannonLos Angeles Rams Inglewood California SoFi Stadium E 70 240 33 57 11 N 118 20 20 W 33 953 N 118 339 W 33 953 118 339 Los Angeles Rams 1936 Second AFL 1937 NFL Sean McVaySan Francisco 49ers Santa Clara California Levi s Stadium 68 500 37 24 11 N 121 58 12 W 37 403 N 121 970 W 37 403 121 970 San Francisco 49ers 1946 AAFC 1950 NFL Kyle ShanahanSeattle Seahawks Seattle Washington Lumen Field 69 000 47 35 42 N 122 19 55 W 47 595 N 122 332 W 47 595 122 332 Seattle Seahawks 1976 Pete Carroll Club has relocated at some point in its existence Club was a founding member of the NFLSeason formatMain article List of National Football League seasons The NFL season format consists of a three week preseason an 18 week regular season each team plays 17 games and a 14 team single elimination playoff culminating in the Super Bowl the league s championship game Preseason Main article National Football League preseason The NFL preseason begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton 74 Each NFL team is required to schedule three preseason games NFC teams must play at least two of these at home in odd numbered years and AFC teams must play at least two at home in even numbered years However the teams involved in the Hall of Fame game as well as any team that played in an American Bowl game play four preseason games 75 Preseason games are exhibition matches and do not count towards regular season totals 76 Because the preseason does not count towards standings teams generally do not focus on winning games instead they are used by coaches to evaluate their teams and by players to show their performance both to their current team and to other teams if they get cut 77 The quality of preseason games has been criticized by some fans who dislike having to pay full price for exhibition games 78 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 77 78 Regular season Main article NFL regular season POS AFC East AFC North AFC South AFC West1st Bills Bengals Titans Chiefs2nd Patriots Steelers Colts Raiders3rd Dolphins Browns Texans Chargers4th Jets Ravens Jaguars BroncosPOS NFC East NFC North NFC South NFC West1st Cowboys Packers Buccaneers Rams2nd Eagles Vikings Saints Cardinals3rd Commanders Bears Falcons 49ers4th Giants Lions Panthers SeahawksThis chart of the 2021 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula The Rams in 2021 highlighted in green finished in first place in the NFC West Thus in 2022 the Rams will play two games against each of its division rivals highlighted in light blue one game against each team in the NFC South and AFC West highlighted in yellow one game each against the first place finishers in the NFC East and NFC North highlighted in orange and one game against the team who finished first in the AFC East highlighted in pink Currently the 14 opponents each team faces over the 17 game regular season schedule are set using a pre determined formula 79 The league runs an 18 week 272 game regular season Since 2021 the season has begun the week after Labor Day the first Monday in September and concluded the week after New Year 80 The opening game of the season is normally a home game on a Thursday for the league s defending champion 81 Most NFL games are played on Sundays with a Monday night game typically held at least once a week and Thursday night games occurring on most weeks as well 81 NFL games are not normally played on Fridays or Saturdays until late in the regular season as federal law prohibits professional football leagues from competing with college or high school football Because high school and college teams typically play games on Friday and Saturday respectively the NFL cannot hold games on those days until the Friday before the third Saturday in December 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 82 NFL games are rarely scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday and those days have only been used three times since 1948 in 2010 when a Sunday game was rescheduled to Tuesday due to a blizzard in 2012 when the Kickoff game was moved from Thursday to Wednesday to avoid conflict with the Democratic National Convention 83 84 and in 2020 when a game was postponed from Sunday to Tuesday due to players testing positive for COVID 19 NFL regular season matchups are determined according to a scheduling formula Within a division all four teams play 14 out of their 17 games against common opponents or each other two games home and away are played against the other three teams in the division while one game is held against all the members of a division from the NFC and a division from the AFC as determined by a rotating cycle three years for the conference the team is in and four years in the conference they are not in Two of the other games are intraconference games determined by the standings of the previous year for example if a team finishes first in its division it will play two other first place teams in its conference while a team that finishes last would play two other last place teams in the conference The final game is an inter conference based on a rotating cycle and determined by previous season s standings 85 In total each team plays 17 games and has one bye week where it does not play a game 86 Although a team s home and away opponents are known by the end of the previous year s regular season the exact dates and times for NFL games are not determined until much later because the league has to account for among other things the Major League Baseball postseason and local events that could pose a scheduling conflict with NFL games 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 After arriving at what they felt was the best schedule out of the group nearly 50 more potential schedules were developed to try to ensure that the chosen schedule would be the best possible one 87 Postseason Main articles NFL playoffs Pro Bowl and Super Bowl The seeding bracket for the NFL playoffs through the 2019 NFL season Following the conclusion of the regular season the NFL Playoffs a 14 team single elimination tournament is then held Seven teams are selected from each conference the winners of each of the four divisions as well as three wild card teams the three remaining teams with the best overall record with tiebreakers in the event of two or more teams having the same record These teams are seeded according to overall record and tiebreakers with the division champions always ranking higher than the wild card teams 88 The top team seeded one from each conference are awarded a bye week while the remaining six teams seeded 2 7 from each conference compete in the first round of the playoffs the Wild Card round with the 2 seed competing against the 7 seed the 3 seed competing against the 6 seed and the 4 seed competing against the 5 seed The winners of the Wild Card round advance to the Divisional Round which matches the lower seeded team against the 1 seed and the two remaining teams against each other The winners of those games then compete in the Conference Championships with the higher remaining seed hosting the lower remaining seed The AFC and NFC champions then compete in the Super Bowl to determine the league champion The only other postseason event hosted by the NFL is the Pro Bowl the league s all star game 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 89 Because of this players from the teams participating in the Super Bowl are exempt from participating in the game The Pro Bowl is not considered as competitive as a regular season game because the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the players 90 Trophies and awardsMain article List of National Football League awards Team trophies Main articles Vince Lombardi Trophy Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy and Brunswick Balke Collender Cup The National Football League has used three different trophies to honor its champion over its existence The first trophy the Brunswick Balke Collender Cup was donated to the NFL then APFA in 1920 by the Brunswick Balke Collender Corporation The trophy the appearance of which is only known by its description as a silver loving cup was intended to be a traveling trophy and not to become permanent until a team had won at least three titles 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 91 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 In addition to the main trophy which would be in the possession of the current league champion the league issued a smaller replica trophy to each champion who would maintain permanent control over it The current location of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy long thought to be lost 92 is believed to be possessed by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame 93 The current trophy of the NFL is the Vince Lombardi Trophy 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 Unlike the previous trophies a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is issued to each year s champion who maintains permanent control of it Lombardi Trophies are made by Tiffany amp Co out of sterling silver and are worth anywhere from US 25 000 to US 300 000 94 Additionally each player on the winning team as well as coaches and personnel are awarded Super Bowl rings to commemorate their victory The winning team chooses the company that makes the rings each ring design varies with the NFL mandating certain ring specifications which have a degree of room for deviation in addition to requiring the Super Bowl logo be on at least one side of the ring 95 The losing team are also awarded rings which must be no more than half as valuable as the winners rings but those are almost never worn 96 The conference champions receive trophies for their achievement The champions of the NFC receive the George Halas Trophy 97 named after Chicago Bears founder George Halas who is also considered one of the co founders of the NFL The AFC champions receive the Lamar Hunt Trophy 98 named after Lamar Hunt the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and the principal founder of the American Football League Players on the winning team also receive a conference championship ring 99 100 Player and coach awards See also Category National Football League trophies and awards The NFL recognizes a number of awards for its players and coaches at its annual NFL Honors presentation The most prestigious award is the AP Most Valuable Player MVP award 101 Other major awards include the AP Offensive Player of the Year AP Defensive Player of the Year AP Comeback Player of the Year and the AP Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards 102 Another prestigious award is the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award which recognizes a player s off field work in addition to his on field performance 103 The NFL Coach of the Year award is the highest coaching award 104 The NFL also gives out weekly awards such as the FedEx Air amp Ground NFL Players of the Week 105 and the Pepsi MAX NFL Rookie of the Week awards 106 Media coverageMain article National Football League on television See also List of current National Football League broadcasters In the United States the National Football League has television contracts with five networks ABC CBS ESPN Fox and NBC Collectively these contracts cover every regular season and postseason game In general CBS televises afternoon games in which the away team is an AFC team and Fox carries afternoon games in which the away team belongs to the NFC These afternoon games are not carried on all affiliates as multiple games are being played at once each network affiliate is assigned one game per time slot according to a complicated set of rules 107 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 108 The only way to legally watch a regionally televised game not being carried on the local network affiliates is to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket the league s out of market sports package which is only available to subscribers to the DirecTV satellite service The league also provides RedZone an omnibus telecast that cuts to the most relevant plays in each game live as they happen In addition to the regional games the league also has packages of telecasts mostly in prime time that are carried nationwide NBC broadcasts the primetime Sunday Night Football package which includes the Thursday NFL Kickoff game that starts the regular season and a primetime Thanksgiving Day game ESPN carries all Monday Night Football games 107 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 109 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 addition 10 of the Thursday night games will be streamed live on Amazon Prime 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 110 The Super Bowl television rights are rotated on a three year basis between CBS Fox and NBC 107 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 111 The league also has deals with Spanish language broadcasters NBC Universo Fox Deportes and ESPN Deportes which air Spanish language dubs of their respective English language sister networks games 112 113 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 Clubs could elect to set this requirement at only 85 but they would have to give more ticket revenue to the visiting team teams could also request a specific exemption from the NFL for the game The vast majority of NFL games were not blacked out only 6 of games were blacked out during the 2011 season 114 and only two games were blacked out in 2013 and none in 2014 115 The NFL announced in March 2015 that it would suspend its blackout policy for at least the 2015 season 115 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 NFL regular season games accounted for 31 out of the top 32 most watched programs in the fall season and an NFL game ranked as the most watched television show in all 17 weeks of the regular season At the local level NFL games were the highest ranked shows in NFL markets 92 of the time 116 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 117 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 These games are broadcast on over 500 networks giving all NFL markets access to each primetime game The NFL s deal with Westwood One was extended in 2012 and continued through 2017 118 Other NFL games are nationally distributed by Compass Media Networks and Sports USA Radio Network under contracts with individual teams Some broadcasting innovations have either been introduced or popularized during NFL telecasts 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 119 Commentator John Madden famously used a telestrator during games between the early 1980s to the mid 2000s boosting the device s popularity 120 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 game was live streamed on the Internet exclusively via Yahoo except for over the air broadcasts on the local CBS TV affiliates in the Buffalo and Jacksonville markets 121 122 123 In 2015 the NFL began sponsoring a series of public service announcements to bring attention to domestic abuse and sexual assault in response to what was seen as poor handling of incidents of violence by players 124 The NFL finished the new contract negotiation for the media rights deal worth over 110 billion on March 18 2021 In this contract ABC would be eligible to broadcast the Super Bowl on U S television for the first time since it broadcast Super Bowl XL after the end of the 2005 NFL season Also in current agreement Amazon would be the new home for Thursday Night Football starting in 2023 125 126 127 On August 25 2021 the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams that only fully vaccinated personnel with a maximum of 50 people will have access to locker rooms while players are present on game days The memo also stated that non club affiliated media are not permitted in the locker room 128 On February 9 2022 as part of efforts to increase the sport s international reach the NFL announced that Munich will host its first regular season game in Germany in 2022 129 DraftMain article National Football League Draft Jaguars linebacker Travon Walker first overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft Each April excluding 2014 when it took place in May the NFL holds a draft of college players The draft consists of seven rounds with each of the 32 clubs getting one pick in each round 130 The draft order for non playoff teams is determined by regular season record among playoff teams teams are first ranked by the furthest round of the playoffs they reached and then are ranked by regular season record For example any team that reached the divisional round will be given a higher pick than any team that reached the conference championships but will be given a lower pick than any team that did not make the divisional round The Super Bowl champion always drafts last and the losing team from the Super Bowl always drafts next to last 131 All potential draftees must be at least three years removed from high school in order to be eligible for the draft 132 Underclassmen that have met that criterion to be eligible for the draft must write an application to the NFL by January 15 renouncing their remaining college eligibility 133 Clubs can trade away picks for future draft picks but cannot trade the rights to players they have selected in previous drafts 134 Aside from the seven picks each club gets compensatory draft picks are given to teams that have lost more compensatory free agents than they have gained These are spread out from rounds 3 to 7 and a total of 32 are given 135 Clubs are required to make their selection within a certain period of time the exact time depending on which round the pick is made in If they fail to do so on time the clubs behind them can begin to select their players in order but they do not lose the pick outright This happened in the 2003 draft when the Minnesota Vikings failed to make their selection on time The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were able to make their picks before the Vikings were able to use theirs 136 Selected players are only allowed to negotiate contracts with the team that picked them but if they choose not to sign they become eligible for the next year s draft 137 Under the current collective bargaining contract all contracts to drafted players must be four year deals with a club option for a fifth Contracts themselves are limited to a certain amount of money depending on the exact draft pick the player was selected with 138 Players who were draft eligible but not picked in the draft are free to sign with any club 130 The NFL operates several other drafts in addition to the NFL draft The league holds a supplemental draft annually Clubs submit emails to the league stating the player they wish to select and the round they will do so and the team with the highest bid wins the rights to that player The exact order is determined by a lottery held before the draft and a successful bid for a player will result in the team forfeiting the rights to its pick in the equivalent round of the next NFL draft 139 Players are only eligible for the supplemental draft after being granted a petition for special eligibility 140 The league holds expansion drafts the most recent happening in 2002 when the Houston Texans began play as an expansion team 141 Other drafts held by the league include an allocation draft in 1950 to allocate players from several teams that played in the dissolved All America Football Conference 142 and a supplemental draft in 1984 to give NFL teams the rights to players who had been eligible for the main draft but had not been drafted because they had signed contracts with the United States Football League or Canadian Football League 143 Like the other major sports leagues in the United States the NFL maintains protocol for a disaster draft In the event of a near disaster less than 15 players killed or disabled that caused the club to lose a quarterback they could draft one from a team with at least three quarterbacks In the event of a disaster 15 or more players killed or disabled that results in a club s season being canceled a restocking draft would be held Neither of these protocols has ever had to be implemented 144 Free agencyFree agents in the National Football League are divided into restricted free agents who have three accrued seasons and whose current contract has expired and unrestricted free agents who have four or more accrued seasons and whose contract has expired An accrued season is defined as six or more regular season games on a club s active inactive reserved injured or reserve physically unable to perform lists 145 Restricted free agents are allowed to negotiate with other clubs besides their former club but the former club has the right to match any offer If they choose not to they are compensated with draft picks Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any club and no compensation is owed if they sign with a different club 145 Clubs are given one franchise tag to offer to any unrestricted free agent The franchise tag is a one year deal that pays the player 120 of his previous contract or no less than the average of the five highest paid players at his position whichever is greater There are two types of franchise tags exclusive tags which do not allow the player to negotiate with other clubs and non exclusive tags which allow the player to negotiate with other clubs but gives his former club the right to match any offer and two first round draft picks if they decline to match it 146 Clubs also have the option to use a transition tag which is similar to the non exclusive franchise tag but offers no compensation if the former club refuses to match the offer 147 Due to that stipulation the transition tag is rarely used 148 even with the removal of the poison pill strategy offering a contract with stipulations that the former club would be unable to match that essentially ended the usage of the tag league wide 149 Each club is subject to a salary cap which is set at US 188 2 million for the 2019 season 150 US 11 million more than that of 2018 150 Members of clubs practice squads despite being paid by and working for their respective clubs are also simultaneously a kind of free agent and are able to sign to any other club s active roster provided their new club is not their previous club s next opponent within a set number of days without compensation to their previous club practice squad players cannot be signed to other clubs practice squads however unless released by their original club first 151 See also American football portal United States portalAmerican football in the United States List of NFL champions 1920 1969 List of Super Bowl champions 1966 present National Football League 1902 National Football League All Decade Teams National Football League Cheerleading National Football League controversies National Football League franchise moves and mergers National Football League records National Football League 75th Anniversary All Time Team National Football League 100th Anniversary All Time Team NFL Europe NFL Films International Player Pathway Program IPPP List of NFL franchise owners List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inducteesReferencesExplanatory notes All teams are based in the United States but several preseason and regular season games have been held internationally a b The New York Jets and New York Giants share MetLife Stadium 69 a b Due to an agreement with the city of Cleveland as part of the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy the Browns name colors and team history records were left in Cleveland while the team personnel and staff were allowed to move to Baltimore what was considered a new franchise 70 As such the Ravens are considered to have begun play in 1996 while the current Cleveland Browns are considered to have been founded in 1946 joined the NFL in 1950 became inactive from 1996 to 1998 and resumed play in 1999 68 71 The Jacksonville Jaguars began playing one home game each season at Wembley Stadium in London England in 2013 and will continue to do so through 2020 In 2020 the Jaguars were originally scheduled to play two home games at Wembley Stadium but the plans were cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic 56 57 72 a b The Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams share SoFi Stadium 73 Citations Battista Judy September 16 2020 Remembering the NFL s humble origins on its 100th birthday NFL com NFL Enterprises Retrieved March 4 2022 NFL founded in Canton ProFootballHOF com Pro Football Hall of Fame January 1 2005 Retrieved March 4 2022 League Address DigitalCare NFL com Archived from the original on March 19 2022 Retrieved February 22 2022 Gordon Grant March 18 2021 NFL announces new broadcast deals running through 2033 season NFL com NFL Enterprises Retrieved March 7 2022 Jozsa Frank P 2004 Sports Capitalism The Foreign Business of American Professional Leagues Ashgate Publishing p 270 ISBN 978 0 7546 4185 8 Since 1922 the NFL has been the top professional sports league in the world with respect to American football Gulizia Anthony Willis Jeremy August 14 2019 How the NFL took over America in 100 years ESPN com Retrieved January 25 2020 Garcia Ahiza April 29 2018 Premier League revenues hit record high 6 4 billion CNNMoney Retrieved May 28 2020 a b Badenhausen Kurt July 22 2019 The World s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2019 Forbes Retrieved January 17 2020 NFL is world s best attended pro sports league ABS CBN News Agence France Presse January 6 2013 Archived from the original on October 6 2013 Retrieved January 30 2013 Pro Football is Still America s Favorite Sport Harris Interactive January 26 2016 Archived from the original on January 29 2016 Retrieved June 11 2016 Harris Nick January 31 2010 Elite clubs on Uefa gravy train as Super Bowl knocked off perch The Independent London Archived from the original on November 19 2012 Retrieved November 28 2012 Super Bowl XLV Most Viewed Telecast in U S Broadcast History Nielsen Company February 7 2011 Archived from the original on February 8 2011 Retrieved February 17 2013 a b NFL founded in Canton Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site profootballhof com Archived from the original on March 6 2016 Retrieved February 28 2016 a b Happy Birthday NFL PDF The Coffin Corner Professional Football Researchers Association 2 8 1980 Archived from the original PDF on February 6 2009 Retrieved February 7 2013 Timeline Detail Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site Archived from the original on September 15 2018 Retrieved September 14 2018 Battista Judy Remembering the NFL s humble origins on its 100th birthday NFL com Retrieved September 17 2020 National Football League NFL Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived from the original on June 20 2013 Retrieved June 21 2013 Past Standings PDF National Football League p 27 Archived PDF from the original on September 4 2012 Retrieved February 21 2019 St Paul Ideals at Rock Island Independents September 26th 1920 Pro Football Reference com Pro Football Reference com Archived from the original on August 6 2018 Retrieved March 31 2018 1920 APFA Standings amp Team Stats Pro Football Reference com Pro Football Reference com Archived from the original on July 30 2018 Retrieved March 31 2018 1920 Rock Island Independents Schedule amp Game Results Pro Football Reference com Pro Football Reference com Archived from the original on August 2 2017 Retrieved March 31 2018 Snyder Gib January 6 2012 Buffalo A city cursed with bad sports luck The Observer Ogden Newspapers Archived from the original on July 29 2013 Retrieved January 16 2013 Sept 17 1920 The Founding of the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Archived from the original on July 9 2012 Retrieved July 9 2012 1922 American Professional Football Association changes name to National Football League Pro Football Hall of Fame Archived from the original on August 6 2018 Retrieved June 29 2017 Past Standings PDF National Football League p 26 Archived PDF from the original on September 4 2012 Retrieved February 21 2019 Carroll Bob The 60 Yard Circus PDF Professional Football Researchers Association Archived from the original PDF on September 29 2010 Retrieved February 9 2013 Finkelman Paul ed February 2 2009 Encyclopedia of African American History 1896 to the Present From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty first Century Vol 1 Oxford University Press p 235 ISBN 978 0 19 516779 5 Archived from the original on September 30 2013 Retrieved June 21 2013 Cross B Duane January 22 2001 Off the field competition yields game changing merger CNNSI Archived from the original on February 15 2001 Retrieved February 15 2013 a b History 1961 1970 NFL com NFL Enterprises Archived from the original on December 22 2014 Retrieved February 14 2013 Richter Felix February 11 2022 Americans Love the NFL But Change Is Looming Statista com Retrieved August 9 2022 a b Bartlett Roger Gratton Chris Rolf Christer eds October 26 2009 Encyclopedia of International Sports Studies Routledge pp 932 933 ISBN 978 0 415 56147 1 Archived from the original on September 30 2013 Retrieved June 21 2013 Evans Thayer February 2 2008 The Legacy of Tagliabue The New York Times Archived from the original on December 4 2013 Retrieved June 27 2013 Lapchick Richard August 17 2006 Report Card Tagliabue s legacy includes new model for racial hiring ESPN com Archived from the original on September 25 2013 Retrieved June 27 2013 Taylor Jean Jacques December 13 2012 Roger Goodell s authority takes a hit ESPN com Archived from the original on December 16 2012 Retrieved December 13 2012 Brady Erik Mihoces Gary September 16 2013 Violent hits keep coming so is NFL changing culture USA Today Archived from the original on September 21 2013 Retrieved September 22 2013 Dale Maryclaire October 20 2021 NFL agrees to end race based brain testing in 1 billion settlement The Washington Times Retrieved November 15 2021 NFL Players Agree to End Race Norming in 1 Billion Settlement Claims Journal October 22 2021 Retrieved November 15 2021 NFL Regular Season Games Played per Season Pro Football Hall of Fame Archived from the original on May 12 2013 Retrieved February 13 2013 NFL season to feature 17 regular season games per team nfl com NFL Enterprises March 30 2021 Retrieved June 28 2021 Lady Luck and the Lombardi legend Cold Hard Football Facts Football Nation October 12 2005 Archived from the original on May 13 2013 Retrieved February 14 2013 King Steve January 7 2013 This Day in Browns History Jan 7 ClevelandBrowns com Cleveland Browns Archived from the original on January 11 2013 Retrieved December 31 2018 History of the Wild Card Pro Football Hall of Fame Archived from the original on January 3 2013 Retrieved February 14 2013 NFL Expands Postseason to 14 Teams Beginning With 2020 Season nfl com March 31 2020 Retrieved June 25 2020 Wilson Doug August 11 2008 N F L Executives Hope to Keep Salaries Secret The New York Times Archived from the original on February 26 2013 Retrieved February 2 2013 Schrotenboer Brent May 30 2013 To tax or not The NFL s relationship with the IRS USA Today Archived from the original on May 30 2013 Retrieved January 30 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