National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league.
It consists of 32 teams, divided equally between AFC and NFC.
AFC: American Football Conference
NFC: National Football Conference
History: APFCAugust 20, 1920:
Formation of APFCAPFC: American Professional Football Conference
History:APFASept 17, 1920:
APFC was
renamed to APFA APFA: American Professional Football Association
RenameJune 24, 1922:
APFA changed its name to the NFL.
NFL: National Football League
Rival Groups
Though NFL was the largest professional football league in US, some regional rival leagues existed.
Rival GroupsSome rival leagues: Three separate AFLs (American Football League) and AAFC (All-America Football Conference), on top of various regional leagues.
Greatest Rival
By 1950s, NFL had an effective monopoly on professional football in US.
A new AFL began to play in 1960 & challenged the NFL in popularity
Merger with Rival
June 8, 1966: announcement of merger of NFL & AFL.
Before full effect of merger in 1970 a game, the Super Bowl, was held four times.
Super Bowl
NFL won Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II.
AFL won Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV.
Creation of NFC & AFC
After merge, it created two conferences: NFC & AFC NFC: National Football Conference
AFC: American Football Conference