NFC Teams
ARIZONA CARDINALS
ATLANTA FALCONS
CAROLINA PANTHERS
CHICAGO BEARS
DALLAS COWBOYS
DETROIT LIONS
GREEN BAY PACKERS
LOS ANGELES RAMS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
NEW YORK GIANTS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
AFC Teams
BALTIMORE RAVENS
BUFFALO BILLS
CINCINNATI BENGALS
CLEVELAND BROWNS
DENVER BRONCOS
HOUSTON TEXANS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
MIAMI DOLPHINS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
NEW YORK JETS
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
TENNESSEE TITANS
More About the NFL
The NFL (National Football League) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams in total, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of North America’s four major professional sports leagues and the world’s highest professional level of American football.
The NFL was initially founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) and adopted its current name in 1922. The league consisted of 14 teams, and it has since grown to its current size of 32 teams.
Over the years, the NFL has seen many great teams and players, becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. The league holds an annual draft in which teams can select new players, and it also has a playoff system to determine the champion each year. Finally, the Super Bowl winning team, the annual championship game, is crowned the NFL champion.
Some notable moments in the history of the NFL include the creation of the first Super Bowl in 1966, the merger of the NFL and the AFL in 1970, and the introduction of the salary cap in 1994. The NFL continues to be a major force in sports and entertainment, with millions of fans and billions of dollars in revenue.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1920 | American Professional Football Association (APFA) founded |
| 1922 | Renamed National Football League (NFL) |
| 1932 | Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans played in the first ever playoff game, which ended in a tie |
| 1933 | NFL split into two divisions: the Eastern and Western Divisions |
| 1966 | First Super Bowl held |
| 1970 | Merged with American Football League (AFL) |
| 1978 | League reorganized into four divisions: the NFC East, NFC Central, NFC West, and AFC East, AFC Central, AFC West |
| 1995 | NFL expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers |
| 2002 | NFL expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans |
| 2006 | NFL introduced the flexible scheduling system for the final seven weeks of the NFL regular season |
| 2007 | NFL implemented the “Brett Favre Rule,” which allows teams to trade for players during the season |
| 2011 | NFL reached a labor agreement with the players’ union, ending a lockout |
| 2012 | NFL implemented new rules to promote player safety, including regulations related to concussions |
| 2014 | NFL began using “sky judges” to help officiate games |
| 2020 | NFL played an entire season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with numerous safety protocols in place |
NFL FAQs
There are 32 teams in the NFL, divided equally into the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).
There are 16 regular season games in an NFL season, played over a span of 17 weeks.
12 teams make the playoffs in the NFL: 6 from the NFC and 6 from the AFC. The top seed from each conference earns a first-round bye and also home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Each NFL team can have a maximum of 53 players on its active roster.
The NFL Super Bowl is the annual championship game, played between the winners of the NFC and AFC conferences. The winning team is crowned the NFL champion.
Peyton Manning has won the most MVP awards in the NFL with 5, followed by Tom Brady with 4.
The NFL draft is an annual event in which teams select new players who have completed their college eligibility. The order in which teams make their selections are determined by their record in the previous season, with the worst team picking first and the best team picking last.