The NFL was formed in 1920 to create an organized professional association for football. The league was originally named the American Professional Football Association but was later changed to the National Football League a few years later. The league consisted of 14 teams. Only the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears are still active today.
In the 1960’s the NFL faced strong competition from the American Football League (AFL). The new league was threatening the rapid growth of the NFL. In 1966, the two leagues merged and decided to have a championship game between the NFL and AFL. This gave birth to the Super Bowl. After the merger, the league formed two conferences called the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).
Today, the NFL has the highest attendance of any of the major sports league. The NFL brings in an average of over 67,000 football fans to every game driving ticket sales through the roof! The NFL is made up of 32 teams split evenly between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference. Each NFL team plays 16 games over a 17-week season, with one week designated as a bye-week. The regular season is followed by a 6-team single elimination playoff culminating at the Super Bowl played between the AFC and NFC champions. The Super Bowl sees the winner of the AFC Championship Game take on the winner of the NFC Championship Game.
The Super Bowl is one of biggest sporting events in the world bringing average audience of around 1 billion worldwide.