NFL
Overview
Contents20 sections
Key facts
September 17, 1920Founding in Canton
Club representatives met at Ralph Hay’s automobile showroom in Canton, Ohio, to establish the American Professional Football Association. Jim Thorpe became its first president. Fourteen member teams participated in the inaugural season, whose champion was the Akron Pros.[1]
1922Adoption of the NFL Name
The APFA adopted the name National Football League. The league continues to date its founding to the 1920 Canton meeting.[1]
February 25, 1933Development of Independent Playing Rules
The league stopped using the collegiate rulebook and began developing its own rules, influenced by the indoor playoff of 1932.[3]
February 8, 1936First NFL Draft
The Philadelphia Eagles used the first selection in the inaugural draft on University of Chicago Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger.[3]
January 10, 1962Network Television Agreement
The NFL agreed with CBS on a single-network package covering its regular-season games for $4.65 million annually.[4]
June 8, 1966AFL–NFL Merger Agreement
Pete Rozelle announced the merger agreement. Joint drafts and a championship matchup would begin in 1967, while separate regular-season schedules continued through 1969.[4]
January 15, 1967First Super Bowl
Green Bay beat Kansas City 35–10 in Los Angeles in the first AFL–NFL championship matchup, later designated Super Bowl I. The league formally recognized the Super Bowl name in 1969.[3]
1970Integration into Two Conferences
The merged 26-team league operated through the AFC and NFC. Its Super Bowl trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy that year.[4]
2002Houston Texans Begin Play
The Houston Texans began NFL play in 2002, after being awarded their franchise on October 6, 1999. The award date and first playing season are distinct; the league currently has 32 clubs.[5]
2005–2007Regular-Season Games Overseas
Arizona played San Francisco in Mexico City on October 2, 2005, in the first regular-season game outside the United States. The first outside North America followed in London on October 28, 2007, featuring the Giants and Dolphins.[3]
2006Roger Goodell Becomes Commissioner
Roger Goodell succeeded Paul Tagliabue as NFL commissioner.[6]
2020Collective Bargaining and Playoff Expansion
The NFL–NFLPA collective bargaining agreement runs through the 2030 season. Playoffs expanded to 14 teams in 2020, seven from each conference. The agreement also addresses retirement benefits, medical coverage and joint player-safety work.[7]
September 6, 2026Goodell Extension
The NFL announced Goodell’s extension through the 2030 season.[8]
October 8, 2026Supreme Court Brief on Prediction Markets
October 8, 2026Trading Volume and Responses
The brief attributed $1.8 billion of $3.3 billion in prediction-market volume on the season’s first Sunday to NFL-related contracts; this was trading volume, not league revenue. AP reported Kalshi’s response that the CFTC was actively supervising markets, and the CFTC’s statement that it had engaged with the NFL.[9][11]
October 13, 2026Petition Remains Pending
The docket checked on this date showed neither a grant of review nor a merits decision. Kalshi’s response deadline had been extended to November 9. Submission of the NFL brief did not establish that the Court had accepted its arguments.[10]
League Structure and Schedule
The AFC and NFC each contain 16 clubs, organized into four divisions of four teams. The current regular season spans 18 weeks, with 17 games and one bye per club, totaling 272 games. The 2026 schedule includes nine international games, with first regular-season visits to Melbourne, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.[2]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
NFL: Official website: https://www.nfl.com/ (opens in a new window) .[12]
X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/nfl/ (opens in a new window) .[12]
LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-football-league/ (opens in a new window) .[12]
YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: https://www.youtube.com/user/NFL/ (opens in a new window) .[12]
Sources
- Sept. 17, 1920: The Founding of the NFL (opens in a new window)
- Creating the NFL Schedule (opens in a new window)
- Football Firsts (opens in a new window)
- Chronology of Football: 1960–1979 (opens in a new window)
- National Football League Franchise Histories (opens in a new window)
- NFL Commissioners and Presidents (opens in a new window)
- 2020 NFL–NFLPA CBA: Need to Know (opens in a new window)
- Commissioner Roger Goodell agrees on extension through 2030 season; fifth re-up of career (opens in a new window)
- Brief of Amicus Curiae the National Football League in Support of Petitioners, No.26-299 (opens in a new window)
- Supreme Court Docket No.26-299: Flaherty et al. v. KalshiEX, LLC (opens in a new window)
- NFL urges the Supreme Court to rule on regulation of prediction markets (opens in a new window)
- NFL.com | Official Site of the National Football League (opens in a new window)