The Founding of the NFL


The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The league was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before changing its name to the NFL in 1922.
The NFL is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world, with an estimated 190 million viewers in the United States alone. It is also one of the most profitable, with revenues exceeding $16 billion annually. The league's popularity can be attributed to its unique combination of athleticism, strategy, and spectacle, as well as its extensive coverage on television and online media.


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
League membership gradually stabilized throughout the 1920s and 1930s as the league adopted progressively more formal organization. The first official championship game was held in 1933. The NFL stopped signing black players in 1927 but reintegrated in 1946 following World War II. Other changes followed after the war; the office of league President evolved into the more powerful Commissioner post, mirroring a similar move in Major League Baseball.
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. Teams became more financially viable, the last team folding in 1952 and the league absorbing teams from the briefly more successful All-America Football Conference in 1950, of which only the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns survive to the present day. By 1958, when that season's NFL championship game became known as "the most exciting game ever played", the NFL was on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States.

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