History of the NFL championship facts for kids

The National Football League (NFL) and other football leagues have used different ways to figure out who the champion team is. Sometimes, they just looked at which team had the best record. Other times, they had special playoff games.

The NFL started in Canton, Ohio in 1920. At first, the team with the best record at the end of the season was the champion. But in 1933, they started using a playoff system. Before that, in 1932, they had a special one-game playoff to decide the winner.

Some other football leagues, like the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the American Football League (AFL), later joined the NFL. The Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers are two teams that came from the AAFC and joined the NFL in 1950. However, the AAFC championship games and records are not officially counted in the NFL's history books. The AFL started in 1960 and also used playoffs to find its champion.

From 1966 to 1969, before the big merger in 1970, the NFL and AFL champions played each other in a special game. This game was first called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. After 1968, it was renamed the Super Bowl.

When the leagues fully merged in 1970, the Super Bowl became the official game to decide the NFL champion. All ten AFL teams joined the NFL in 1970. Unlike the AAFC, all AFL championship games and records are now part of the NFL's official history. The old NFL Championship Game became the NFC Championship Game, and the old AFL Championship Game became the AFC Championship Game.

The Green Bay Packers have won the most NFL championship titles with 13 wins. This includes nine championships before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls. They even won the first two AFL-NFL World Championship Games! The Chicago Bears are next with nine championships (eight before the Super Bowl and one Super Bowl). The Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants are tied for third with eight championships each. The New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs, both from the AFL, won the last two AFL-NFL World Championship Games after the Super Bowl name was made official.

How NFL Champions Were Decided (1920–1932)

At the very beginning of the NFL in 1920, there were no playoffs or championship games. The champion was simply the team with the best winning record at the end of the season. Ties were not counted in the winning percentage.

This system sometimes caused problems. Teams played different numbers of games, and not all teams played against the same opponents. Because of this, in the first six seasons, four league titles were argued about. The league's leaders had to step in and decide who the real champion was.

For example, in 1920, the Akron Pros didn't lose any games, but they tied three. Two other teams, the Buffalo All-Americans and the Decatur Staleys, had won more games and wanted to share the title. Their requests were turned down, and Akron was named the first champion.

A similar situation happened in the 1921 NFL season. The Buffalo All-Americans and the Chicago Staleys were tied. The owner of the Chicago team, George Halas, and the league decided that a game played later in the season should count as the championship game. Chicago won that game.

In 1924, Chicago tried the same trick against the Cleveland Bulldogs, but this time the league said the last game didn't count. The Cleveland Bulldogs were declared champions.

The last big argument was in 1925 between the Pottsville Maroons and the Chicago Cardinals. The Maroons were suspended by the league for playing an unauthorized game. This allowed the Cardinals to play two easy games and pass Pottsville in the standings. The league gave the title to the Cardinals, but the Cardinals didn't want it at first because of how it happened.

Years later, in 1933, when the Bidwill family bought the Cardinals, they decided to claim the 1925 title. This is still debated today. The league officially recognizes the Cardinals' claim.

One reason for these arguments was how the league figured out winning percentages. They divided wins by the total of wins and losses, ignoring ties. If ties had been counted differently, like they are today (half a win, half a loss), the champions in four seasons between 1920 and 1931 would have been different.

At the end of the 1932 season, the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans were tied for the best winning record. To decide the champion, the league held its first official playoff game. It was supposed to be at Wrigley Field in Chicago, but because of bad winter weather, it was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium. The field was smaller, and some rules had to be changed for that game. Chicago won 9–0 and became the champion.

This playoff game was so popular that the league decided to change its structure. For the 1933 season, they split into two divisions. The winners of each division would then play in a championship game.

The Start of Playoff Games (1933–1965)

The NFL Championship Game (1933–1965)

Starting in 1933, the NFL decided its champion with a single playoff game called the NFL Championship Game. During this time, the league divided its teams into groups. From 1933 to 1949, these were called divisions (Eastern and Western). From 1950 onwards, they were called conferences (American and National, then Eastern and Western).

The home team for the first championship game in 1933 was the team with the better winning record. After that, the divisions took turns hosting the game each year. If there was a tie for first place within a conference, an extra playoff game was played to decide who would go to the NFL Championship Game.

This happened several times, including in the 1965 NFL season. The Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts tied for first place in the Western Conference. Even though Green Bay had beaten Baltimore twice that season, they had to play an extra game because there was no tie-breaking rule in place yet. Green Bay won that game and then went on to win the NFL Championship against the Cleveland Browns. This championship game was played in January 1966, the first time the NFL champion was crowned in January.

From 1960 to 1969, the NFL also had an extra game called the "Playoff Bowl." This game was played between the second-place teams from the two conferences. It was sometimes called the "game for third place." These games were always played in Miami in January, the week after the NFL Championship game. The NFL now considers these games exhibition games and doesn't include them in official playoff statistics. The Playoff Bowl stopped after the AFL–NFL merger.

Starting in 1934, the winning team received the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy. This trophy was named after Ed Thorp, a famous referee. The trophy was passed from champion to champion each season, and each team's name was carved into it. Teams also got a smaller copy of the trophy. The Minnesota Vikings were the last team to receive this trophy in 1969.

In 1940, the NFL decided that if a playoff game was needed to decide a division winner, it would go into sudden death overtime if tied. This rule didn't apply to the final championship game at first. But in 1946, sudden death overtime was approved for the NFL championship game and has been used ever since. The first playoff game to go into overtime was the 1958 NFL Championship Game.

AAFC Championship Game (1946–1949)

The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was formed in 1944 to compete with the NFL. For its first three seasons (1946–1948), the league was split into Eastern and Western divisions. In 1949, there were no divisions. The Cleveland Browns, led by Quarterback Otto Graham, were very strong and won all four AAFC championship games.

In 1948, the Browns became the first professional football team to have a perfect season, meaning they didn't lose or tie any games. This happened 24 years before the 1972 Miami Dolphins did it in the NFL. However, the NFL does not officially recognize the AAFC's team records. Even so, individual player statistics from the AAFC are included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame records.

AFL Championship Game (1960–1969)

When the AFL started in 1960, it also decided its champion with a single playoff game. This game was played between the winners of its two divisions, the Eastern and Western. The AFL Championship games had some exciting moments, like the 1962 game between the Dallas Texans and the Houston Oilers, which went into double overtime.

NFL vs. AFL: The Super Bowl Begins (1966–1969)

By 1966, the AFL was becoming very successful. The NFL was worried about losing more star players to the AFL because of expensive "bidding wars." This led the two leagues to talk about a merger. The merger was announced on June 8, 1966, and became fully official in 1970.

After the NFL added the New Orleans Saints in 1967, it changed its playoff format. The NFL split its 16 teams into two conferences, each with two divisions. The playoffs expanded to a four-team tournament. The winners of the two divisions in each conference played in "Conference Championships," and the winners of those games went to the NFL Championship Game.

The AFL also grew, adding the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968. The AFL continued to use a one-game playoff format for its championship until its final season in 1969, when it also adopted a four-team playoff.

After the NFL and AFL Championship Games from 1966 to 1969, the NFL champion played the AFL champion in Super Bowls I through IV. These were the only true "inter-league" championship games in professional football history. The first two games were called the AFL-NFL Championship Game. The name Super Bowl was chosen in 1968. So, the third game was called "Super Bowl III," and the first two were later renamed Super Bowls I and II. The NFL's Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls. The AFL's New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs won the last two. This meant the leagues were tied 2-2 in these championship games before they merged.

The Packers beat the Chiefs in the first AFL–NFL Championship Game (Super Bowl I).

The Super Bowl Era (1970–Present)

After the Merger

After the 1969 season and Super Bowl IV, the AFL and NFL fully merged. They reorganized for the 1970 season. Three NFL teams (the Browns, Colts, and Steelers) moved to the AFC to make both conferences (AFC and NFC) have 13 teams each. Each conference was then split into three divisions.

With six division winners in the new league, the NFL created an eight-team playoff tournament. Four teams from each conference qualified. Besides the three division winners in each conference, two "wild card" teams were added. These were the second-place teams with the best records in each conference.

The first round of the playoffs was called the "Divisional Playoffs." The winners moved on to the "Conference Championships" (AFC & NFC). Two weeks later, the AFC and NFC champions played in the Super Bowl, which became the league's official championship game. So, Super Bowl V in January 1971 was the first Super Bowl played for the NFL title.

The Colts beat the Cowboys in the first Super Bowl after the AFL–NFL merger (Super Bowl V).

When wild card teams were added, a rule was made to stop two teams from the same division (the champion and the wild card) from playing each other in the first round. This rule lasted until the 1989 season. Also, the home teams in the playoffs were still decided by a yearly rotation, not by how well they did in the regular season. This meant that a team with a great record might not get to play at home. For example, in the 1972 playoffs, the undefeated Miami Dolphins played their AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh, even though the Steelers had lost more games.

Starting in 1972, tied games were included when figuring out a team's winning percentage. Each tie counted as half a win and half a loss. Before this, ties were just ignored. Overtime games were not played during the regular season until 1974.

Home-Field Advantage Starts

In 1975, the league changed its playoff system to use a seeding system. This meant that teams with better regular-season records would get to play their playoff games at home. The three division champions in each conference were ranked (seeded) from first to third based on their records. The wild-card team was the fourth seed.

The team with the best record (the top seed) would have "home-field advantage" throughout the playoffs. This meant they would play all their playoff games at their home stadium, except for the Super Bowl, which is always played at a neutral location.

However, the rule still prevented teams from the same division from playing each other in the Divisional Playoffs. This meant that sometimes the first seed might play the third seed, and the second seed would play the fourth.

More Playoff Teams Added

The league expanded the playoffs to 10 teams in 1978. They added a second wild-card team (the fifth seed) from each conference. The two wild-card teams from each conference (fourth and fifth seeds) played each other in the first round, called the "Wild Card Playoffs." The division winners (the top three seeds) got a "bye" and automatically moved on to the Divisional Playoffs, which became the second round.

In the Divisional Round, teams from the same division were still not allowed to play each other, no matter their seeding. This meant that teams from the same division could only meet in the wild-card round or the conference championship.

The 1982 season was shorter because of a players' strike. For that year, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament. The top eight teams from each conference qualified, and division standings were ignored. The playoffs went back to the 1978 format the next year.

In 1990, the NFL expanded the playoffs again to 12 teams. They added a third wild-card team (the sixth seed) from each conference. The rules about not playing teams from the same division in the Divisional Playoffs were removed. However, only the top two division winners in each conference (the 1st and 2nd seeds) got a bye and automatically moved to the Divisional Playoffs as home teams. The 3rd seed, which was the division winner with the worst record, would host the 6th seed in the Wild Card Playoffs.

In 2002, the NFL reorganized into eight divisions, with four in each conference. This was done to add a 32nd team, the Houston Texans. The playoffs stayed at 12 teams, with four division winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeds) and two wild cards (5th and 6th seeds) from each conference. Again, only the top two division winners got a bye. Everyone else had to play in the Wild Card round. The rounds are still called "Wild Card Playoffs," "Divisional Playoffs," and "Conference Championships."

A plan to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, with only the 1st seed getting a bye, was discussed in 2013 but put on hold. Finally, for the 2020 season, seven teams per conference made the playoffs, and only the top seed in each conference received a bye.

Championship Games by Season

Here is a list of professional football champions recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

APFA/NFL Champions (1920–1932)

For the first 13 seasons, the APFA/NFL didn't have a championship game, except for a special playoff game in 1932. This game was played indoors to break a tie. From 1920 to 1971, the NFL did not include tied games when calculating winning percentages.

NFL Championship Game (1933–1965)

Super Bowl Champions (1966–Present)

NFL Championships by Team

This table shows how many NFL championships each team has won. It doesn't include AFL or NFL championships won during the Super Bowl era before the 1970 merger. It also doesn't include AFL titles from 1960-1965 or AAFC titles from 1946-1949. Teams that no longer exist and had no championship appearances are not listed. In the "Seasons" column, bold years mean the team won the NFL championship that year.

Different Championship Systems Over Time

This table shows the different ways professional football championships have been decided.

Undefeated Seasons in Pro Football History

This table shows teams that had perfect or undefeated regular seasons. A "perfect season" means a team won all its games, including playoffs and the championship.

(*) In the early NFL, tied games were not counted in a team's winning percentage until 1972. So, these seasons were considered "perfect" at the time, even if they had ties.

See also

• NFC Championship Game
• AFC Championship Game
• List of players who have won the most NFL championships