List of NFL seasons

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States and the highest professional level of American football in the world. It was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before adopting its current name 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. Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1966, the Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine a champion between the best team from each league and has remained as the final game ever since the merger was completed in 1970. All AFL records, including the Championship Games, were added to NFL record books as part of the merger agreement, and the teams were evenly divided between the newly formed American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC).

Since 2002, the league has consisted of 32 teams based across the United States. Each NFL season, since 2021, has started with a three-week preseason in August, followed by an 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild cards) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Super Bowl, which is contested in February between the two conference champions.

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