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The most important factor of the merger was that all ten AFL teams joined the NFL in 1970, while all AFL Championship Games and records are included in NFL record books.

The AFL began play in 1960 and, like its rival league, used a playoff system to determine its champion.įrom 1966 to 1969, prior to the merger in 1970, the NFL and the AFL agreed to hold an undisputed Championship Game called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (renamed the Super Bowl after 1968).įollowing the merger in 1970, the Super Bowl name continued as the game to determine the NFL champion. The rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and American Football League (AFL) have since merged with the NFL (the only two AAFC teams that currently exist, the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers, joined the NFL in 1950), but AAFC Championship Games and records are not included in the NFL's record books. Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national champion.įollowing its founding in 1920, the NFL first determined champions through end-of-season standings, switching to a playoff system in 1933 (a one-game playoff was required in 1932). History of American football championships

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