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 . 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.
Early championships between 1920 and 1932 were awarded to the team with the best won-lost record, initially rather haphazardly, as some teams played more games than others, or scheduled games against non-league, amateur or collegiate teams. This led to the 1920 title being determined during a league meeting after the season, the 1921 title being decided on a controversial tiebreaker, a disputed 1925 title, and the scheduling of an impromptu 1932 indoor playoff game.
In 1933, the teams were divided between the Eastern and Western divisions. This became the American and National conferences in 1950 after the NFL absorbed the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC), then the Eastern and Western conferences in 1953. The two division/conference regular season champions then played in the NFL Championship Game. If two teams tied for the division/conference championship at the end of the regular season, then a one-game playoff was played to determine who would advance to the NFL Championship Game.
The rival American Football League (AFL) began play in 1960 with its own Eastern and Western divisions and AFL Championship Game. Following an agreement to merge the NFL with AFL, the Super Bowl was first held at the conclusion of the 1966 season to determine an overall champion between the champions of the two leagues. The NFL then established a four-team postseason tournament in 1967, and the AFL did the same in 1969.
The AFLâÂÂNFL merger between the two leagues was completed before the 1970 season. The teams were divided between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The two conference playoff champions then played in the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion.
Listed below is the current schedule of division matchups for the next few upcoming regular seasons, based on the three-year intraconference and four-year interconference rotations in place since 2021. Each year, in addition to the home and away games against their three division rivals (6 games), all four teams in each division listed at the top will play one game against all four teams in both of the divisions to which it has been assigned â one from the AFC (4 games) and the other from the NFC (4 games). Each team will also play an intraconference game against each of the divisions to which it has not been assigned (2 games), based on the prior season's standings. Finally, each team will also play an additional interconference "17th game" from another division based on the prior season's standings, with the AFC team hosting it in odd years and the NFC team hosting it in even years. This table also lists the sites of the corresponding Super Bowls. For the sites of the regular season games that are planned to be held outside the United States, please refer to the NFL International Series.