The National Football League (NFL) began in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association with eleven teams. In 1921 the league changed its name to the American Professional Football League. On June 24, 1922 the league changed its name again and became known as the National Football League with eighteen teams competing. The league grew to twenty-two teams, but many of them were financially weak. In 1927 the league was pared down to the twelve most financially strong teams.
The league has weathered competition from other leagues attempting to seize football's popularity. The only league ever to be successful was the American Football League (AFL) which began in 1960. The AFL drafted and competed against the NFL for college's elite players and in many cases won the bidding war. During the 1960s the two leagues were spending more because of the competition between them for players and exposure. Secret meetings were conducted and a merger between the two leagues was announced on June 8, 1966. The merger was approved by Congress on October 21, 1966 and like major league baseball, was exempt from antitrust action.
The first Superbowl was played in January 1967 between the champions of the AFL, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the champions of the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. In 1970 the AFL ceased to exist. The two leagues were now officially merged into one league, the National Football League, with two conferences, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference. Today the league has thirty-two teams.
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