History Of National Football League Championship
Throughout its history, the National Football League and other leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champion, including a period of interleague match-ups determining a true world champion.
The NFL first determined champions through end-of-season standings, but switched to a playoff system in 1933. The rival All-America Football Conference and American Football League have since merged with the NFL (some AAFC teams in 1950), but because of a problem with the NFL-AAFC merger, AAFC championships games and records do not count in NFL record books. The AFL begun play in 1960 and used a playoff system to determine its champions like the league it was rivaling at time of formation.
From 1966–1969 prior to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the NFL and the AFL agreed to hold an ultimate championship game, first called the AFL-NFL World Championship game and later renamed the Super Bowl after 1968. The most important factor of the merger was that all ten AFL teams joined the NFL in 1970 and every AFL championship game and record count in NFL record books. Since the merger, the NFL has become the only major professional football league in the United States. The Super Bowl was originally a game between the AFL and the NFL but after the merger, the Super Bowl was retooled as the NFL's championship game. The old NFL Championship game became the NFC Championship Game, while the old AFL Championship became the AFC Championship Game. The NFL lists the old AFL/NFL championship games with "new" AFC/NFC championship games in its record books.
In the NFL's "modern era" (since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970) the Steelers have posted the best record in the league. The franchise have accumulated the most Super Bowl wins (six) since the modern game started in 1970. It is second overall in playoff wins and tied with the Miami Dolphins for most regular-season wins. Since the merger, the team's playoff record is 33–19 (.635), which is second best in terms of playoff winning percentage behind the Green Bay Packers' playoff record of 28–16 (.636), through 23 January 2011.
Read more about History Of National Football League Championship: 1920–1932: The Early Years, 1966–1969: NFL Vs. AFL—The Beginning of The Super Bowl Era, 1970–present: The Super Bowl Era, Championship Games Per Season, List of Various League/world Championship Game Systems, Undefeated Regular Seasons and "perfect Seasons" in Professional Football, Number of Championships By Franchise (1920-present), Pro Football Dynasties
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