NFL Competitions
Every competition connected to the NFL and American football, catalogued by category — the same "every competition, not just one" structure used for the rugby league, basketball, and cricket competitions directories. Each entry is cross-checked against 2+ independent sources.
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
8 competitions connected to the NFL and American football, catalogued across the current league, historical/pre-Super Bowl competitions, defunct rival leagues, and international games — 2 with full stats coverage on this site today, the rest queued as the NFL build deepens.
NFL regular season & championship
| Competition | First held | Governing body | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL Regular Season, Playoffs & Super Bowl The NFL's annual season, its postseason bracket, and its championship game (the Super Bowl) — the sport's top-tier competition. | 1920 (league founded as the APFA, renamed NFL in 1922); Super Bowl era begins with the January 1967 game | National Football League (NFL) | Live on this site Full Super Bowl-era box-score depth, all 60 Super Bowls covered. |
Pre-Super Bowl era NFL/AFL championships
| Competition | First held | Governing body | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL Championship Game The NFL's championship system from 1933-1965, before the Super Bowl era began — the league champion was decided in a single title game following the 1932 playoff and 1933 divisional reorganization. Note: Same league lineage as today's NFL, but pre-dates the Super Bowl-era box-score depth this site currently covers, so it is tracked as a separate chapter. | 1933 | NFL | Live on this site Every game, 1933-1965, sourced and cross-checked. |
| American Football League (AFL) Rival major league that competed with the NFL through the 1960s; merged into the NFL in 1970, with all 10 AFL franchises becoming NFL teams and forming the core of the American Football Conference (AFC). Note: Defunct as an independent league since 1970; its statistics are recognized as part of official NFL history, so there is some overlap with the current AFC rather than a fully separate record book. | 1960 (organized 1959) | Self-governed/independent until the 1970 merger with the NFL | Planned |
NFL exhibition/all-star competitions
| Competition | First held | Governing body | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Bowl Games (Pro Bowl) The NFL's all-star exhibition. Reformatted into skills competitions and flag football from 2023, then discontinued as a competitive game entirely after the 2026 event — the league still names an annual Pro Bowl roster and honors players at a ceremony, but there is no more head-to-head game. Note: Currently defunct as a competitive game (discontinued August 2026); the founding year is genuinely disputed between 1939 and 1951 depending on the source. | 1939 (a Pro All-Star Game) or 1951 (the modern Pro Bowl) — sources differ on which is the true first | NFL | Planned |
Historic/defunct rival leagues
| Competition | First held | Governing body | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-America Football Conference (AAFC) Rival major league that folded into the NFL on 9 December 1949, with the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts joining the NFL outright. Note: Fully defunct since 1949, but its statistical status changed recently: in April 2025 the NFL officially incorporated AAFC statistics into its record book, most notably crediting Paul Brown with 52 additional wins and moving him from 21st to 7th all-time in coaching victories. | 1946 (founded 1944) | Independent until its 1949 merger with the NFL | Planned |
| World League of American Football / NFL Europe / NFL Europa NFL-affiliated developmental league that played in Europe (and briefly North America); renamed multiple times — World League, NFL Europe League/NFL Europe, then NFL Europa — before folding entirely in June 2007. Note: Fully defunct since 2007; not to be confused with any currently active league despite the similar branding to today's NFL International Series. | 1991 (established 1989) | Operated under NFL ownership as a developmental league | Planned |
| United Football League (UFL) The USFL (revived 2022) and XFL (revived 2023) merged in late 2023 to form the UFL, which began play in 2024 and has continued operating since. It has a player-development and rules-testing partnership with the NFL but is not owned or governed by it. Note: Multiple earlier leagues reused these names: the original USFL (1983-1985) and original XFL (2001 only) are distinct, folded entities from the 2022/2023 revivals now merged into the UFL. The UFL itself is not part of the NFL, despite the partnership. | 2024 (began play 30 March 2024, formed from the 2023 merger of the revived USFL and XFL) | Independently owned (not part of the NFL); stakeholders include Fox Corporation and RedBird Capital Partners | Planned |
NFL international games
| Competition | First held | Governing body | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL International Series Ordinary NFL regular-season games relocated to international markets — London, Frankfurt/Munich/Berlin, São Paulo, Dublin, Madrid, Mexico City, Melbourne, and Paris have all hosted games — with the designated home team still credited with a home game. Note: Not a separate competition: these are standard NFL regular-season games played at a neutral international site, already counted within NFL Regular Season/Playoffs coverage rather than a distinct tournament. Listed here for completeness and to avoid the misleading impression that it is missing from the directory. | 2007 (first London game) | NFL | Planned |
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