What is the NFL?
The National Football League is the professional league of American football and the richest sports league in the world — 32 clubs in two conferences, playing an 18-week season toward the playoffs and the Super Bowl.[1] [2]
How does the NFL work?
The league is built for parity: a hard salary cap, the college draft ordered worst-first, and shared national television revenue keep all 32 clubs competitive. Rosters are set at 53, with practice squads and an international player pathway program adding places; the league now stages regular-season games in Europe, South America and beyond.[1] [3]
Since when does it exist and who leads it?
Founded in Canton, Ohio in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, renamed the NFL in 1922, and transformed by the 1970 merger with the AFL into the Super Bowl era. Roger Goodell has been commissioner since 2006.[1] [2]
Why does the NFL matter?
An NFL roster spot is among the scarcest jobs in world sport — about 1,700 players at the summit of a pyramid of millions — and the league's games routinely account for the vast majority of America's most-watched broadcasts each year. Through Vision28 with IFAF, the NFL is also driving flag football's Olympic debut.[2] [4]
References
- Pro Football Hall of Fame — Birth of the NFL (Canton, 1920). Accessed August 2026.
- NFL — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- NFL Operations — International Player Pathway & league structure. Accessed August 2026.
- NFL — Vision28: NFL and IFAF co-chair flag football's Olympic effort. Accessed August 2026.