American Football Conference

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The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC was created after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, which combined the ten teams from the American Football League (AFL) with the NFL's existing teams.

History[edit | edit source]

The AFC was formed as part of the merger agreement between the AFL and the NFL. The merger was a result of the intense competition between the two leagues, which led to bidding wars for players and television contracts. The merger was announced in 1966 and became official in 1970. As part of the agreement, the ten AFL teams joined the NFL, and three NFL teams, the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baltimore Colts, were added to the AFC to balance the number of teams in each conference.

Teams[edit | edit source]

The AFC is composed of 16 teams, which are divided into four divisions: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, and AFC West. Each division consists of four teams.

AFC East[edit | edit source]

AFC North[edit | edit source]

AFC South[edit | edit source]

AFC West[edit | edit source]

Championships[edit | edit source]

The AFC champion is determined through the AFC Championship Game, which is held annually in January. The winner of this game receives the Lamar Hunt Trophy and advances to the Super Bowl to face the champion of the National Football Conference (NFC). The most successful team in AFC history is the New England Patriots, who have won the conference championship 11 times.