History of the NFL 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 over to a playoff system in 1933. The rival All-America Football Conference and AFL, which have since merged with the NFL (some AAFC teams in 1950 and all ten AFL teams in 1970 respectively), began using the playoff system since the creation of their respective leagues.
From 1966–1969 prior to the AFL-NFL merger, the NFL and the AFL held a "world championship" game. The game was first called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game later renamed the Super Bowl.
Since 1970, the modern era NFL has been become the only major professional football league in the United States, and its current league championship game is called the Super Bowl.
1920–1932: The early years
- For a list of NFL standings champions prior to 1933, see List of NFL end-of-season champions
At its inception in 1920, the NFL had no playoff system or championship game. Rather, the champion was the team with the best record during the season, determined by winning percentage, with ties discounted. This sometimes led to odd results, as teams played anywhere from eight to twenty league games in a season, and not all teams played the same number of games.
In the 1932 season, the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied with the best regular-season records. To determine the champion, the league voted to hold their first playoff game. The game was held indoors because of very cold weather, which forced some temporary rule changes. Chicago won, 9-0. The playoff proved so popular that the league reorganized into two divisions for the 1933 season, with the winners advancing to a scheduled championship game. A number of new rule changes were instituted: the goal posts were moved forward to the goal line, every play started from between the hash marks, and forward passes could originate from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage (instead of five yards behind it).
1933–1966: The advent of the postseason
1933–1966: NFL Championship Game
- For a list of NFL Championship Games and winners, see List of NFL champions
Starting in 1933, the NFL decided its champion through a single postseason playoff game, called the NFL Championship Game. During this period, the league divided its teams into two groups, through 1949 as divisions and from 1950 onward as conferences.
- Divisions (1933–1949): Eastern and Western
- Conferences (1950–1952): American and National
- Conferences (1953–1966): Eastern and Western
The home team for the NFL Championship Game was determined by a yearly rotation between the conferences (or divisions), not by regular-season records. If there was a tie for first place within the conference, an extra playoff game determined which team would play in the NFL Championship Game. (This occurred nine times in these 34 seasons: 1941, 1943, 1947, 1950 (both conferences), 1952, 1957, 1958, and 1965.)
This last occurred during the 1965 season, when the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts tied for first place in the Western Conference at 10-3-1. Green Bay had won both its games with Baltimore during the regular season, but because no tie-breaker system was in place, a conference playoff game was held on December 26 (the scheduled date for the NFL championship game). The Cleveland Browns, the Eastern champion at 11-3-0, did not play this week. The playoff pushed the championship game to January 2, 1966, the first time the NFL champion was crowned in January. Green Bay won both post-season games at home, beating the injury-riddled Colts (with third-string QB Tom Matte) in overtime by a field goal, and taking the title 23-12 on a very muddy field (in Jim Brown's final NFL game).
For the 1960 through 1969 seasons, to compete with the rival American Football League's championship games, the NFL staged an additional postseason game called the "Playoff Bowl" (aka the "Bert Bell Benefit Bowl" or the "Runner-up Bowl"). These games matched the second-place teams from the two conferences; the CBS television network advertised them as "playoff games for third place in the NFL." All ten of these consolation games were played in the Orange Bowl in Miami in January, the week after the NFL championship game. The NFL now classifies these contests as exhibition games and does not include the records, participants, or results in the official league playoff statistics. The Playoff Bowl was discontinued after the AFL-NFL merger; the final edition was played in January 1970.
1946–1949: AAFC Championship Game
- For a list of AAFC Championship Games and winners, see List of AAFC champions
The All-America Football Conference was created in June of 1944 to compete against the NFL. Even though the league outdrew the NFL in attendance, the continuing dominance of the Cleveland Browns led to the league's downfall.
For its four seasons, the league was divided into two divisions: Eastern and Western (1946–1948) and a single division in 1949. The site of the championship game just as in the NFL was determined by divisional rotation except for 1949 when the remaining teams with the best record hosted the game.
The Browns behind the guiding of Otto Graham won all four of the league championship games. A playoff game was played in 1948 to break a tie between the Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills (AAFC) and in 1949 to set up a championship game between the Browns and the San Francisco 49ers.
In 1948, the Browns became the first professional football team to complete an entire season undefeated and untied — 24 years before the 1972 Miami Dolphins of the NFL would accomplish the task, but this feat is not recognized by NFL record books. Unlike the AFL statistics which are treated as NFL statistics, records of the AAFC and its teams (most of which folded) are not recognized. However, individual AAFC player statistics are included in Pro Football Hall of Fame records, and the defunct conference is memorialized in the Hall.
1960–1966: AFL Championship Game
- For a list of AFL Championship Games and winners, see List of AFL champions
With its creation in 1960, the AFL determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions, the Eastern and Western. The AFL Championship games featured classics such as the 1962 double-overtime championship game between the Dallas Texans and the defending champion Houston Oilers. At the time it was the longest professional football championship game ever played. Also in 1963, a Eastern Division playoff was needed to determine the division winner between the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills.
1966–1969: NFL vs. AFL - The beginning of the Super Bowl era
- For a list of AFL Championship Games and winners, see List of AFL champions
- For a list of NFL Championship Games and winners, see List of NFL champions
- For a list of AFL-NFL World Championship games, see List of AFL-NFL World champions
In 1966, the success of the rival AFL, the spectre of the NFL's losing more stars to the AFL, and concern over a costly "bidding war" for players precipitated by the NFL's Giants' signing of Pete Gogolak, who was under contract to the AFL's Buffalo Bills, led the two leagues to discuss a merger. Pivotal to this was approval by Congress of a law (PL 89-800) that would waive jeopardy to anti-trust statutes for the merged leagues. The major point of the testimony given by the leagues to obtain the law was that if the merger were permitted, "Professional football operations will be preserved in the 23 cities and 25 stadiums where such operations are presently being conducted." The merger was announced on June 8, 1966, and became fully effective in 1970.
After expanding to enfranchise the New Orleans Saints in 1967, the NFL split its 16 teams into two conferences with two divisions each: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Coastal and Central Divisions in the Western Conference. The playoff format was expanded from a single championship game to a four-team tournament, with the four divisional champions participating. The two division winners in each conference met in the "Conference Championships," with the winners advancing to the NFL Championship Game. Again, the home team for each playoff game was determined by a yearly divisional or conference rotation.
The AFL on the other hand, raised its total franchise number to nine in 1966 with the Miami Dolphins, joining the Eastern Division and a tenth team, the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968. The league kept using the one-game-playoff format except when division tie-breakers were needed. With the addition of the Bengals to the Western Division in 1969, the AFL adopted a four-team playoff to determine its champion.
Following the NFL and AFL Championship Games for the 1966 through 1969 seasons, the NFL champion played the AFL champion in Super Bowls I through IV, the only true inter-league championship games in the history of professional football. The first two of these games were known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, as the title Super Bowl was not chosen until 1968. Thus the third AFL-NFL matchup was dubbed "Super Bowl III" and the first two matches were retronamed as Super Bowls I and II. The first two games were convincingly won by the NFL's Packers, the last two by the AFL's New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, leaving the leagues even at 2-2 in "World Championship" competition when they subsequently merged.
All participants in those four AFL-NFL championship games were either AFL champions or NFL champions in the record books, no matter the outcome of the Super Bowl. Three of the four league champions who lost one of the first four Super Bowls would eventually win at least one. The exception, as of 2006, is the Minnesota Vikings.
1970–present: The Super Bowl era
- For a complete list of post-merger Super Bowl winners, see List of Super Bowl champions.
Post Merger
After the 1969 season and Super Bowl IV, the AFL and NFL fully merged and underwent a re-alignment for the 1970 season. Three of the pre-merger NFL teams were transferred to the AFC (Browns, Colts, and Steelers) to level the conferences (AFC and NFC) at 13 teams each; each conference split into three divisions. Since there was now only one league, the Super Bowl became a league championship and the winner is the NFL champion.
With only six division winners in the newly merged league, the NFL designed an eight-team playoff tournament, with four clubs from each conference qualifying. Along with the three division winners in each conference, two wild card teams (one from each conference), the second-place finishers with the best records in each conference, were added to the tournament. The first round was named the "Divisional Playoffs", with the winners advancing to the "Conference Championships" (AFC & NFC). Two weeks later, the AFC and NFC champions met in the Super Bowl, now the league's championship game. Thus, Super Bowl V in January 1971 was the first Super Bowl played for the NFL title.
With the introduction of the wild card, a rule was instituted to prohibit two teams from the same division (champion and wild card) from meeting in the first-round (Divisional Playoffs). This rule would remain in effect through the 1989 season. More significantly, the home teams in the playoffs were still decided by a yearly divisional rotation, not on regular-season records (excluding the wild-card teams, who would always play on the road). This lack of "home-field advantage" was most evident in the 1972 playoffs, when the undefeated Miami Dolphins played the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had recorded three losses during the regular season, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Beginning in 1972, tie games were included in the computing of each team's winning percentage. Each tie was now counted as half of a win and half of a loss, rather than omitted from the computation.
The institution of "home-field advantage"
In 1975, the league modified its 1970 playoff format by instituting a seeding system. The surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round. The three division champions in each conference were seeded first through third based on their regular-season records, with the wild-card team in each conference as the fourth seed.
Teams that earned the top seed became known as clinching "home-field advantage" throughout the playoffs, since they would play all of their playoff games at their home stadium (except for the Super Bowl, played at a neutral site).
However, the league continued to prohibit meetings between teams from the same division in the Divisional Playoffs. Thus, there would be times when the pairing in that round would pit the first seed versus the third, and the second versus the fourth. This system is identical to that now in use by Major League Baseball.
Further playoff expansion
The league expanded the playoffs to 10 teams in 1978, adding a second wild-card team (a fifth seed) from each conference. The two wild-card teams from each conference (the fourth and fifth seeds) would play each other in the first round, called the "Wild Card Playoffs." The division winners (the first three seeds) would then receive a bye to automatically advance to the Divisional Playoffs, which became the second round of the playoffs. In the divisional round, much like the 1970 playoff format, teams from the same division were still prohibited from playing each other, regardless of seeding. Under the 1978 format, teams from the same division could meet only in the wild-card round or the conference championship.
A players' strike shortened the 1982 season to nine games. The league used a special 16-team playoff tournament for that year. The top eight teams from each conference qualified (ignoring the divisional races -- there were no division standings, and in some cases 2 teams from the same division did not play each other at all that season). The playoffs reverted to the 1978 format in the following year.
In 1990, the NFL expanded the playoffs to twelve teams by adding a third wild-card team (a sixth seed) from each conference. The restrictions on intra-division playoff games during the Divisional Playoffs were removed. However, only the top two division winners in each conference (the 1 and 2 seeds) received byes and automatically advanced to the Divisional Playoffs as host teams. The 3 seed, the division winner with the worst regular season record in each conference, would then host the 6 seed in the Wild Card Playoffs.
In 2002, the NFL realigned into eight divisions, four per conference, to accommodate a 32nd team, the Houston Texans. The playoffs remained a 12-team tournament, with four division winners (the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds) and two wild cards (the 5 and 6 seeds) from each conference advancing to the playoffs. Again, only the top two division winners in each conference would automatically advance to the Divisional Playoffs, while everybody else had to play in the Wild Card round. Furthermore, the league still maintains the names "Wild Card Playoffs", "Divisional Playoffs", and "Conference Championships" for the first, second, and third rounds of the playoffs, respectively.
A proposal to expand the playoffs to 14 teams by adding a third wild card team (a seventh seed) from each conference, and only giving the 1 seeds the bye in the first round, was tabled by the league owners in 2003 [1].
Trivia
- After the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and the emergence of the Super Bowl, all AFL and NFL league championship games prior to merger are listed along with the AFC and NFC conference championship games, respectively, in the NFL's official records, but are recorded as league titles for each victorious franchise between 1920 and 1965 and for each Super Bowl loser between 1966 and 1969.[1]
Championships by Franchise
These are the championships of professional American football leagues that are recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but not necessarily the National Football League official record books.
- Key to leagues
Professional Football League Championships
- League Championships of Professional Football (1920–1969)
- NFL: National Football League Championships (1920–1969)[2]
- AFL: American Football League Championships (1960–1969)
- AAFC: All-America Football Conference Championships (1946–1949)
- National Football League (NFL) Championships (1970–present)
- Super Bowl: Super Bowl Championships (1970–present; V–XL)
Professional Football World Championships
- AFL-NFL World Championship Games (1966–1969; Super Bowl I–IV)
| Professional Football League Championships | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise | League Championships of Pro Football (1920–1969) |
NFL (from 1970) |
Total | ||
| NFL | AFL | AAFC | Super Bowl | ||
| Green Bay Packers[1] | 11 | – | – | 1 | 12[1] |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | – | – | 1 | 9 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | – | 4[3] | – | 8 |
| New York Giants | 4 | – | – | 2 | 6 |
| Dallas Cowboys | – | – | – | 5 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | – | – | – | 5 | 5 |
| San Francisco 49ers | – | – | – | 5 | 5 |
| Washington Redskins | 2 | – | – | 3 | 5 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | – | – | – | 4 |
| Indianapolis Colts[1] | 3 | – | – | 1 | 4 |
| Oakland Raiders[1] | – | 1 | – | 3 | 4 |
| Kansas City Chiefs[1] | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 |
| New England Patriots | – | – | – | 3 | 3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
| St. Louis Rams | 2 | – | – | 1 | 3 |
| Denver Broncos | – | – | – | 2 | 2 |
| Miami Dolphins | – | – | – | 2 | 2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Buffalo Bills | – | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Canton Bulldogs | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Tennessee Titans | – | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Akron Pros | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Cleveland Bulldogs | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Minnesota Vikings[1] | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| New York Jets[1] | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Providence Steam Roller | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| San Diego Chargers | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | – | – | – | - | none |
| Carolina Panthers | – | – | – | - | none |
| Cincinnati Bengals | – | – | – | - | none |
| Seattle Seahawks | – | – | – | - | none |
| New Orleans Saints | – | – | – | – | none |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | – | – | – | – | none |
| Houston Texans | – | – | – | – | none |
| Professional Football World Championships | |||||
| AFL–NFL World Championships (1966–1969); (Super Bowl I–IV) | |||||
| Franchise | Years Accomplished | ||||
| Green Bay Packers | 1966 (I), 1967 (II) | ||||
| New York Jets | 1968 (III) | ||||
| Kansas City Chiefs | 1969 (IV) | ||||
Championship games per season
Below is a list of Professional Football champions per season as recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
APFA/NFL Standings Champions (1920–1932)
(For the first thirteen seasons, the APFA/NFL did not hold a championship game except in 1932 when a playoff game was held, the precursor to the championship game; from 1920–1971, the NFL did not officially include tie games in the winning percentage.)
| Season | League | Team | Win | Loss | Tie | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920[4] | APFA | Akron Pros (1) | ||||
| 1921 | APFA | Chicago Staleys[5] (1) | ||||
| 1922 | NFL | Canton Bulldogs (1) | ||||
| 1923 | NFL | Canton Bulldogs (2) | ||||
| 1924 | NFL | Cleveland Bulldogs (1) | ||||
| 1925 | NFL | Chicago Cardinals (1) | ||||
| 1926 | NFL | Frankford Yellow Jackets (1) | ||||
| 1927 | NFL | New York Giants (1) | ||||
| 1928 | NFL | Providence Steam Roller (1) | ||||
| 1929 | NFL | Green Bay Packers (1) | ||||
| 1930 | NFL | Green Bay Packers (2) | ||||
| 1931 | NFL | Green Bay Packers (3) | ||||
| 1932 | NFL | Chicago Bears (2) |
NFL Championship Game (1933–1945)
(The NFL starts having a championship game, which would continue until 1969.)
NFL Championship Game and AAFC Championship Game (1946–1949)
(Between 1946 and 1949 both the NFL and AAFC were in operation with the merger of the AAFC into the NFL taking place in 1950.)
| Season | League | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | AAFC | Cleveland Browns (1) | 14–9 | New York Yankees | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Chicago Bears (7) | 24–14 | New York Giants | Polo Grounds | 58,346 | |
| 1947 | AAFC | Cleveland Browns (2) | 14–3 | New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Chicago Cardinals (2) | 28–21 | Philadelphia Eagles | Comiskey Park | 30,759 | |
| 1948 | AAFC | Cleveland Browns (3) | 49–7 | Buffalo Bills | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Philadelphia Eagles (1) | 7–0 | Chicago Cardinals | Shibe Park | 36,309 | |
| 1949 | AAFC | Cleveland Browns (4) | 21–7 | San Francisco 49ers | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Philadelphia Eagles (2) | 14–0 | Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 27,980 |
NFL Championship Game (1950–1959)
(Between 1950 and 1959 the NFL was the only operating league with former AAFC franchises the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts joining the NFL. The number in the italicized parenthesis is total number of NFL championships and the bolded number in parenthesis is the total number of league championships.)
| Year | League | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NFL | Cleveland Browns (1) (5) | 30–28 | Los Angeles Rams | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 29,751 |
| 1951 | NFL | Los Angeles Rams (2) | 24–17 | Cleveland Browns | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 57,522 |
| 1952 | NFL | Detroit Lions (2) | 17–7 | Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 50,934 |
| 1953 | NFL | Detroit Lions (3) | 17–16 | Cleveland Browns | Briggs Stadium | 54,577 |
| 1954 | NFL | Cleveland Browns (2) (6) | 56–10 | Detroit Lions | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 43,827 |
| 1955 | NFL | Cleveland Browns (3) (7) | 38–14 | Los Angeles Rams | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 85,693 |
| 1956 | NFL | New York Giants (4) | 47–7 | Chicago Bears | Yankee Stadium | 56,836 |
| 1957 | NFL | Detroit Lions (4) | 59–14 | Cleveland Browns | Briggs Stadium | 55,263 |
| 1958 | NFL | Baltimore Colts (1) | 23–17 (OT) | New York Giants | Yankee Stadium | 64,185 |
| 1959 | NFL | Baltimore Colts (2) | 31–16 | New York Giants | Memorial Stadium | 57,545 |
AFL Championship Game and NFL Championship Game (1960–1965)
(The NFL was joined by the American Football League from 1960 to 1969 with the AFL merging with the NFL in 1970. The number in the italicized parenthesis is total number of NFL or AFL championships and the bolded number in parenthesis is the total number of league championships.)
| Season | League | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | AFL | Houston Oilers (1) | 24–16 | Los Angeles Chargers | Jeppesen Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Philadelphia Eagles (3) | 17–13 | Green Bay Packers | Franklin Field | 67,325 | |
| 1961 | AFL | Houston Oilers (2) | 10–3 | San Diego Chargers | Balboa Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Green Bay Packers (7) | 37–0 | New York Giants | "New" City Stadium | 39,029 | |
| 1962 | AFL | Dallas Texans (1) | 20–17 (2OT) | Houston Oilers | Jeppesen Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Green Bay Packers (8) | 16–7 | New York Giants | Yankee Stadium | 64,892 | |
| 1963 | AFL | San Diego Chargers (1) | 51–10 | Boston Patriots | Balboa Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Chicago Bears (8) | 14–10 | New York Giants | Wrigley Field | 45,801 | |
| 1964 | AFL | Buffalo Bills (1) | 20–7 | San Diego Chargers | War Memorial Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Cleveland Browns (4) (8) | 27–0 | Baltimore Colts | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 79,544 | |
| 1965 | AFL | Buffalo Bills (2) | 23–0 | San Diego Chargers | Balboa Stadium | N/A |
| NFL | Green Bay Packers (9) | 23–12 | Cleveland Browns | Lambeau Field | 50,777 |
AFL-NFL World Championship Game (The Super Bowl) (1966–1969)
(From 1966 to 1969 both NFL and AFL champions meet in the first and so far only World Championship games to decide a champion between leagues, the series ended NFL two, AFL two.)[1]
| Season | League | Game | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | AFL | Kansas City Chiefs (2) | 31–7 | Buffalo Bills | War Memorial Stadium | 42,080 | |
| NFL | Green Bay Packers (10) | 34–27 | Dallas Cowboys | Cotton Bowl | 74,152 | ||
| I | Green Bay Packers (1) | 35–10 | Kansas City Chiefs | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 61,946 | ||
| 1967 | AFL | Oakland Raiders (1) | 40–7 | Houston Oilers | Oakland Coliseum | 53,330 | |
| NFL | Green Bay Packers (11) | 21–17 | Dallas Cowboys | Lambeau Field | 50,861 | ||
| II | Green Bay Packers (2) | 33–14 | Oakland Raiders | Miami Orange Bowl | 75,546 | ||
| 1968 | AFL | New York Jets (1) | 27–23 | Oakland Raiders | Shea Stadium | 62,627 | |
| NFL | Baltimore Colts (3) | 34–0 | Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,410 | ||
| III | New York Jets (1) | 16–7 | Baltimore Colts | Miami Orange Bowl | 75,389 | ||
| 1969 | AFL | Kansas City Chiefs (3) | 17–7 | Oakland Raiders | Oakland Coliseum | 53,561 | |
| NFL | Minnesota Vikings (1) | 27–7 | Cleveland Browns | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,503 | ||
| IV | Kansas City Chiefs (1) | 23–7 | Minnesota Vikings | Tulane Stadium, New Orleans | 80,562 |
Super Bowl Championship (1970–present)
(With the merger of the AFL with the NFL, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game. The number in the italicized parenthesis is total number of Super Bowl championships and the bolded number in parenthesis is the total number of league championships.)
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i This table lists all of the league championships won by these franchises, but between 1966 and 1969 the winners of the NFL and AFL met in the so far only true world championship game, the Super Bowl, which after 1970 became the new NFL Championship Game.
- ^ Known as the "American Professional Football Association" from 1920 to 1922
- ^ Official NFL record books do not recognize the 4 AAFC Championships by the Cleveland Browns franchise. However, the Pro Football Hall of Fame does list them as apart of the 8 total league championships by the Browns
- ^ No official standings were maintained for the 1920 season, and the championship was awarded to the Akron Pros in a league meeting on April 30, 1921. Clubs played schedules that included games against non-league opponents.
- ^ became the Chicago Bears in 1922