Nfl Afl Merger Teams
Today being Super Bowl Sunday, I was curious to know if older teams had a long-term advantage in the NFL. I put together a table showing the regular season win-loss records for all NFL teams since the 1970 merger between the NFL and the AFL. While the teams at the top are pretty much what you expect, I did find a few surprises in the results.
AFL-NFL Merger In 1966, Alvin Rozelle and other Professional Football executives lobbied the 89th United States Congress to pass legislation permitting the merger of the NFL with the American Football League. They appeared before the Congress' Subcommittee on Antitrust, chaired by New York congressman Emanuel Celler.In their appearances, two points were repeatedly made. One of the most celebrated teams in NFL history, the '85 Bears capped off their 18-1 season (including playoffs) with the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history at that time. With 41 turnovers committed and only 13 forced, the Browns tied the 2000 San Diego Chargers for the worst turnover margin since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 (minus-28). They did not have a single.
| Team | Division | Origins | Org | Join NFL | W | L | T | Pct | Winning Seasons | Losing Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | AFC North | old NFL | 1933 | 1933 | 412 | 266 | 2 | 0.607 | 70.5% | 20.5% |
| Miami Dolphins | AFC East | AFL exp | 1966 | 1970 | 400 | 278 | 2 | 0.590 | 65.9% | 20.5% |
| Dallas Cowboys | NFC East | 60s exp | 1960 | 1960 | 397 | 283 | 0 | 0.584 | 65.9% | 25.0% |
| Denver Broncos | AFC West | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 393 | 281 | 6 | 0.582 | 59.1% | 22.7% |
| San Francisco 49ers | NFC West | AAFC | 1946 | 1950 | 387 | 289 | 4 | 0.572 | 59.1% | 38.6% |
| Minnesota Vikings | NFC North | 60s exp | 1961 | 1961 | 379 | 298 | 3 | 0.560 | 61.4% | 25.0% |
| New England Patriots | AFC East | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 375 | 305 | 0 | 0.551 | 63.6% | 29.5% |
| Washington Redskins | NFC East | old NFL | 1932 | 1932 | 361 | 317 | 2 | 0.532 | 54.5% | 34.1% |
| Oakland Raiders | AFC West | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 357 | 317 | 6 | 0.529 | 50.0% | 34.1% |
| Green Bay Packers | NFC North | old NFL | 1919 | 1921 | 354 | 317 | 9 | 0.527 | 50.0% | 36.4% |
| Baltimore Ravens | AFC North | AAFC | 1946 | 1950 | 352 | 324 | 4 | 0.521 | 50.0% | 38.6% |
| Philadelphia Eagles | NFC East | old NFL | 1933 | 1933 | 347 | 325 | 8 | 0.516 | 47.7% | 43.2% |
| Chicago Bears | NFC North | old NFL | 1919 | 1920 | 343 | 336 | 1 | 0.505 | 38.6% | 52.3% |
| Indianapolis Colts | AFC South | AAFC | 1946 | 1950 | 342 | 336 | 2 | 0.504 | 52.3% | 43.2% |
| New York Giants | NFC East | old NFL | 1925 | 1925 | 337 | 340 | 3 | 0.498 | 45.5% | 45.5% |
| St. Louis Rams | NFC West | old NFL | 1937 | 1937 | 336 | 339 | 5 | 0.498 | 45.5% | 50.0% |
| Seattle Seahawks | NFC West | exp1 | 1976 | 1976 | 293 | 303 | 0 | 0.492 | 44.7% | 44.7% |
| Kansas City Chiefs | AFC West | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 328 | 345 | 7 | 0.488 | 47.7% | 45.5% |
| Tennessee Titans | AFC South | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 329 | 349 | 2 | 0.485 | 43.2% | 43.2% |
| San Diego Chargers | AFC West | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 322 | 353 | 5 | 0.477 | 36.4% | 45.5% |
| Carolina Panthers | NFC South | exp2 | 1995 | 1995 | 144 | 160 | 0 | 0.474 | 26.3% | 57.9% |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | AFC South | exp2 | 1995 | 1995 | 144 | 160 | 0 | 0.474 | 36.8% | 52.6% |
| Buffalo Bills | AFC East | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 311 | 367 | 2 | 0.459 | 36.4% | 56.8% |
| Cincinnati Bengals | AFC North | AFL exp | 1968 | 1970 | 309 | 370 | 1 | 0.455 | 36.4% | 47.7% |
| Atlanta Falcons | NFC South | 60s exp | 1966 | 1966 | 304 | 371 | 5 | 0.451 | 34.1% | 59.1% |
| New Orleans Saints | NFC South | 60s exp | 1967 | 1967 | 305 | 371 | 4 | 0.451 | 27.3% | 56.8% |
| New York Jets | AFC East | AFL | 1960 | 1970 | 304 | 374 | 2 | 0.449 | 34.1% | 45.5% |
| Arizona Cardinals | NFC West | old NFL | 1898 | 1920 | 279 | 395 | 6 | 0.415 | 25.0% | 65.9% |
| Houston Texans | AFC South | exp3 | 2002 | 2002 | 79 | 113 | 0 | 0.411 | 25.0% | 58.3% |
| Detroit Lions | NFC North | old NFL | 1929 | 1930 | 275 | 401 | 4 | 0.407 | 27.3% | 63.6% |
| Tampa Bay Bucs | NFC South | exp1 | 1976 | 1976 | 233 | 362 | 1 | 0.392 | 31.6% | 65.8% |
| Cleveland Browns | AFC North | exp3 | 1999 | 1999 | 77 | 163 | 0 | 0.321 | 13.3% | 86.7% |
Original Nfl Afl Merger Teams
My general conclusion is that while a few old NFL teams have been very successful in the modern era, how long a team was established before the merger seems to have little relationship its long-term success. The most successful team (in the regular season and in terms of Super Bowl victories) has been the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the earliest NFL teams. Charter NFL franchises the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals (the oldest team in the NFL), however, are among the consistently worst teams in the league since the merger. The ten best regular season teams in the post-merger era are from the old NFL, the AFL ans the AAFC (the upstart league in the late-1940s). Post-merger expansion teams, by contrast, have struggled in the NFL, although the Seahawks are playing in the Super Bowl today.
Afl Nfl Merger Wikipedia
And, of course, I have to moan just a little about my team, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are among the most successful NFL franchises–in the regular season, anyway–but they just can’t win the big one. Among teams who have have had winning seasons 50 percent or more years, the Vikings are the only team to have not won a Super Bowl. I don’t know how many years I have left, but I hope to see them break that curse in my lifetime.