181-683: National Football League ( 1970 –present) The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri . The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The Chiefs started playing in 1959 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt and was a charter member of
362-596: A Broncos loss to the 49ers . The Indianapolis Colts hosted the Chiefs in the Wild Card playoffs and defeated Kansas City 23–8. In 2007, Trent Green was traded to the Miami Dolphins leaving the door open for either Damon Huard or Brodie Croyle to become the new starting quarterback. After starting the season with a 4–3 record, the Chiefs lost the remaining nine games when running back Larry Johnson suffered
543-567: A Christmas Day playoff game which the Chiefs lost 27–24 in double overtime. The Dolphins outlasted the Chiefs with a 37-yard field goal . The game surpassed the 1962 AFL Championship Game as the longest ever at 82 minutes and 40 seconds. The game was also the final football game at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. In 1972, the Chiefs moved into the newly constructed Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex outside of downtown Kansas City . The team's first game at Arrowhead
724-647: A Super Ball . While the first few games were designated the "AFL–NFL World Championship Game", the Super Bowl name became its officially licensed title in years to come. The Chiefs cruised to an 11–2–1 record in 1966, and defeated the defending AFL Champion Buffalo Bills in the AFL Championship Game. The Chiefs were invited to play the NFL's league champion Green Bay Packers in the first AFL–NFL World Championship Game . Kansas City and Green Bay played
905-655: A conspiracy to violate antitrust law , by granting DirecTV exclusive rights to sell the Sunday Ticket product, thereby restricting competition and forcing viewers to pay super competitive prices to view out-of-market games. On June 27, 2024, a jury in Los Angeles found that the NFL had violated antitrust law in setting the price of the Sunday ticket package and ordered a penalty totaling more than $ 4.7 billion. With triple damages allowed under federal antitrust laws,
1086-636: A merger on June 8, 1966, to take full effect in 1970. In the meantime, the leagues would hold a common draft and championship game. The game, the Super Bowl , was held four times before the merger, with the NFL winning Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II , and the AFL winning Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV . After the league merged, it was reorganized into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC), consisting of most of
1267-472: A 24–3 deficit with six minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Chiefs engineered a 33–27 comeback win ending with a two-yard touchdown run by Alex Smith in overtime to give the Chiefs their largest regular season comeback to start the season at 1–0. On Christmas Day , the Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos 33–10 to give Kansas City their tenth straight win against divisional opponents. On January 1, 2017,
1448-639: A 35–15 loss at home to the same Viking team the Chiefs defeated in Super Bowl IV. Following a 5–9 finish in the 1974 season, which was at the time the worst record in franchise history, Stram was fired. Stram's 129 victories were the most in Chiefs history until 2023 when Andy Reid surpassed him with his 130th win. Stram became the head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 1976, but posted losing records in his two seasons, 4–10 and 3–11. Hampering Stram's efforts to rebuild
1629-479: A 3–6 record and in the off-season, Joe Delaney died while trying to save several children from drowning in a pond near his home in Louisiana. The Chiefs drafted quarterback Todd Blackledge over future greats such as Jim Kelly and Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL draft . Blackledge never started a full season for Kansas City while Kelly and Marino played Hall of Fame careers. While the Chiefs struggled on offense in
1810-611: A 5–3 record. Kansas City was awarded a Thanksgiving Day game against the Denver Broncos in response to owner Lamar Hunt 's lobbying for a third Thanksgiving Day game. The Chiefs defeated the Broncos 19–10 in the first Thanksgiving Day game in Kansas City since 1969. Hunt was hospitalized at the time of the game and died weeks later on December 13 due to complications of prostate cancer . The Chiefs honored their owner for
1991-514: A 9–28–3 record in their first three seasons, Hunt decided that the Dallas–Fort Worth media market just couldn't sustain two professional football franchises. He considered moving the Texans to either Atlanta or Miami for the 1963 season. He was ultimately swayed by an offer from Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle . Bartle promised to triple the franchise's season ticket sales and expand
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#17327760565442172-521: A Week 17 win over Oakland 23–17, the Chiefs achieved their longest winning streak in franchise history at ten games. They qualified for the playoffs, playing in the 2015 AFC Wild-Card playoff game , held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on January 9, 2016. The Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 30–0 to earn their first NFL playoff win in 23 seasons, dating back to the 1993–94 NFL playoffs ,
2353-609: A bench player at SMU when Stram had been coaching there and the Texans' position had been turned down by Bud Wilkinson and Tom Landry , then an assistant at the New York Giants . The Texans played their first game in the new AFL in September 1960 and proved to be successful from the beginning. In 1962, the Texans won the AFL Western Division and the AFL championship. The Texans won the championship against
2534-625: A blizzard; in 2012, when the Kickoff game was moved from Thursday to Wednesday to avoid conflict with the Democratic National Convention ; and in 2020, when a game was postponed from Sunday to Tuesday due to players testing positive for COVID-19 . NFL regular season match-ups are determined according to a scheduling formula. Within a division, all four teams play 14 out of their 17 games against common opponents or each other– two games (home and away) are played against
2715-457: A central figure in negotiations with NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to agree on an AFL–NFL merger . In the meetings between the two leagues, a merged league championship game was agreed to be played in January 1967 following the conclusion of the leagues' respective 1966 seasons. Hunt insisted on calling the game the "Super Bowl" after seeing his children playing with a popular toy at the time,
2896-466: A close game for the first half, but Green Bay took control in the final two quarters, winning the game by a score of 35–10. The Chiefs lost the game but gained the respect of several Packers opponents following the game. The Chiefs' inter-league match-up with the Packers was not the last time that they would face an NFL opponent, especially on the championship stage. The following August, Kansas City hosted
3077-488: A club's franchise or any other action, he deems necessary. The commissioner can also issue sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban from the league if an individual connected to the NFL has bet on games or failed to notify the league of conspiracies or plans to bet on or fix games. The current Commissioner of the National Football League is Roger Goodell, who was elected in 2006 after Paul Tagliabue ,
3258-407: A club's season being canceled, a restocking draft would be held. Neither of these protocols has ever had to be implemented. Free agents in the National Football League are divided into restricted free agents , who have three accrued seasons and whose current contract has expired, and unrestricted free agents , who have four or more accrued seasons and whose contract has expired. An accrued season
3439-606: A different football code than the American game, the CFL established a niche market in Canada and still survives as an independent league. A new professional league, the fourth American Football League (AFL), began to play in 1960. The upstart AFL began to challenge the established NFL in popularity, gaining lucrative television contracts and engaging in a bidding war with the NFL for free agents and draft picks. The two leagues announced
3620-635: A former Chiefs scout and head coach of the New York Jets, as the team's tenth head coach after trading a fourth-round selection in the 2006 NFL draft to the Jets. Quarterback Trent Green suffered a severe concussion in the team's season opener to the Cincinnati Bengals which left him out of play for eight weeks. Backup quarterback Damon Huard took over in Green's absence and led the Chiefs to
3801-615: A long and successful career as a color commentator on CBS ' television and radio broadcasts of NFL games. Stram began broadcasting games for CBS in 1975 , originally calling games with Frank Glieber . After a brief hiatus so he could return to coaching, Stram returned to call games with Gary Bender in 1978. His other broadcast partners were Jack Buck , Vin Scully , Curt Gowdy , Dick Stockton , Tim Brant , Steve Zabriskie , Jim Henderson , Sean McDonough , and Jim Nantz , along with various others. From 1979 through 1989 he also called
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#17327760565443982-399: A lower pick than any team that did not make the divisional round. The Super Bowl champion always drafts last, and the losing team from the Super Bowl always drafts next-to-last. All potential draftees must be at least three years removed from high school in order to be eligible for the draft. Underclassmen that have met that criterion to be eligible for the draft must write an application to
4163-419: A minority of preseason games are distributed among the league's national television partners. Through the 2014 season, the NFL had a blackout policy in which games were 'blacked out' on local television in the home team's area if the home stadium was not sold out. Clubs could elect to set this requirement at only 85%, but they would have to give more ticket revenue to the visiting team; teams could also request
4344-739: A number of awards for its players and coaches at its annual NFL Honors presentation. The most prestigious award is the AP Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Other major awards include the AP Offensive Player of the Year , AP Defensive Player of the Year , AP Comeback Player of the Year , and the AP Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. Another prestigious award is the Walter Payton Man of
4525-524: A playoff bid, the number of wild card teams from each conference dropped from three to two. The playoffs expanded again in 2020, adding two more wild card teams to bring the total to 14 playoff teams. The NFL consists of 32 clubs divided into two conferences of 16 teams each. Each conference is divided into four divisions of four clubs each. During the regular season, each team is allowed a maximum of 55 players on its roster; only 48 of these may be active (eligible to play) on game days. Each team can also have
4706-415: A poor start, Haley was relieved of duties as head coach on December 12. Clark Hunt made note of "bright spots at different points this season," but felt that overall the Chiefs were not progressing. The highest point of the 2011 season was an upset win against the Packers, who at that time, were undefeated with a 13–0 record. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel would be named the team's interim head coach for
4887-534: A professional football league that would rival the National Football League . Hunt's desire to secure a football team was heightened after watching the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts . After unsuccessful attempts to purchase and relocate the NFL's Chicago Cardinals to his hometown of Dallas, Texas , Hunt went to the NFL and asked to create an expansion franchise in Dallas. The NFL turned him down, so Hunt then established
5068-695: A record 167 million people that watched Super Bowl XLVIII , the conclusion to the 2013 season. In addition to radio networks run by each NFL team, select NFL games are broadcast nationally by Westwood One (known as Dial Global for the 2012 season). These games are broadcast on over 500 networks, giving all NFL markets access to each primetime game. The NFL's deal with Westwood One was extended in 2012 and continued through 2017. Other NFL games are nationally distributed by Compass Media Networks and Sports USA Radio Network under contracts with individual teams. Some broadcasting innovations have either been introduced or popularized during NFL telecasts. Among them,
5249-407: A season, the result of the second game determined the title (the source of the 1921 controversy). This method had been used since the league's creation in 1920, but no situation had been encountered where two teams were tied for first. The league quickly determined that a playoff game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the league's champion. The teams were originally scheduled to play
5430-576: A season-ending foot injury and the quarterback position lacked stability with Huard and Croyle. Despite the team's 4–12 record, tight end Tony Gonzalez broke Shannon Sharpe 's NFL record for touchdowns at the position (63) and defensive end Jared Allen led the NFL in quarterback sacks with 15.5. The Chiefs began their 2008 season with the youngest team in the NFL. The starting lineup had an average of 25.5 years of age. By releasing several veteran players such as cornerback Ty Law and wide receiver Eddie Kennison and trading defensive end Jared Allen ,
5611-565: A simulcast with ESPN. Amazon , through their Prime Video streaming service, is the exclusive carrier of the Thursday Night Football package. NFL Network, a U.S. pay cable channel owned by the league itself, broadcasts select games under the NFL Network Exclusive Game Series banner. Games under this banner usually consist of NFL International Series games and select Saturday games. In 2023,
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5792-405: A sixteen-player practice squad separate from its main roster. Each NFL club is granted a franchise, the league's authorization for the team to operate in its home city. This franchise covers 'Home Territory' (the 75 miles surrounding the city limits, or, if the team is within 100 miles of another league city, half the distance between the two cities) and 'Home Marketing Area' (Home Territory plus
5973-550: A specific exemption from the NFL for the game. The vast majority of NFL games were not blacked out; only 6% of games were blacked out during the 2011 season , and only two games were blacked out in 2013 and none in 2014 . The NFL announced in March 2015 that it would suspend its blackout policy for at least the 2015 season . According to Nielsen , the NFL regular season since 2012 was watched by at least 200 million individuals, accounting for 80% of all television households in
6154-522: A strong defense, anchored by Thomas, Smith, Albert Lewis and Deron Cherry, and on special teams, Nick Lowery, who was then the most accurate kicker in NFL History. The team recorded a 101–58–1 record, and clinched seven playoff berths. The Chiefs' 1993 season was the franchise's most successful in 22 years. With newly acquired quarterback Joe Montana and running back Marcus Allen , two former Super Bowl champions and Most Valuable Player Award winners,
6335-471: A team that finishes last would play two other last-place teams in the conference. The final game is an inter-conference based on a rotating cycle and determined by previous season's standings. In total, each team plays 17 games and has one bye week, where it does not play a game. Although a team's home and away opponents are known by the end of the previous year's regular season, the exact dates and times for NFL games are not determined until much later because
6516-555: A total of 32 are given. Clubs are required to make their selection within a certain period of time, the exact time depending on which round the pick is made in. If they fail to do so on time, the clubs behind them can begin to select their players in order, but they do not lose the pick outright. This happened in the 2003 draft , when the Minnesota Vikings failed to make their selection on time. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were able to make their picks before
6697-503: A two-conference system from 1933 to 1966 , where the champions of each conference would meet in the NFL Championship Game . If two teams tied for the conference lead, they would meet in a one-game playoff to determine the conference champion. In 1967 , the NFL expanded from 15 teams to 16 teams. Instead of just evening out the conferences by adding the expansion New Orleans Saints to the seven-member Western Conference,
6878-584: A wealth of talent to the Texans after luring it away from the NFL, often hiding players and using creative means to land them. The Texans shared the Cotton Bowl with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys for three seasons. The Texans were to have exclusive access to the stadium until the NFL put an expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys, there. While the team averaged a league-best 24,500 at the Cotton Bowl,
7059-695: A win that also came in Houston. The Chiefs' Wild-Card playoff victory ended what was at the time the third-longest drought in the NFL, and it also ended a then NFL record eight-game playoff losing streak. Riddled with injuries, they were defeated by the New England Patriots 27–20 in the AFC Divisional Round. The Chiefs first game of the 2016 season was against their division rival, the San Diego Chargers . After facing
7240-497: Is also among the most-watched sporting events in the world, with the individual games accounting for many of the most watched television programs in American history and all occupying the top five of Nielsen 's all-time most-watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015. The NFL is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . The Green Bay Packers hold the most combined NFL championships with thirteen, winning nine titles before
7421-427: Is defined as "six or more regular-season games on a club's active/inactive, reserved/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists". Restricted free agents are allowed to negotiate with other clubs besides their former club, but the former club has the right to match any offer. If they choose not to, they are compensated with draft picks. Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any club, and no compensation
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7602-448: Is earned by the 32 clubs and is taxable there. This will remain the case even when the league office and Management Council file returns as taxable entities, and the change in filing status will make no material difference to our business." As a result, the league office might owe around US$ 10 million in income taxes, but it is no longer required to disclose the salaries of its executive officers. The league has three defined officers:
7783-543: Is elected by an affirmative vote of three-fourths or 10 of the conference members. The commissioner appoints the secretary and treasurer and has broad authority in disputes between clubs, players, coaches, and employees. He is the "principal executive officer " of the NFL and also has authority in hiring league employees, negotiating television contracts, disciplining individuals that own part or all of an NFL team, clubs, or employed individuals of an NFL club if they have violated league by-laws or committed "conduct detrimental to
7964-463: Is owed if they sign with a different club. Clubs are given one franchise tag to offer to any unrestricted free agent. The franchise tag is a one-year deal that pays the player 120% of his previous contract or no less than the average of the five highest-paid players at his position, whichever is greater. There are two types of franchise tags: exclusive tags, which do not allow the player to negotiate with other clubs, and non-exclusive tags, which allow
8145-478: Is required to schedule three preseason games. NFC teams must play at least two of these at home in odd numbered years and AFC teams must play at least two at home in even numbered years. However, the teams involved in the Hall of Fame game, as well as any team that played in an American Bowl game, play four preseason games. Preseason games are exhibition matches and do not count towards regular-season totals. Because
8326-428: The 2013 NFL draft . It is the first time since the merger they have held the first overall pick. Following the 2012 season, the Chiefs fired head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli . Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid was brought in as head coach to work with new general manager John Dorsey , a former Green Bay Packers head scout. The Chiefs acquired quarterback Alex Smith from
8507-803: The Akron Pros , Canton Bulldogs , Cleveland Indians , and Dayton Triangles at the Jordan and Hupmobile auto showroom in Canton, Ohio . This meeting resulted in the formation of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), a group who, according to the Canton Evening Repository , intended to "raise the standard of professional football in every way possible, to eliminate bidding for players between rival clubs and to secure cooperation in
8688-532: The American Football League (AFL). In 1963 , the team moved to Kansas City, and kept its current name. The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger ; entering the 2024 season, the team is valued at over US$ 4.85 billion. After Hunt's death in 2006, his wife, Norma, and children became legal owners of the team. After Norma's death in 2023, the Hunt children inherited her stake in
8869-463: The American Football League and started his own team, the Dallas Texans , to begin play in 1960. Hunt hired a little-known assistant coach from the University of Miami football team , Hank Stram , to be the team's head coach after the job offer was declined by Bud Wilkinson and Tom Landry . After Stram was hired, Don Klosterman was hired as head scout, and was credited by many for bringing
9050-582: The American Professional Football Association (APFA) . The league elected Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams (the Buffalo All-Americans , Chicago Tigers , Columbus Panhandles and Detroit Heralds joined the league during the year). The Massillon Tigers from Massillon, Ohio was also at the September 17 meeting, but did not field a team in 1920. Only two of these teams,
9231-658: The Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup , was donated to the NFL (then APFA) in 1920 by the Brunswick-Balke Collender Corporation . The trophy, the appearance of which is only known by its description as a "silver loving cup", was intended to be a traveling trophy and not to become permanent until a team had won at least three titles. The league awarded it to the Akron Pros, champions of the inaugural 1920 season; however,
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#17327760565449412-584: The Houston Oilers 20–17 in what was the longest professional football championship game ever played. Tommy Brooker kicked a field goal at 17:54 of overtime to win the game for the Texans and stop the Oilers from winning their third straight title. The Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 and continued their success. In 1966, they won the AFL title again on the back of one of
9593-407: The Houston Texans began play as an expansion team . Other drafts held by the league include an allocation draft in 1950 to allocate players from several teams that played in the dissolved All-America Football Conference and a supplemental draft in 1984 to give NFL teams the rights to players who had been eligible for the main draft but had not been drafted because they had signed contracts with
9774-529: The Indianapolis Colts 38–10 shortly after halftime, but collapsed late and lost 45–44. In 2014, the Chiefs attempted to make the playoffs for the second straight season for the first time since 1995, finishing 9–7 and getting eliminated in Week 17. After a promising win for the Chiefs against Houston in Week 1, Kansas City went on a five-game losing streak culminating in a 16–10 loss to Minnesota and
9955-505: The Internal Revenue Code provides an exemption from federal income taxation for "Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players), not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual." In contrast, each individual team, with
10136-902: The Los Angeles Rams who came from a 1936 iteration of the American Football League, and the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers , both from the AAFC. By the 1950s, the NFL had an effective monopoly on professional football in the United States; its only competition in North America was the professional Canadian football circuit, which formally became the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1958. With Canadian football being
10317-599: The Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV , which was the final game before the league merger went into full effect. The Chiefs were also the second team, after the Green Bay Packers (whom they played in Super Bowl I ), to appear in more than one Super Bowl (and the first AFL team to do so) and the first to appear in the championship game in two different decades. Despite this post-season success,
10498-491: The National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season , which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week . Following
10679-615: The New York Jets in the wild-card round. Despite leading the Chiefs to only their third winning season and second playoff appearance since the merger, Mackovic was fired for what Hunt described as a lack of chemistry. Frank Gansz served as head coach for the next two seasons, but won only eight of 31 games. On December 19, 1988, owner Lamar Hunt hired Carl Peterson as the team's new president, general manager, and chief executive officer. Peterson fired head coach Frank Gansz two weeks after taking over and hired Marty Schottenheimer as
10860-670: The Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park . On October 3, 1920, the first full week of league play occurred. The following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. On June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League (NFL). In 1932 , the season ended with
11041-432: The San Francisco 49ers for the Chiefs' second-round pick, 34th overall, in the 2013 draft and a conditional pick in the 2014 draft. Matt Cassel was released shortly after. The Chiefs selected Eric Fisher with the first overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft . In 2013, the Chiefs started 9–0 for the second time in team history. The team finished with a 11–5 record and made the playoffs. They led in their wildcard game against
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#173277605654411222-469: The Skycam camera system was used for the first time in a live telecast, at a 1984 preseason NFL game in San Diego between the Chargers and 49ers , and televised by CBS. Commentator John Madden famously used a telestrator during games between the early 1980s to the mid-2000s, boosting the device's popularity. Each April (excluding 2014 when it took place in May), the NFL holds a draft of college players. The draft consists of seven rounds, with each of
11403-451: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ' preseason football games for WTOG-TV in Tampa, Florida. As a broadcaster, Stram is best remembered for his near-20-year stint (beginning in 1978 and lasting through the 1995 season ) with Jack Buck on CBS Radio broadcasts of Monday Night Football games. Stram's key broadcasting trademark was his habit of predicting the next play before it happened. On January 10, 1982, Stram, along with Vin Scully , called
11584-452: The United States Football League or Canadian Football League . Like the other major sports leagues in the United States , the NFL maintains protocol for a disaster draft . In the event of a 'near disaster' (less than 15 players killed or disabled) that caused the club to lose a quarterback, they could draft one from a team with at least three quarterbacks. In the event of a 'disaster' (15 or more players killed or disabled) that results in
11765-412: The "moving pocket" and the "triple-stack defense", dominated the Minnesota Vikings on both sides of the ball. In the Super Bowl, Stram became the first professional football coach to wear a microphone . Stram's recorded comments from that game have become classics: "Just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys." , "How could all six of you miss that play?" "65 Toss Power Trap" , " Kassulke
11946-412: The 13th overall selection in the 1997 NFL draft , a move which some considered to be a gamble being that Gonzalez was primarily a basketball player at California . During a 1997 season full of injuries to starting quarterback Elvis Grbac , backup quarterback Rich Gannon took the reins of the Chiefs' offense as the team headed to another 13–3 season. Head coach Marty Schottenheimer chose Grbac to start
12127-417: The 1980s, they had a strong defensive unit consisting of Pro Bowlers such as Bill Maas , Albert Lewis , Art Still and Deron Cherry . John Mackovic took over head coaching duties for the 1983 season after Marv Levy was fired. Over the next four seasons, Mackovic coached the Chiefs to a 30–34 record, but took the team to its first postseason appearance in 15 years in the 1986 NFL playoffs . They lost to
12308-424: The 32 clubs getting one pick in each round. The draft order for non-playoff teams is determined by regular-season record; among playoff teams, teams are first ranked by the furthest round of the playoffs they reached, and then are ranked by regular-season record. For example, any team that reached the divisional round will be given a higher pick than any team that reached the conference championships, but will be given
12489-402: The AFC package, and Fox carries afternoon games from the NFC package. These afternoon games are not carried on all affiliates, as multiple games are being played at once; each network affiliate is assigned one game per time slot, according to a complicated set of rules. Since 2011, the league has reserved the right to give Sunday games that, under the contract, would normally air on one network to
12670-411: The Chicago Bears ( 6–1–6 ) and the Portsmouth Spartans ( 6–1–4 ) tied for first in the league standings. At the time, teams were ranked on a single table and the team with the highest winning percentage (not including ties, which were not counted towards the standings) at the end of the season was declared the champion; the only tiebreaker was that in the event of a tie if two teams played twice in
12851-405: The Chiefs and the rest of the American Football League merged with the National Football League after the AFL–NFL merger became official. The Chiefs were placed in the American Football Conference 's West Division . From 1960 to 1969, the Chiefs/Texans won 87 games, which is the most in the ten-year history of the AFL. In 1970, the Chiefs went 7–5–2 and missed the playoffs. The following season,
13032-440: The Chiefs began a youth movement. The Chiefs had a league-high thirteen selections in the 2008 NFL draft and chose defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and offensive lineman Branden Albert in the first round. Analysts quickly called Kansas City's selections as the best of the entire draft. Entering the season, the Chiefs were unsure if injury-prone quarterback Brodie Croyle , who was the incumbent starter, could be their quarterback in
13213-547: The Chiefs clinched the AFC West and the second seed going into the playoffs that year, where they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 18–16 in the divisional round as Chris Boswell hit six field goals. National Football League The National Football League ( NFL ) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and
13394-513: The Chiefs employed a triple-stack defense, hiding the three linebackers behind defensive linemen. He was considered a motivational genius, and his emphasis on the Chiefs' wearing of a patch commemorating the AFL in Super Bowl IV was one of his typical ploys, extracting maximum effort from players who had been derided by proponents of the NFL. Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, nine years after Bud Grant ,
13575-578: The Chiefs further strengthened their position in the NFL. The 11–5 Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Oilers on their way to the franchise's first AFC Championship Game appearance against the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs were overwhelmed by the Bills and lost the game by a score of 30–13. The Chiefs' victory on January 16, 1994, against the Oilers remained the franchise's last post-season victory for 22 years until their 30–0 victory over
13756-608: The Chiefs lost their home Wild Card playoff game to the Baltimore Ravens 30–7. Six players were chosen for the Pro Bowl : Dwayne Bowe , Jamaal Charles , Brian Waters , Tamba Hali , Matt Cassel , and rookie safety Eric Berry . Jamaal Charles won the FEDEX ground player of the year award and Dwayne Bowe led the NFL in touchdown receptions. For their first pick in the 2011 NFL draft , the team selected Jon Baldwin . After
13937-460: The Chiefs made significant hires for their coaching staff, bringing on former Patriots assistant coaches Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel to coach the offense and defense, respectively. The coaching additions proved to be very successful, as the Chiefs would go on to secure their first AFC West title since 2003. Their ten victories in the 2010 season combined for as many as the team had won in their previous three seasons combined. On January 9, 2011,
14118-526: The Chiefs tallied a 10–3–1 record and won the AFC West Division. Head coach Hank Stram considered his 1971 Chiefs team as his best, but they failed to capture their championship dominance from 1969. Most of the pieces of the team which won Super Bowl IV two years earlier were still in place for the 1971 season. The Chiefs tied with the Miami Dolphins for the best record in the AFC, and both teams met in
14299-416: The Chiefs' future Hall of Fame players departed by the middle of the decade. From 1975 to 1988, the Chiefs had become a team that rarely won, which provided Chiefs fans with nothing but futility. Five head coaches struggled to achieve the same success as Stram, compiling an 81–121–1 record. In 1980, Coach Marv Levy cut future Hall of Fame Kicker Jan Stenerud for little-known Nick Lowery , who would become
14480-561: The Chiefs. Stram was born in Chicago as Henry Louis Wilczek on January 3, 1923. His Polish-born father, Henry Wilczek, a tailor, had wrestled professionally under the name Stramm, the German word for "sturdy," and the family's surname was eventually changed to Stram. He later grew up in Gary, Indiana , and graduated from Lew Wallace High School class of 1941. (The football stadium press box
14661-676: The Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals), remain in the NFL. Although the league did not maintain official standings for its 1920 inaugural season and teams played schedules that included non-league opponents, the APFA awarded the Akron Pros the championship by virtue of their 8–0–3 record. The first event occurred on September 26, 1920, when
14842-557: The Green Bay Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls. Unlike the previous trophies, a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is issued to each year's champion, who maintains permanent control of it. Lombardi Trophies are made by Tiffany & Co. out of sterling silver and are worth anywhere from US$ 25,000 to US$ 300,000. Additionally, each player on the winning team as well as coaches and personnel are awarded Super Bowl rings to commemorate their victory. The winning team chooses
15023-518: The Houston Texans on January 9, 2016. In the 1995 NFL playoffs , the 13–3 Chiefs hosted the Indianapolis Colts in a cold, damp late afternoon game at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City lost the game 10–7 against the underdog Colts, after kicker Lin Elliot missed three field-goal attempts and quarterback Steve Bono threw three interceptions. The Chiefs selected tight end Tony Gonzalez with
15204-608: The NFC receive the George Halas Trophy , named after Chicago Bears founder George Halas , who is also considered one of the co-founders of the NFL. The AFC champions receive the Lamar Hunt Trophy , named after Lamar Hunt , the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and the principal founder of the American Football League. Players on the winning team also receive a conference championship ring. The NFL recognizes
15385-565: The NFL announced the NFL Source initiative, aimed at increasing the number of minority- and women-owned businesses that work with the league throughout the year. NFL Source will be mandatory for teams that host major events, such as the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft, and their organizing committees, but will be optional for other contracts at the team level. The NFL will partner with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc to help local businesses across
15566-402: The NFL by January 15 renouncing their remaining college eligibility. Clubs can trade away picks for future draft picks, but cannot trade the rights to players they have selected in previous drafts. Aside from the seven picks each club gets, compensatory draft picks are given to teams that have lost more compensatory free agents than they have gained. These are spread out from rounds 3 to 7, and
15747-525: The NFL cannot hold games on those days until the Friday before the third Saturday in December. While Saturday games late in the season are common, the league rarely holds Friday games, the most recent one being on Christmas Day in 2020. NFL games are rarely scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, and those days have only been used three times since 1948: in 2010, when a Sunday game was rescheduled to Tuesday due to
15928-455: The NFL could ultimately be liable for $ 14.39 billion. The league said it would ask the judge to set the verdict aside then appeal the verdict if needed. From 1920 to 1934, the NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play, instead setting a minimum. The league mandated a twelve-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935 , later shortening this to eleven games in 1937 and ten games in 1943 , mainly due to World War II. After
16109-513: The NFL occupied the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $ 882,079 for Sunday Night Football , $ 562,524 for Monday Night Football , and $ 440,523 for Thursday Night Football . The league, in recent years, has expanded their televised broadcasts to over-the-top streaming services. Since 2022, Amazon holds the exclusive rights to broadcast the Thursday Night Football package. Prior to then, Amazon streamed games from
16290-651: The NFL realigned the conferences and split each into two four-team divisions. The four division champions would meet in the NFL playoffs , a two-round playoff. The NFL also operated the Playoff Bowl (officially the Bert Bell Benefit Bowl) from 1960 to 1969. Effectively, a third-place game , pitting the two conference runners-up against each other, the league considers Playoff Bowls to have been exhibitions rather than playoff games. The league discontinued
16471-406: The NFL's Chicago Bears in the 1967 preseason and won the game 66–24. Despite losing to the division rival Oakland Raiders twice in the regular season in 1969, the two teams met for a third time in the AFL Championship Game, where Kansas City won 17–7. Backup quarterback Mike Livingston led the team in a six-game winning streak after Len Dawson suffered a leg injury which kept him out of most of
16652-405: The National Football League for the 1922 season . After initially determining champions through end-of-season standings, a playoff system was implemented in 1933 that culminated with the NFL Championship Game until 1966. Following an agreement to merge the NFL with the rival American Football League (AFL), the Super Bowl was first held in 1967 to determine a champion between the best teams from
16833-485: The Playoff Bowl in 1970 due to its perception as a game for losers. Following the addition of the former AFL teams into the NFL in 1970 , the NFL split into two conferences with three divisions each. The expanded league, now with twenty-six teams, would also feature an expanded eight-team playoff, the participants being the three division champions from each conference as well as one 'wild card' team (the team with
17014-498: The Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame. After coaching at Purdue, Stram was an assistant at Notre Dame , Southern Methodist University , and Miami . Stram was Miami's backfield coach and credited with installing the multiple offense that helped lead the team to a 6–4 record in 1959 . In 1959, Lamar Hunt recruited Stram to coach his Dallas Texans in the new AFL, which commenced play in 1960 . Hunt had previously been
17195-617: The St. Joseph and Kansas City Boy Scout Councils, and founder of the Scouting Society, the Tribe of Mic-O-Say . Despite the historical use of Native American features, it has been acknowledged that the team's naming was not a direct reference to Native Americans but only to Bartle's nickname "Chief". Business Insider journalist Meredith Cash even stated in January 2020 that Bartle "insisted on the team being named after himself" and that "Bartle
17376-537: The Steelers and the Browns, and help them develop their potential. Stram recruited heavily from historically black colleges, so his teams were always diverse, and he also instituted weight-training and off-season mini-camps. He was also the first coach in professional football to use Gatorade on his sidelines and run both the I formation and two-tight end offense, still used in professional football today. On defense,
17557-670: The Super Bowl era and four Super Bowls afterwards. Since the creation of the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl victories at six each. The reigning league champions are the Kansas City Chiefs , who defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 25–22 in Super Bowl LVIII . On August 20, 1920, a meeting was held by representatives of
17738-469: The Texans defeated the Oilers 20–17 in double overtime. The game lasted 77 minutes and 54 seconds, which, at the time, was the longest game in the history of professional American Football. It is still the longest championship game in American Football League history. It turned out to be the last game the team would play as the Dallas Texans. Despite competing against a Cowboys team that managed only
17919-408: The Texans gained less attention due to the AFL's relatively lower profile compared to the NFL's. In the franchise's first two seasons, the team managed only an 8–6 and 6–8 record, respectively. In their third season, the Texans tallied an 11–3 record and a berth in the team's first American Football League Championship Game , against the Houston Oilers . The game was broadcast nationally on ABC and
18100-508: The Top 50 most valuable sports teams in the world; and 16 of the NFL's owners are listed on the Forbes 400 , the most of any sports league or organization. At the corporate level, the National Football League considers itself a trade association made up of and financed by its 32 member teams. Up until 2015, the league was an unincorporated nonprofit 501(c)(6) association. Section 501(c)(6) of
18281-516: The United States and 69% of all potential viewers in the United States. NFL regular season games accounted for 31 out of the top 32 most-watched programs in the fall season and an NFL game ranked as the most-watched television show in all 17 weeks of the regular season. At the local level, NFL games were the highest-ranked shows in NFL markets 92% of the time. Super Bowls account for the 22 most-watched programs (based on total audience) in US history, including
18462-476: The Vikings were able to use theirs. Selected players are only allowed to negotiate contracts with the team that picked them, but if they choose not to sign they become eligible for the next year's draft. Under the current collective bargaining contract, all contracts to drafted players must be four-year deals with a club option for a fifth. Contracts themselves are limited to a certain amount of money, depending on
18643-896: The Year Award , which recognizes a player's off-field work in addition to his on-field performance. The NFL Coach of the Year award is the highest coaching award. The NFL also gives out weekly awards such as the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week and the Pepsi MAX NFL Rookie of the Week awards. In the United States, the National Football League is televised on eight networks across seven media partners: ESPN / ABC , CBS , Fox , NBC , Prime Video , Netflix , and NFL Network . The league offers its media rights in packages of games to prospective media partners. The packages can vary depending on conference, broadcast time slot, or both. CBS televises afternoon games from
18824-542: The Year honoree, Al Saunders. Running back Priest Holmes surpassed Marshall Faulk 's single-season touchdown record by scoring his 27th rushing touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the team's regular-season finale. The team clinched the second seed in the 2003 NFL playoffs and hosted the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. In a game where neither team punted, the Chiefs lost
19005-406: The beginning of his tenure to 17 million by the end of his tenure, and 400 million global viewers watched 1989's Super Bowl XXIII . The NFL established NFL Properties in 1963. The league's licensing wing, NFL Properties, earns the league billions of dollars annually; Rozelle's tenure also marked the creation of NFL Charities and a national partnership with United Way . Paul Tagliabue
19186-556: The best defensive teams in the history of professional football featuring three hall of famers and eight all star players. The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 31–7 in Buffalo. The Chiefs played the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I with the Packers winning 35–10. To overcome the Chiefs' defense, Packers' coach Vince Lombardi used a short passing game which proved successful, with quarterback Bart Starr becoming
19367-424: The best of his abilities and also following the absence of Larry Johnson, who was suspended for his off-field conduct. The Chiefs made a huge gamble by using the spread offense, as most in the NFL believe that it cannot work in professional football, and also head coach Herm Edwards was traditionally in favor of more conservative, run-oriented game plans. The 2008 season ended with a franchise worst 2–14 record, where
19548-410: The best overall record, with tiebreakers in the event of two or more teams having the same record). These teams are seeded according to overall record and tiebreakers, with the division champions always ranking higher than the wild card teams. The top team (seeded one) from each conference are awarded a bye week, while the remaining six teams (seeded 2–7) from each conference compete in the first round of
19729-492: The best win percentage that did not win its division) from each conference. In 1978, the league added a second wild card team from each conference, bringing the total number of playoff teams to ten, and a further two wild card teams were added in 1990 to bring the total to twelve. When the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002 , the league realigned, changing the division structure from three divisions in each conference to four divisions in each conference. As each division champion gets
19910-456: The biggest highlight of his New Orleans tenure was a 27–17 win over his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs , at Arrowhead Stadium in 1976, Stram's first victory with the Saints. The 1977 campaign culminated in an historic home loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers who were riding a 26-game losing streak over two seasons. Stram took the loss hard, burning the game film. He
20091-417: The broadcasts on ESPN or ABC. ESPN also holds exclusive rights to stream one Sunday morning international game on ESPN+. Beginning in 2024, Netflix holds the global streaming rights for at least one Christmas Day game every season as part of a three-year deal. The Super Bowl television rights are rotated on a four-year basis between CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN/ABC. The NFL's most recent contract negotiation for
20272-407: The championship. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933 , to split into two divisions with a championship game to be played between the division champions. The 1934 season also marked the first of twelve seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league . The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946 , following public pressure and coinciding with
20453-533: The club's seventh head coach. In the 1988 and 1989 NFL Drafts , the Chiefs selected both defensive end Neil Smith and linebacker Derrick Thomas , respectively. The defense that Thomas and Smith anchored in their seven seasons together was a big reason why the Chiefs reached the postseason in six straight years. In Schottenheimer's ten-season tenure as head coach, the Chiefs became a perennial playoff contender, featuring offensive players including Steve DeBerg , Christian Okoye , Stephone Paige and Barry Word ,
20634-414: The commissioner, secretary, and treasurer. Each conference has one defined officer, the president, which is essentially an honorary position with few powers and mostly ceremonial duties, including awarding the conference championship trophy. The commissioner is elected by the affirmative vote of two-thirds or eighteen (whichever is greater) of the members of the league, while the president of each conference
20815-462: The company that makes the rings; each ring design varies, with the NFL mandating certain ring specifications (which have a degree of room for deviation), in addition to requiring the Super Bowl logo be on at least one side of the ring. The losing team are also awarded rings, which must be no more than half as valuable as the winners' rings, but those are almost never worn. The conference champions receive trophies for their achievement. The champions of
20996-481: The conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs , a single-elimination tournament , which culminates in the Super Bowl , played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games. The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association ( APFA ) before renaming itself
21177-463: The country obtain the certifications necessary to do business with the league in furtherance of its efforts to increase partnerships with certified and underrepresented businesses that are 51% owned and operated or led by a veteran, woman, minority, person with disabilities or LGBTQ+. In 2015, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers, alleging that the NFL, its member teams, its broadcast partners, and DirecTV engaged in
21358-671: The current league champion, the league issued a smaller replica trophy to each champion, who would maintain permanent control over it. The current location of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, long thought to be lost, is believed to be possessed by the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame . The current trophy of the NFL is the Vince Lombardi Trophy . The Super Bowl trophy was officially renamed in 1970 after Vince Lombardi , who as head coach led
21539-407: The exact draft pick the player was selected with. Players who were draft eligible but not picked in the draft are free to sign with any club. The NFL operates several other drafts in addition to the NFL draft. The league holds a supplemental draft annually. Clubs submit emails to the league stating the player they wish to select and the round they will do so, and the team with the highest bid wins
21720-518: The exception of the non-profit Green Bay Packers , is subject to tax because they make a profit. In 2015, the NFL gave up its tax-exempt status following public criticism; in a letter to the club owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell labeled it a "distraction", saying "the effects of the tax-exempt status of the league office have been mischaracterized repeatedly in recent years… Every dollar of income generated through television rights fees, licensing agreements, sponsorships, ticket sales, and other means
21901-523: The famous NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys . The game in question was immortalized by Dwight Clark 's touchdown catch which elevated the 49ers into their first Super Bowl appearance (the first of four during the 1980s). During a 1988 broadcasting trip to Indianapolis for a Chicago Bears – Colts game, Stram collapsed with a severely blocked aortic valve and underwent open heart surgery. He
22082-505: The field as much as on as tight end Tony Gonzalez demanded a trade and running back Larry Johnson was involved in legal trouble. Croyle returned for the Chiefs' game against the Tennessee Titans, but both he and Damon Huard suffered season-ending injuries in the game. The Chiefs reorganized their offense to a new spread offense game plan focused around Tyler Thigpen. The Chiefs' new offense was implemented to help Thigpen play to
22263-533: The first Super Bowl MVP. In a 1968 game against the Oakland Raiders in Kansas City, the Chiefs entered the game without a healthy wide receiver ready to play. Stram went in to pro football's past and resurrected the T formation . The Chiefs won the game 24–10 running the ball 60 times for over 300 yards while passing only three times for 16 yards. The Kansas City Chiefs won the AFL championship again in 1969. In Super Bowl IV , his ingenious innovations,
22444-537: The formation of schedules". A second meeting was held on September 17, 1920, with representatives from teams within four states: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, and Dayton from Ohio; the Hammond Pros and Muncie Flyers from Indiana; the Rochester Jeffersons from New York; and the Rock Island Independents , Decatur Staleys , and Racine (Chicago) Cardinals from Illinois. The league was renamed to
22625-476: The franchise. Clark Hunt , one of the Hunts' children, has served as chairman and CEO since 2006 and is the ultimate authority over personnel decisions. He is also the team representative at league owner meetings. The Chiefs were victorious and won three AFL championships, in 1962 , 1966 , and 1969 , and were the second AFL team (after the New York Jets ) to defeat an NFL team in a Super Bowl when they defeated
22806-425: The game was moved to the week before. Because of this, players from the teams participating in the Super Bowl are exempt from participating in the game. The Pro Bowl is not considered as competitive as a regular-season game because the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the players. The National Football League has used three different trophies to honor its champion over its existence. The first trophy,
22987-473: The group, nearly 50 more potential schedules were developed to try to ensure that the chosen schedule would be the best possible one. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the NFL Playoffs, a 14-team single-elimination tournament, is then held. Seven teams are selected from each conference: the winners of each of the four divisions as well as three wild card teams (the three remaining teams with
23168-487: The higher remaining seed hosting the lower remaining seed. The AFC and NFC champions then compete in the Super Bowl to determine the league champion. The only other postseason event hosted by the NFL is the Pro Bowl , the league's all-star game . Since 2009, the Pro Bowl has been held the week before the Super Bowl ; in previous years, the game was held the week following the Super Bowl, but in an effort to boost ratings,
23349-412: The injured Priest Holmes and rushed for 1,750 yards in only nine starts. Prior to the Chiefs' final game of the season, head coach Dick Vermeil announced his retirement. The Chiefs won the game 37–3 over the playoff-bound Cincinnati Bengals . Within two weeks of Vermeil's retirement, the Chiefs returned to their defensive roots with the selection of its next head coach. The team introduced Herm Edwards ,
23530-478: The league has to account for, among other things, the Major League Baseball postseason and local events that could pose a scheduling conflict with NFL games. During the 2010 season, over 500,000 potential schedules were created by computers, 5,000 of which were considered "playable schedules" and were reviewed by the NFL's scheduling team. After arriving at what they felt was the best schedule out of
23711-571: The league's history. He then won Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs. He also coached the most victories (87), had the most post-season games (7) and the best post-season record in the AFL (5–2). Stram is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves , coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy. Stram never had an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, or special teams coach during his career with
23892-587: The long-term. Croyle was injured in the team's first game of the season and Damon Huard started in Croyle's absence. Tyler Thigpen become the third Chiefs starting quarterback in as many games for a start against the Atlanta Falcons . After a poor performance by Thigpen, in which he threw three interceptions against the Falcons defense, Huard was retained as the starting quarterback. The Chiefs struggled off
24073-487: The loss of Jamaal Charles to a torn ACL . They made one of the most improbable season comebacks in the NFL and won ten straight to improve their record from 1–5 to 11–5. The team clinched a playoff berth after a 17–13 win over Cleveland in Week 16 to become only the second post-merger NFL team to make the playoffs following a 1–5 start. The streak achieved by the Chiefs broke a franchise record for nine straight (2003, 2013) and second nine plus game win streak under Reid. After
24254-465: The man whose team he had convincingly defeated in Super Bowl IV, had been enshrined. At the Hall of Fame ceremonies, Stram was so weakened by the effects of diabetes that Len Dawson pushed his former coach onto the stage in a wheelchair. Stram's induction speech was then played from a previously recorded videotape. Stram was the only head coach who lasted the entire history of the AFL (1960 – 1969). Following his retirement from coaching, Stram enjoyed
24435-512: The media rights deal was announced on March 18, 2021, to take effect beginning in the 2023 season. The deal renewed previous rights agreements made by the NFL and each of its network partners to air their respective game packages, while awarding Amazon the Thursday Night Football package. ESPN/ABC is set to return to the Super Bowl broadcast rotation and will broadcast the Super Bowl on U.S. television in 2027, 21 years after airing its last Super Bowl, Super Bowl XL . Digital and streaming distribution
24616-473: The most accurate kicker in NFL history over the next fourteen years. In 1981, running back Joe Delaney rushed for 1,121 yards and was named the AFC Rookie of the Year . The Chiefs finished the season with a 9–7 record and entered the 1982 season with optimism. The NFL Players Association strike curbed the Chiefs' chances of returning to the postseason for the first time in over a decade. The Chiefs tallied
24797-557: The newer league, which would complete a planned merger with the NFL the following season. In 1971, the Chiefs won the AFC Western Division championship. The Miami Dolphins defeated the Chiefs on Christmas Day 1971. The teams played the longest game in the history of professional football. After that, the Chiefs did not enjoy the same success, resulting in Stram leaving the franchise. Stram's tenure in Kansas City ended with
24978-428: The next two seasons, compiling a 16–16 record. By the end of the Chiefs' decade of regular-season dominance, Gannon had signed with the Oakland Raiders , Neil Smith signed with the Denver Broncos , and Derrick Thomas was paralyzed in a car accident on January 23, 2000. Thomas died from complications of his injury weeks later. After allegedly reading online that he would be relieved of duties, head coach Gunther Cunningham
25159-462: The other network (known as "flexible scheduling"). The only way to legally watch a regionally televised game not being carried on the local network affiliates is to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket, the league's out-of-market sports package , which is available through YouTube TV starting with the 2023 season. The league also provides NFL RedZone , an omnibus telecast that cuts to the most relevant plays in each game, live as they happen. In addition to
25340-495: The other three teams in the division, while one game is held against all the members of a division from the NFC and a division from the AFC as determined by a rotating cycle (three years for the conference the team is in, and four years in the conference they are not in). Two of the other games are intraconference games, determined by the standings of the previous year – for example, if a team finishes first in its division, it will play two other first-place teams in its conference, while
25521-525: The player to negotiate with other clubs but gives his former club the right to match any offer and two first-round draft picks if they decline to match it. Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram ( / ˈ s t r æ m / ; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Stram won three AFL championships, more than any other coach in
25702-591: The playoff game against the Denver Broncos despite Gannon's successes in previous weeks. Grbac's production in the game was lacking, and the Chiefs lost to the Broncos 14–10. Denver went on to capture their fifth AFC Championship by defeating Pittsburgh, and then defeated the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII . Coach Schottenheimer announced his resignation from the Chiefs following the 1998 season. Following Schottenheimer's resignation, defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham took over coaching duties for
25883-512: The playoff game, officially a regular-season game that would count towards the regular season standings, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, but a combination of heavy snow and extreme cold forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium , which did not have a regulation-size football field. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the smaller playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0 and thus won
26064-558: The playoffs, the Wild Card round, with the 2-seed competing against the 7-seed, the 3-seed competing against the 6-seed and the 4-seed competing against the 5-seed. The winners of the Wild Card round advance to the Divisional Round, which matches the lower seeded team against the 1-seed and the two remaining teams against each other. The winners of those games then compete in the Conference Championships, with
26245-414: The pre-merger NFL teams, and the American Football Conference (AFC), consisting of all of the AFL teams as well as three pre-merger NFL teams. Today, the NFL is the most popular sports league in North America – with much of the league's growth and popularity attributable to former Commissioner Pete Rozelle , who led the league from 1960 to 1989. Overall annual attendance increased from 3 million at
26426-435: The preseason does not count towards standings, teams generally do not focus on winning games; instead, they are used by coaches to evaluate their teams and by players to show their performance, both to their current team and to other teams if they get cut. The quality of preseason games has been criticized by some fans, who dislike having to pay full price for exhibition games, as well as by some players and coaches, who dislike
26607-402: The previous commissioner, retired. The NFL season format consists of a three-week preseason , an 18-week regular season (each team plays 17 games), and a 14-team single-elimination playoff culminating in the Super Bowl, the league's championship game. The NFL preseason begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game , played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton . Each NFL team
26788-563: The regional games, the league also has packages of telecasts, mostly in prime time, that are carried nationwide. NBC broadcasts the primetime Sunday Night Football package, which includes the Thursday NFL Kickoff game that starts the regular season and a primetime Thanksgiving Day game . ESPN is the main broadcaster of the Monday Night Football package with ABC airing select games either exclusively or as
26969-415: The remainder of the season, as did the rest of the league. Trent Green returned in the middle of the season, but struggled in the final stretch, and running back Larry Johnson set an NFL record with 416 carries in a season. Kansas City managed to clinch their first playoff berth in three seasons with a 9–7 record and a bizarre sequence of six losses from other AFC teams on New Year's Eve , culminating with
27150-447: The remaining three games of the season, including the aforementioned Packers game. On January 9, 2012, Crennel was named the 11th full-time head coach in Chiefs history. The 2012 Chiefs became the first team since the 1929 Buffalo Bisons to not lead in regulation through any of their first nine games. The Chiefs tied their franchise-worst record of 2–14 and clinched the No. 1 overall pick in
27331-558: The removal of a similar ban in Major League Baseball . The NFL was always the largest professional football league in the United States; it nevertheless faced numerous rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), on top of various regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these rival leagues;
27512-456: The rest of the state the club operates in, as well as the area the team operates its training camp in for the duration of the camp). Each NFL member has the exclusive right to host professional football games inside its Home Territory and the exclusive right to advertise, promote, and host events in its Home Marketing Area. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, mostly relating to teams with close proximity to each other: teams that operate in
27693-420: The rights to that player. The exact order is determined by a lottery held before the draft, and a successful bid for a player will result in the team forfeiting the rights to its pick in the equivalent round of the next NFL draft. Players are only eligible for the supplemental draft after being granted a petition for special eligibility. The league holds expansion drafts , the most recent happening in 2002 when
27874-500: The risk of injury the games have, while others have felt the preseason is a necessary part of the NFL season. Currently, the 14 opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a predetermined formula: The league runs an 18-week, 272-game regular season. Since 2021, the season has begun the week after Labor Day (the first Monday in September) and concluded the week after New Year. The opening game of
28055-414: The same city (e.g. New York City and Los Angeles) or the same state (e.g. California , Florida , and Texas ) share the rights to the city's Home Territory and the state's Home Marketing Area, respectively. According to Forbes , the Dallas Cowboys , at approximately US$ 8 billion, are the most valuable NFL franchise and the most valuable sports team in the world. 26 of the 32 NFL teams rank among
28236-520: The same package as part of a tri-cast model that saw games aired on broadcast television (initially through CBS and NBC, then later with Fox), cable television (through NFL Network), and digital streaming (through Prime Video). Amazon has also streamed games for free on Twitch since 2018. CBS streams its AFC package games on Paramount+ as a simulcast with its CBS broadcasts. NBC streams Sunday Night Football and select exclusive games on Peacock . ESPN streams its games on ESPN+ in simulcast with
28417-441: The schedule will give half the teams nine games as the home team, while half the teams have only eight home games. To minimize the perceived benefit on competition of having more home games, the extra home game will be rotated between the two conferences each year. This is because playoff berths are allocated at the conference level, so all teams within the conference will have played the same number of home games. The NFL operated in
28598-549: The season is normally a home game on a Thursday for the league's defending champion. Most NFL games are played on Sundays, with a Monday night game typically held at least once a week and Thursday night games occurring on most weeks as well. NFL games are not normally played on Fridays or Saturdays until late in the regular season, as federal law prohibits professional football leagues from competing with college or high school football. Because high school and college teams typically play games on Friday and Saturday, respectively,
28779-483: The season's games. While getting plenty of help from the club's defense, Dawson returned from the injury and led the Chiefs to Super Bowl IV . Against the NFL champion Minnesota Vikings , who were favored by 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 , the Chiefs dominated the game 23–7 to claim the team's first Super Bowl championship. Dawson was named the game's Most Valuable Player after completing 12-of-17 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown, with 1 interception. The following season,
28960-433: The seating capacity of Municipal Stadium to accommodate the team. Hunt agreed to relocate the franchise to Kansas City on May 22, 1963, and on May 26, the team was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs . Hunt and head coach Hank Stram initially planned to retain the Texans name, but a fan contest determined the new "Chiefs" name in honor of Mayor Bartle's nickname that he acquired in his professional role as Scout Executive of
29141-403: The shoot-out 38–31. It was the third time in nine seasons that the Chiefs went 8–0 at home in the regular season, only to lose their post-season opener at Arrowhead. After a disappointing 7–9 record in 2004, the 2005 Chiefs finished with a 10–6 record but no playoff berth. They were the fourth team since 1990 to miss the playoffs with a 10–6 record. Running back Larry Johnson started in place of
29322-424: The sport safer, mainly through fining or suspending players who break rules. These actions are among many the NFL is taking to reduce concussions and improve player safety. Prior to 2021, the NFL had utilized race-based adjustments of dementia claims in the $ 1 billion settlement of concussion claims, which had been criticized by critics before the NFL decided to end what was called "race-norming". On May 21, 2024,
29503-402: The start of the 2009 season and chose to take on the coordinator duties himself. Throughout 2009 the Chiefs acquired veterans to supplement the Chiefs' young talent including Matt Cassel , Mike Vrabel , Bobby Engram , Mike Brown , Chris Chambers , and Andy Alleman . The team finished with a 4–12 record, just a two-game improvement upon their record from the 2008 season. For the 2010 season,
29684-548: The team failed to find success in the playoffs for decades, including losing ten of eleven playoff games from 1993 to 2018 , which included an eight-game losing streak. Since then, the Chiefs have risen to dynastic performance under head coach Andy Reid , quarterback Patrick Mahomes , tight end Travis Kelce , and defensive tackle Chris Jones , appearing in four Super Bowls since 2019 and being victorious in three: LIV , LVII , and LVIII . In 1959, Lamar Hunt began discussions with other businessmen to establish
29865-528: The team suffered historic blowout defeats nearly week-in and week-out, a 34–0 shut-out to the Carolina Panthers , and allowed a franchise-high 54 points against the Buffalo Bills. The team's general manager, chief executive officer, and team president Carl Peterson resigned at the end of the season, and former New England Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli was hired as his replacement for 2009. On January 23, 2009, Herm Edwards
30046-435: The team's cornerstones on offense. In Vermeil's first season with the Chiefs, he led the team to a 6–10 record. The team improved to a 8–8 record in 2002 but still missed the postseason. In 2003, Kansas City began the season with nine consecutive victories, a franchise record. They finished the season with a 13–3 record and the team's offense led the NFL in several categories under the direction of USA Today's Offensive Coach of
30227-476: The trophy was discontinued and its current whereabouts are unknown. A second trophy, the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy , was issued by the NFL from 1934 to 1967. The trophy's namesake, Ed Thorp, was a referee in the league and a friend to many early league owners; upon his death in 1934, the league created the trophy to honor him. In addition to the main trophy, which would be in the possession of
30408-426: The two leagues and has remained as the final game of each NFL season since the merger was completed in 1970. The NFL is the wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue and the sports league with the most valuable teams. The NFL also has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl
30589-408: The typically struggling Saints was a severe elbow injury to quarterback Archie Manning , who missed the entire 1976 season and parts of the 1977 campaign. Stram also had to deal with continuous discipline problems caused by his leading rusher, Chuck Muncie , who was in the early stages of a cocaine addiction which would lead to his trade in 1980 from New Orleans to the San Diego Chargers . Perhaps
30770-509: The war ended, the number of games returned to eleven games in 1946 , and later back to twelve in 1947. The NFL went to a 14-game schedule in 1961 , which it retained until switching to a 16-game schedule in 1978 . In March 2021, the NFL officially adopted a 17-game schedule after gaining the agreement of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Having an odd number of games in
30951-483: The welfare of the League or professional football". The commissioner can, in the event of misconduct by a party associated with the league, suspend individuals, hand down a fine of up to US$ 500,000, cancel contracts with the league, and award or strip teams of draft picks. In extreme cases, the commissioner can offer recommendations to the NFL's executive committee, up to and including the "cancellation or forfeiture" of
31132-523: Was against the St. Louis Cardinals , a preseason game that the Chiefs won 24–14. Linebacker Willie Lanier and quarterback Len Dawson won the NFL Man of the Year Award in 1972 and 1973, respectively. The Chiefs did not return to the post-season for the remainder of the 1970s, and the 1973 season was the team's last winning season for seven years. Hank Stram was fired following a 5–9 season in 1974, and many of
31313-424: Was elected as commissioner to succeed Rozelle; his 17-year tenure, which ended in 2006, was marked by large increases in television contracts and the addition of four expansion teams, as well as the introduction of league initiatives to increase the number of minorities in league and team management roles. The league's current Commissioner, Roger Goodell , has focused on reducing the number of illegal hits and making
31494-732: Was expanded to allow CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC to stream games on their respective over-the-top streaming services. For each of the packages the respective network partners currently hold, ESPN/ABC is paying US$ 2.7 billion a year; CBS, Fox, and NBC are each paying more than US$ 2 billion a year; and Amazon is paying US$ 1 billion a year. The current deal runs through the 2033 season. The league also has deals with Spanish-language broadcasters NBC Universo , Fox Deportes , and ESPN Deportes , which air Spanish language dubs of their respective English-language sister networks' games. The league's contracts do not cover preseason games, which individual teams are free to sell to local stations directly;
31675-460: Was fired after the final game of the season. Stram was an innovator, a shrewd judge of talent, and an excellent teacher. He helped develop Hall of Famers Len Dawson , Bobby Bell , Buck Buchanan , Curley Culp , Willie Lanier , Jan Stenerud , Emmitt Thomas , and Johnny Robinson , and others like Ed Budde and Otis Taylor . He would take players that had been unsuccessful on other teams, such as Len Dawson, who had failed to catch on with both
31856-443: Was fired as head coach, and two weeks later Todd Haley signed a four-year contract to become Edwards' successor. Haley had a background with Pioli, which made him an attractive hire for Pioli's first coach in Kansas City. In April 2009, Tony Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons after failed trade attempts over the previous two seasons. Notably, head coach Todd Haley fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey just weeks before
32037-567: Was fired. Looking to change the Chiefs' game plan which relied on a tough defensive strategy for the past decade, Carl Peterson contacted Dick Vermeil about the Chiefs' head coaching vacancy for the 2001 season. Vermeil previously led the St. Louis Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV . Vermeil was hired on January 12. The Chiefs then traded a first-round draft pick in the 2001 NFL draft to St. Louis for quarterback Trent Green and signed free agent running back Priest Holmes to be
32218-534: Was hospitalized in Indianapolis for a week and later resumed his career with CBS. He remained a part of CBS' television broadcast team until 1993 . His last game as a broadcaster was Super Bowl XXX for CBS Radio in 1996. Stram married Phyllis Marie Pesha in 1953 and they stayed together as husband and wife until his death due to complications from diabetes in 2005. They had six children, four sons and two daughters, including actor Henry Stram . Stram made
32399-462: Was known as Chief Lone Bear within Mic-O-Say circles, and eventually the nickname "Chief" caught on among people throughout Kansas City." The franchise became one of the strongest teams in the now thriving American Football League, with the most playoff appearances for an AFL team (tied with the Oakland Raiders ), and the most AFL Championships (three). The team's dominance helped Lamar Hunt become
32580-673: Was renamed in his honor.) He earned seven letters playing football and baseball and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity at Purdue in the 1940s, playing in 1942 and again in 1946 and 1947. Stram served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, interrupting his university career. He was an assistant football coach for the Boilermakers from 1948 to 1955 and the head baseball coach from 1951 to 1955. In 1996, Stram and Len Dawson were inducted into
32761-451: Was running around there like it was a Chinese fire drill" , and his assessment of the Vikings' ineffectual play: "You can't do that in OUR league!" . In the clip where he asks a referee "How could all six of you miss that play?" the referee's response leads the confused Stram to mutter, "No. What?" The Super Bowl victory was the second straight by a team from the AFL and added credibility to
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