National Football League (Dixie Forever)

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the Western Football Conference (WFC). The NFL is one of the five major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL's 18-week regular season runs from early September to late December, with each team playing 18 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Union Bowl (called Yankee Bowl in the Confederate States), which is usually held in the last Sunday in January, and then the winner of the Dixie Bowl and the Yankee Bowl compete on the first Sunday in February, and is played between the champions of the UFC and CFC.

The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the Western Football League (WFL) in 1966, and the first Union Bowl was held at the end of that season; the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL 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 is among the biggest club sporting events in the world and individual Super Bowl games account for many of the most watched television programs in American history, all occupying the Nielsen's Top 5 tally of the all-time most watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015. The NFL's executive officer is the commissioner, who has broad authority in governing the league.

The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen (nine NFL titles before the Super Bowl era, and four Super Bowl championships afterwards); the team with the most Super Bowl championships is the Pittsburgh Steelers with six. The current NFL champions are the Philadelphia Eagles, who defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, their first Super Bowl championship after winning three NFL titles before the Super Bowl era.