1932 edit
Boston Braves enfranchised
Prividence Steam Rollers cease operations
Cleveland Indians cease operations
Frankford Yellow Jackets cease operations
| NFL | |
|---|---|
| Boston Braves | Green Bay Packers |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | New York Giants |
| Chicago Bears | Portsmouth Spartans |
| Chicago Cardinals | Staten Island Stapletons |
1933 edit
League split into Eastern and Western Divisions
Pittsburgh Pirates enfranchised
Philadelphia Eagles enfranchised
Cincinnati Reds enfranchised
Boston Braves renamed Boston Redskins
Staten Island Stapletons cease operations
1934 edit
Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit; renamed the Lions
Cincinnati Reds cease operations during season, and are replaced by the St Louis Gunners for the final 3 games.
1935-1936 edit
Neither Cincinnati Reds nor St. Louis Gunners return for 1935 season.
| NFL | Eastern Division | Western Division |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Chicago Bears | |
| New York Giants | Chicago Cardinals | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Detroit Lions | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Green Bay Packers | |
| Boston Redskins |
1937-1939 edit
Cleveland Rams enfranchised
Boston Redskins move to Washington, D.C.
1940-1942 edit
Pittsburgh Pirates renamed Pittsburgh Steelers
1943 edit
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh merge to form "Phil-Pitt"
Cleveland Rams suspend operations for one season
| NFL | Eastern Division | Western Division |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Chicago Bears | |
| New York Giants | Chicago Cardinals | |
| Phil-Pitt | Detroit Lions | |
| Washington Redskins | Green Bay Packers |
1944 edit
Boston Yanks enfranchised
Brooklyn Dodgers renamed Brooklyn Tigers
Cleveland Rams resume operations
Steagles end merger, split into Steelers and Eagles
Steelers merge with Cardinals to form "Card-Pitt"
| NFL | Eastern Division | Western Division |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Yanks | Chicago Bears | |
| Brooklyn Tigers | "Card-Pitt" | |
| New York Giants | Cleveland Rams | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Detroit Lions | |
| Washington Redskins | Green Bay Packers |
1945 edit
Card-Pitt splits into Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers
Brooklyn Tigers merge with Boston Yanks; named simply "The Yanks"
1946 edit
Brooklyn Tigers cease operations; Boston Yanks resume normal operations
Cleveland Rams move to Los Angeles
1949 edit
Boston Yanks cease operations
New York Bulldogs enfranchised from the remains of the now-defunct Boston Yanks
1950 edit
Eastern Division renamed to American Conference
Western Division renamed to National Conference
San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Colts all enfranchised from now-defunct All American Football Conference.
New York Bulldogs change name to New York Yanks, move to National Conference
Chicago Cardinals move to American Conference
1951 edit
Baltimore Colts cease operations
1952 edit
New York Yanks cease operations
Dallas Texans enfranchised with the remains of the now-defunct New York Yanks
1953-1959 edit
American Conference renamed the Eastern Conference
National Conference renamed the Western Conference
Dallas Texans cease operations
Baltimore Colts enfranchised with the remains of the now-defunct Texans
1960 edit
AFL begins operations
Dallas Cowboys enfranchised
Chicago Cardinals move to St. Louis
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Patriots | Denver Broncos | |
| Buffalo Bills | Dallas Texans | |
| Houston Oilers | Oakland Raiders | |
| New York Titans | Los Angeles Chargers |
1961-1962 edit
Minnesota Vikings enfranchised
Los Angeles Chargers move to San Diego
Dallas Cowboys move to Eastern Division
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Patriots | Denver Broncos | |
| Buffalo Bills | Dallas Texans | |
| Houston Oilers | Oakland Raiders | |
| New York Titans | San Diego Chargers |
1963-1965 edit
Dallas Texans move to Kansas City; renamed the Chiefs
New York Titans renamed New York Jets
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Patriots | Denver Broncos | |
| Buffalo Bills | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Houston Oilers | Oakland Raiders | |
| New York Jets | San Diego Chargers |
1966 edit
Atlanta Falcons enfranchised
Miami Dolphins enfranchised
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Patriots | Denver Broncos | |
| Buffalo Bills | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Houston Oilers | Oakland Raiders | |
| Miami Dolphins | San Diego Chargers | |
| New York Jets |
1967 edit
NFL Eastern Conference divided into Capitol and Century Divisions
NFL Western Conference divided into Coastal and Century Divisions
New Orleans Saints enfranchised
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Denver Broncos | |
| Miami Dolphins | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Boston Patriots | Oakland Raiders | |
| New York Jets | San Diego Chargers | |
| Houston Oilers |
1968 edit
Cincinnati Bengals are enfranchised
New York Giants move to Capitol Division
New Orleans moves to Century Division
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Denver Broncos | |
| Miami Dolphins | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Boston Patriots | Oakland Raiders | |
| New York Jets | San Diego Chargers | |
| Houston Oilers | Cincinnati Bengals |
1969 edit
New York Giants move to Century Division
New Orleans moves to Capitol Division
| AFL | Eastern | Western |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Denver Broncos | |
| Miami Dolphins | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Boston Patriots | Oakland Raiders | |
| New York Jets | San Diego Chargers | |
| Houston Oilers | Cincinnati Bengals |
1970 edit
AFL-NFL Merger
- AFL Eastern Division becomes AFC East
- NFL Century Division becomes AFC Central
- AFL Western Division becomes AFC West
- NFL Capitol Division becomes NFC East
- NFL Central Division becomes NFC Central
- NFL Coastal Division becomes NFC West
Baltimore moved to AFC East Houston moves to AFC Central Cincinnati moves to AFC Central St. Louis moves to NFC East New York Giants move to NFC East New Orleans moves to NFC West
1971-1975 edit
Boston Patriots move to Foxborough; are renamed New England Patriots.
1976 edit
Seattle Seahawks are enfranchised.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are enfranchised
1977-1981 edit
Seattle moves from NFC West to AFC West Tampa Bay moves from AFC West to NFC Central
1982-1983 edit
Oakland Raiders move to Los Angeles
1984-1987 edit
Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis
1988-1993 edit
St. Louis Cardinals move to Phoenix
1994 edit
Phoenix Cardinals renamed Arizona Cardinals
1995 edit
Jacksonville Jaguars enfranchised
Carolina Panthers enfranchised
Los Angeles Raiders move back to Oakland
Los Angeles Rams move to St. Louis
1996 edit
Cleveland Browns franchise deactivated
Baltimore Ravens enfranchised with remains of deactivated Cleveland Browns
1997-1998 edit
Houston Oilers move to Tennessee
1999-2001 edit
Cleveland Browns franchise reinstated
Tennessee Oilers renamed Tennessee Titans
2002-present edit
NFC Central renamed NFC North
AFC Central renamed AFC North
NFC South created
AFC South created
Houston Texans enfranchised