533 articles
National Football League
National Football League (NFL), 32-team American professional football league founded 1920 as the APFA in Canton, Ohio; merged with the AFL in 1966-1970; Super Bowl champion; 17-game season, record nine international games in 2026.
New Broncos Stadium
New Broncos Stadium: planned privately funded retractable-roof NFL stadium for the Denver Broncos at Burnham Yard, Denver, announced 2025, targeting the 2031 season with a mixed-use district.
New Chiefs Stadium
New Chiefs Stadium: planned $3 billion domed NFL stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, near Kansas Speedway, home of the Kansas City Chiefs from the 2031 season, replacing Arrowhead Stadium; 70,000 seats, STAR-bond financed.
New England Patriots
New England Patriots, formerly Boston Patriots (1959-1970), NFL team in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Six Super Bowl wins (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII), 12 appearances, Brady-Belichick dynasty, owned by Robert Kraft since 1994.
New Huntington Bank Field
New Huntington Bank Field, also called the new Huntington Bank Field enclosed stadium, is the Cleveland Browns' $2.4-2.6 billion domed stadium under construction in Brook Park, Ohio since April 2026, opening 2029 with 67,500 seats.
New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints, NFL franchise founded November 1, 1966 as the league's 16th team; based in New Orleans, home of the Superdome, winners of Super Bowl XLIV (2009 season), owned by Gayle Benson, coached by Kellen Moore.
New Orleans Saints bounty scandal
New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, or Bountygate: NFL case over a 2009-2011 Saints pay-for-performance pool run under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, paying $1,500 knockouts and $1,000 cart-offs; coach suspensions stood, player suspensions were vacated.
New Stadium at RFK Campus
New Stadium at RFK Campus: proposed 65,000-seat roofed Washington Commanders NFL stadium in Washington, D.C., on the former RFK Stadium site, part of a $3.7 billion redevelopment after the 2025 federal land transfer, targeted to open in 2030.
New York Giants
New York Giants, NFL franchise founded 1925 by Tim Mara for $500; four NFL titles (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four Super Bowls (XXI, XXV, XLII, XLVI); plays at MetLife Stadium; John Harbaugh named 21st head coach in 2026.
New York Jets
New York Jets, NFL AFC East team at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.; began 1960 as AFL's New York Titans, renamed Jets 1963; won Super Bowl III (16-7 over Colts, Jan. 12, 1969) behind Joe Namath; longest active NFL playoff drought since 2010.
New York Yanks
The New York Yanks were an NFL franchise at Yankee Stadium for the 1950 and 1951 seasons, continuing the Boston Yanks and New York Bulldogs lineage.
NFC Championship Game
NFC Championship Game: annual NFL playoff game deciding the National Football Conference champion since 1970, created by the AFL-NFL merger; winner advances to the Super Bowl; 49ers hold most appearances (17).
NFC East
The NFC East, formerly the NFL Capitol Division, is an NFC division comprising the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, and Commanders, each of which has won a Super Bowl.
NFC North
NFC North: NFL division of the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings, created in the 2002 realignment from the former NFC Central; Packers hold four Super Bowl titles, Bears one.
NFC South
NFC South: NFL division formed in 2002 realignment with the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers. Saints lead with 8 division titles; Panthers are 2025 champions at 8-9.
NFC West
NFC West: NFL division with the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks, and Cardinals. In 2025 Seattle went 14-3, won Super Bowl LX 29-13 over New England, and the division led the NFL at 29-15 outside it.
NFL draft
NFL draft: the league's annual seven-round selection meeting, also called the player selection meeting. Reverse-order-of-finish picks, 1936 origin under Bert Bell, compensatory picks, and pick value charts.
NFL International Series
NFL International Series: the NFL's regular-season games played outside the US, launched 2007 at Wembley (Giants 13, Dolphins 10); 62 such games by 2026, spanning London, Mexico City, Munich, Madrid, São Paulo, Dublin, and more.
NFL on Thanksgiving Day
NFL on Thanksgiving Day: annual NFL regular-season games on the Thanksgiving holiday, played since 1920; Detroit Lions (since 1934) and Dallas Cowboys (since 1966) host a fixed doubleheader, with a third prime-time game added in 2006.
NFL Players Association
NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the labor union for NFL players founded in 1956; over 2,000 members, CBA through 2030, president Jalen Reeves-Maybin, executive director JC Tretter since March 2026.
NFL playoffs
NFL playoffs: the league's 14-team, seven-per-conference single-elimination postseason ending in the Super Bowl. Began with a 1932 tiebreaker game and 1933 championship game; expanded from 12 to 14 teams in 2020, with only No. 1 seeds getting byes.
NFL Protector of the Year
NFL Protector of the Year: annual NFL award for the league's best offensive lineman, created in 2025 after advocacy by Dion Dawkins and Andrew Whitworth; first winner, Bears guard Joe Thuney, February 2026.
NFL regular season
NFL regular season: 18-week, 272-game schedule; each of 32 teams plays 17 games plus one bye, format adopted 2021 after 16-game era since 1978; determines 14 playoff teams.
NFL Scouting Combine
NFL Scouting Combine, or National Invitational Camp: annual four-day, invitation-only evaluation of top NFL draft-eligible college players in Indianapolis since 1987, begun in Tampa in 1982, testing medicals, drills, and the Wonderlic.
NFL Top 100
NFL Top 100: annual player-voted ranking of the NFL's 100 best players, run by NFL Films since 2011, now an X series; players list top 20 peers; Brady No. 1 four times, Garrett top in 2026.
NFL Top 100 Players of 2024
NFL Top 100 Players of 2024: 14th annual player-voted NFL Films/NFL Network countdown, revealed July 22-Aug. 2, 2024. Tyreek Hill became the first wide receiver voted No. 1; Lamar Jackson No. 2, McCaffrey No. 3, Mahomes No. 4.
NFL Top 100 Players of 2025
NFL Top 100 Players of 2025: 15th annual player-voted NFL Films ranking. Saquon Barkley was No. 1, the first running back atop the list since Adrian Peterson in 2013; ten Eagles made the list.
NFL Top 100 Players of 2026
NFL Top 100 Players of 2026: player-voted NFL.com ranking for the 2026 season. Myles Garrett No. 1 after a record 23-sack, second DPOY season and trade to the Rams; Stafford No. 4, Allen No. 2, Rams had seven players.
NFL uniform numbers
NFL uniform numbers: position-based jersey numbering under Rule 5. Eligible receivers wear 1-49 or 80-89; 2021 expansion and 2023 legalization of No. 0 broadened the ranges.
Northwest Stadium
Northwest Stadium, formerly FedExField and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, is the Washington Commanders' NFL stadium in Landover, Maryland, opened 1997; renamed 2024 via Northwest Federal Credit Union deal, with a new DC stadium planned for 2030.