The NFL: A Comprehensive Guide
Richard WeissKey Takeaways
- The NFL has 32 teams: 16 in the AFC and 16 in the NFC, with four divisions of four teams in each conference.
- Each team plays 17 regular-season games over 18 weeks with one bye week. The 2026 regular season runs from September 9, 2026 to January 10, 2027.
- Fourteen teams make the playoffs, seven per conference: four division winners and three wild cards. The top seed in each conference gets a first-round bye.
- The Seattle Seahawks are the reigning champions. They beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026.
- Topps, owned by Fanatics, became the exclusive NFL trading card licensee on April 1, 2026. Panini held the license from 2016 until March 31, 2026.
Table of Contents
The National Football League (NFL) is the top professional American football league. It has 32 teams split evenly between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), and each team plays 17 regular-season games. Below are all 32 teams by division, how the schedule and playoffs work, the 2026 international games, and who makes NFL trading cards today.
NFL at a Glance
The league was founded on September 17, 1920 in Canton, Ohio, and took the National Football League name on June 24, 1922. Each conference has four divisions (East, North, South and West) of four teams. The commissioner is Roger Goodell. The 2026 season is the league's 107th.
NFL Teams by Division
Stadium names below match each team's profile on the league's site as of October 6, 2026. Changes since this guide was first written include Northwest Stadium (Commanders), Huntington Bank Field (Browns), EverBank Stadium (Jaguars), Reliant Stadium (Texans) and Arrowhead Stadium (Chiefs).
NFC
| Division | Team | Stadium | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFC East | Dallas Cowboys | AT&T Stadium | Arlington, TX |
| NFC East | New York Giants | MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, NJ |
| NFC East | Philadelphia Eagles | Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia, PA |
| NFC East | Washington Commanders | Northwest Stadium | Landover, MD |
| NFC North | Chicago Bears | Soldier Field | Chicago, IL |
| NFC North | Detroit Lions | Ford Field | Detroit, MI |
| NFC North | Green Bay Packers | Lambeau Field | Green Bay, WI |
| NFC North | Minnesota Vikings | U.S. Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, MN |
| NFC South | Atlanta Falcons | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, GA |
| NFC South | Carolina Panthers | Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, NC |
| NFC South | New Orleans Saints | Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, LA |
| NFC South | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, FL |
| NFC West | Arizona Cardinals | State Farm Stadium | Glendale, AZ |
| NFC West | Los Angeles Rams | SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, CA |
| NFC West | San Francisco 49ers | Levi's Stadium | Santa Clara, CA |
| NFC West | Seattle Seahawks | Lumen Field | Seattle, WA |
AFC
| Division | Team | Stadium | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC East | Buffalo Bills | Highmark Stadium | Orchard Park, NY |
| AFC East | Miami Dolphins | Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Gardens, FL |
| AFC East | New England Patriots | Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, MA |
| AFC East | New York Jets | MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, NJ |
| AFC North | Baltimore Ravens | M&T Bank Stadium | Baltimore, MD |
| AFC North | Cincinnati Bengals | Paycor Stadium | Cincinnati, OH |
| AFC North | Cleveland Browns | Huntington Bank Field | Cleveland, OH |
| AFC North | Pittsburgh Steelers | Acrisure Stadium | Pittsburgh, PA |
| AFC South | Houston Texans | Reliant Stadium | Houston, TX |
| AFC South | Indianapolis Colts | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, IN |
| AFC South | Jacksonville Jaguars | EverBank Stadium | Jacksonville, FL |
| AFC South | Tennessee Titans | Nissan Stadium | Nashville, TN |
| AFC West | Denver Broncos | Empower Field at Mile High | Denver, CO |
| AFC West | Kansas City Chiefs | Arrowhead Stadium | Kansas City, MO |
| AFC West | Las Vegas Raiders | Allegiant Stadium | Paradise, NV |
| AFC West | Los Angeles Chargers | SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, CA |
NFL Schedule Overview
The regular season is 18 weeks and 272 games. Each team plays 17 games and gets one bye week. The league adopted the 17-game schedule in March 2021.
- Regular season: the 2026 season began on September 9, 2026, when the Seahawks beat the Patriots in the NFL Kickoff Game. It ends on January 10, 2027.
- Division games: each team plays its three division rivals twice. The other 11 games are set by a fixed formula.
- Playoffs: the 2026 playoffs begin on January 16, 2027.
- Super Bowl LXI: February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl
The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament. Since the 2020 season, seven teams from each conference qualify: the four division winners and three wild card teams. The top seed in each conference gets a first-round bye. The AFC and NFC champions meet in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots and the Steelers share the record with six Super Bowl wins each. The five most recent Super Bowls:
| Super Bowl | Winner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LX (Feb. 8, 2026) | Seattle Seahawks | New England Patriots | 29-13 |
| LIX (Feb. 9, 2025) | Philadelphia Eagles | Kansas City Chiefs | 40-22 |
| LVIII (Feb. 11, 2024) | Kansas City Chiefs | San Francisco 49ers | 25-22 |
| LVII (Feb. 12, 2023) | Kansas City Chiefs | Philadelphia Eagles | 38-35 |
| LVI (Feb. 13, 2022) | Los Angeles Rams | Cincinnati Bengals | 23-20 |
NFL International Games in 2026
The 2026 schedule has a record nine international games, including the first regular-season games in Australia and France. Dates are local, and the Melbourne game fell on September 10 in U.S. time zones.
| Date (2026) | Game | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 11 | 49ers at Rams | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne |
| Sept. 27 | Ravens at Cowboys | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro |
| Oct. 4 | Colts at Commanders | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London |
| Oct. 11 | Eagles at Jaguars | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London |
| Oct. 18 | Texans at Jaguars | Wembley Stadium, London |
| Oct. 25 | Steelers at Saints | Stade de France, Paris |
| Nov. 8 | Bengals at Falcons | Bernabéu, Madrid |
| Nov. 15 | Patriots at Lions | Allianz Arena, Munich |
| Nov. 22 | Vikings at 49ers | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
Who Makes NFL Trading Cards?
Topps, owned by Fanatics, became the NFL's exclusive trading card licensee on April 1, 2026. Panini held the exclusive license from 2016 until March 31, 2026, so licensed NFL Prizm, Donruss Optic and National Treasures sets ended with the 2025 season products. Panini football cards made after that date are not NFL licensed and carry no team logos.
The first product under the Topps license was 2025 Topps Chrome Football, released April 15, 2026. 2026 Topps Flagship Football followed on August 21, 2026, and 2026 Topps Heritage Football is set for October 21, 2026. Topps also added the 1/1 Rookie PREM1ERE Patch Autograph, made with a patch worn in the player's first regular-season NFL game. See every date in our 2026 sports card release calendar.
Browse our football cards, learn what a rookie card and an RPA are, or see the top 10 most valuable football cards of all time. We also have guides to MLB and the NBA.
Sources
- NFL teams and team profiles: stadium names (NFL.com)
- Super Bowl history (NFL.com)
- NFL international games (NFL.com)
- National Football League: divisions, cities, founding, schedule format (Wikipedia)
- 2026 NFL season (Wikipedia)
- NFL playoffs (Wikipedia)
- Super Bowl LX (Wikipedia)
- List of Super Bowl champions (Wikipedia)
- Fanatics-owned Topps becomes NFL's exclusive trading card licensee (FOX Sports)
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