View source for American Football Conference

{{short description|One of two conferences in the National Football League}}
{{for-multi|the 1940s American football league|All-America Football Conference|the league that operated from 1959 to 1961|American Football Conference (1959–1961)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox sports league
| title           = American Football Conference
| league          = [[National Football League]]
| logo            = American Football Conference logo.svg
| caption         = American Football Conference logo<br>(2010–present)
| pixels          = 150 px
| formerly        = [[American Football League]] (AFL)
| sport           = [[American football]]
| founded         = 1970
| teams           = 16
| most_champs     = [[New England Patriots]] (11 titles)
| champion        = [[Kansas City Chiefs]] (5th title)
}}
The '''American Football Conference''' ('''AFC''') is one of the two [[Athletic conference|conferences]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL), the highest level of professional [[American football]] in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC), each have 16 teams organized into four [[Division (sport)|divisions]]. Both conferences were created as part of the [[AFL–NFL merger|1970 merger]] between the National Football League, and the [[American Football League]] (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the [[Kansas City Chiefs]], who defeated the [[Buffalo Bills]] in the [[2024 NFL season|2024 season]]'s [[AFC Championship Game]] for their fifth conference championship and went on to lose [[Super Bowl LIX]] against the [[Philadelphia Eagles]].

As of 2025 the AFC only 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.

==Teams==
Like the NFC, the conference has 16 teams organized into four [[Division (sport)|divisions]] each with four teams: [[AFC East|East]], [[AFC North|North]], [[AFC South|South]] and [[AFC West|West]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25549819/2019-nfl-pro-bowl-selections-all-32-teams-full-nfc-afc-rosters|title=2019 Pro Bowl selections for every team: Full NFC, AFC rosters|date=December 19, 2018|website=ESPN.com|language=en|access-date=February 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/sports/football/parity-afc-becomes-a-conference-of-haves-and-have-nots.html|title=Parity? A.F.C. Is Made Up of Haves and Have-Nots|last=Stuart|first=Chase|date=December 16, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 23, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/01/02/nfl-playoffs-fatal-flaw-that-could-stop-your-favorite-team-winning-super-bowl/|title=2018 NFL playoffs: The fatal flaw that could stop your favorite team from winning the Super Bowl|website=The Wall Street Journal|author-first1=Neil|author-last1=Greenberg|date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
! Division
! Team
! Stadium
! Location
!Ref(s)
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | [[AFC East|East]]
| '''[[Buffalo Bills]]'''
| [[Highmark Stadium (New York)|Highmark Stadium]]
| [[Orchard Park (town), New York|Orchard Park, New York]]
|<ref name="BillsStadium2">{{cite news|url=http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/A-look-through-history-of-the-home-of-the-Buffalo-Bills-/1ddb40bf-8f16-4b65-83b0-040afc536951|title=A look through history of the home of the Buffalo Bills|last=Baker|first=Kelly|date=August 18, 2016|access-date=August 22, 2016|publisher=Buffalo Bills|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821074722/http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/A-look-through-history-of-the-home-of-the-Buffalo-Bills-/1ddb40bf-8f16-4b65-83b0-040afc536951|archive-date=August 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Miami Dolphins]]'''
| [[Hard Rock Stadium]]
| [[Miami Gardens, Florida]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hardrockstadium.com/faqs/|title=FAQs|publisher=Hard Rock Stadium|access-date=August 19, 2016|quote=What is capacity in the new Stadium? The capacity is being reduced from 76,018 to approximately 65,326 seats.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922231817/http://hardrockstadium.com/faqs|archive-date=September 22, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[New England Patriots]]'''
| [[Gillette Stadium]]
| [[Foxborough, Massachusetts]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gillettestadium.com/venue-information#quickhits|title=Gillette Stadium - Venue Information|publisher=Gillette Stadium|access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[New York Jets]]'''
| [[MetLife Stadium]]
| [[East Rutherford, New Jersey]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metlifestadium.com/stadium/seating-maps|title=MetLife Stadium|date=August 6, 2015|publisher=MetLife Stadium|access-date=August 6, 2015}}</ref>
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | [[AFC North|North]]
| '''[[Baltimore Ravens]]'''
| [[M&T Bank Stadium]]
| [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimoreravens.com/gameday/mt-bank-stadium.html|title=M&T Stadium|date=August 7, 2015|publisher=Baltimore Ravens|access-date=August 7, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Cincinnati Bengals]]'''
| [[Paycor Stadium]]
| [[Cincinnati|Cincinnati, Ohio]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bengals.com/stadium/facts.html|title=Facts and Stats|date=August 7, 2015|publisher=Cincinnati Bengals|access-date=August 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830075100/https://www.bengals.com/stadium/facts.html|archive-date=August 30, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Cleveland Browns]]'''
| [[Huntington Bank Field]]
| [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]]
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 13, 2023 |title=Browns drop agreement with FirstEnergy, change stadium name |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/browns-drop-agreement-with-firstenergy-change-stadium-name |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=NFL.com|agency=Associated Press |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Pittsburgh Steelers]]'''
| [[Acrisure Stadium]]
| [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heinzfield.com/stadium/heinz-field-facts/|title=Heinz Field Facts|date=August 7, 2015|publisher=Heinz Field|access-date=August 7, 2015|archive-date=October 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003160106/http://heinzfield.com/stadium/heinz-field-facts/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | [[AFC South|South]]
| '''[[Houston Texans]]'''
| [[NRG Stadium]]
| [[Houston|Houston, Texas]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nrgpark.com/nrg-stadium|title=NRG Stadium|date=August 7, 2015|publisher=NRG Park|access-date=August 7, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Indianapolis Colts]]'''
| [[Lucas Oil Stadium]]
| [[Indianapolis|Indianapolis, Indiana]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lucasoilstadium.com/about.aspx|title=About|publisher=Lucas Oil Stadium|access-date=August 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306232023/http://lucasoilstadium.com/about.aspx|archive-date=March 6, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Jacksonville Jaguars]]'''
| [[EverBank Stadium]]
| [[Jacksonville, Florida]]
|<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jacksonville.com/sports/20180212/jaguars-announce-tarp-removal-2018-season-ticket-renewal-plan|title=Jaguars announce tarp removal, 2018 season-ticket renewal plan|last=O'Hallaran|first=Ryan|date=February 12, 2018|newspaper=Florida Times-Union|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Tennessee Titans]]'''
| [[Nissan Stadium (Nashville)|Nissan Stadium]]
| [[Nashville, Tennessee]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prod.static.titans.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/mediaguide/2016TennesseeTitansMediaGuide.pdf#page=2 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://prod.static.titans.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/mediaguide/2016TennesseeTitansMediaGuide.pdf#page=2 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Titans Fingertip Information|date=July 21, 2016|work=2016 Tennessee Titans Media Guide|publisher=Tennessee Titans|access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref>
|-
! style=background:white rowspan=4 | [[AFC West|West]]
| '''[[Denver Broncos]]'''
| [[Empower Field at Mile High]]
| [[Denver|Denver, Colorado]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsauthorityfieldatmilehigh.com/stadium-information/about-us/facts-figures|title=Facts - Figures – Sports Authority Field at Mile High|date=August 6, 2015|publisher=Denver Broncos|access-date=August 6, 2015|archive-date=March 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315173809/http://www.sportsauthorityfieldatmilehigh.com/stadium-information/about-us/facts-figures|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Kansas City Chiefs]]'''
| [[Arrowhead Stadium]]
| [[Kansas City, Missouri]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prod.static.chiefs.clubs.nfl.com/assets/pdf/2016/2016MediaGuide.pdf#page=382 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://prod.static.chiefs.clubs.nfl.com/assets/pdf/2016/2016MediaGuide.pdf#page=382 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Homes of the Chiefs|date=August 15, 2016|work=2016 Kansas City Chiefs Media Guide|publisher=Kansas City Chiefs|access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Las Vegas Raiders]]'''
| [[Allegiant Stadium]]
| [[Paradise, Nevada]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prod.static.raiders.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/Oakland-Raiders-Media-Guide.pdf#page=9 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://prod.static.raiders.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/Oakland-Raiders-Media-Guide.pdf#page=9 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Quick Facts|date=August 28, 2015|work=2015 Oakland Raiders Media Guide|publisher=Oakland Raiders|access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[Los Angeles Chargers]]'''
|[[SoFi Stadium]]
| [[Inglewood, California]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiego.gov/qualcomm/about/factguide.shtml|title=Stadium Fact Guide|date=August 7, 2015|publisher=City of San Diego|access-date=August 7, 2015|archive-date=November 18, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118112146/http://www.sandiego.gov/qualcomm/about/factguide.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|}

==Season structure==
<!--Table must be updated for AFC champions-->
{{main|NFL regular season|NFL playoffs}}

<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:375px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|-
! {{abbr|POS|Position}} !! AFC East !! AFC North !! AFC South !! AFC West
|-
| 1st || style="background-color:#ffaa00"|[[Buffalo Bills|Bills]] || style="background-color:#ffaa00"|[[Baltimore Ravens|Ravens]] || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Houston Texans|Texans]] || style="background-color:#00ff00"|[[Kansas City Chiefs|Chiefs]]
|-
| 2nd || [[Miami Dolphins|Dolphins]] || [[Pittsburgh Steelers|Steelers]] || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Indianapolis Colts|Colts]] || style="background-color:#add8e6"|[[Los Angeles Chargers|Chargers]]
|-
| 3rd || [[New York Jets|Jets]] || [[Cincinnati Bengals|Bengals]] || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Jacksonville Jaguars|Jaguars]] || style="background-color:#add8e6"|[[Denver Broncos|Broncos]]
|-
| 4th || [[New England Patriots|Patriots]] || [[Cleveland Browns|Browns]] || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Tennessee Titans|Titans]] || style="background-color:#add8e6"|[[Las Vegas Raiders|Raiders]]
|-
! {{abbr|POS|Position}} !! NFC East !! NFC North !! NFC South !! NFC West
|-
| 1st || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Philadelphia Eagles|Eagles]] || style="background-color:#ffcccc"|[[Detroit Lions|Lions]] || [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers|Buccaneers]] || [[Los Angeles Rams|Rams]]
|-
| 2nd || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Washington Commanders|Commanders]] || [[Minnesota Vikings|Vikings]] || [[Atlanta Falcons|Falcons]] || [[Seattle Seahawks|Seahawks]]
|-
| 3rd || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[Dallas Cowboys|Cowboys]] || [[Green Bay Packers|Packers]] || [[Carolina Panthers|Panthers]] || [[Arizona Cardinals|Cardinals]]
|-
| 4th || style="background-color:#ffff00"|[[New York Giants|Giants]] || [[Chicago Bears|Bears]] || [[New Orleans Saints|Saints]] || [[San Francisco 49ers|49ers]]
|}
<div class="thumbcaption">
This chart of the [[2024 NFL season#Regular season standings|2024 season standings]] displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula. The [[2024 Kansas City Chiefs season|Chiefs in 2024]] (highlighted in green) finished in first place in the [[AFC West]]. Thus, [[2025 Kansas City Chiefs season|in 2025]], the Chiefs will play two games against each of its division rivals (highlighted in light blue), one game against each team in the [[AFC South]] and [[NFC East]] (highlighted in yellow), and one game each against the first-place finishers in the [[AFC East]], [[AFC North]] (highlighted in orange) and [[NFC North]] (highlighted in pink).</div>
</div>
</div>
Currently, the fourteen opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a predetermined formula:

Each AFC team plays the other teams in their respective division twice (home and away) during the regular season, in addition to eleven other games assigned to their schedule by the NFL: three games are assigned on the basis of a particular team's final divisional standing from the previous season, and the remaining eight games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions. This assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2023 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC East and NFC North. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the three games assigned based on the team's prior-season divisional standing.

At the end of each season, the four division winners and three [[Wild card (sports)|wild cards]] (non-division winners with best regular season record) in the AFC qualify for the [[NFL playoffs|playoffs]]. The AFC playoffs culminate in the [[AFC Championship Game]], with the winner receiving the [[Lamar Hunt]] Trophy. The AFC champion then plays the [[National Football Conference|NFC]] champion in the [[Super Bowl]]. As of 2025 the AFC representative team has won the Super Bowl 27 out of the 55 total editions, with the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] being the most recent AFC Super Bowl winner in [[Super Bowl LVIII|2024]]. The [[New England Patriots]] have won the most AFC championships with 11, and share the record for the most Super Bowls won by a member of the conference with the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] who won 8 AFC championships with 6. 

==History==
[[File:Oldafclogo.JPG|thumb|right|150px|Original American Football Conference logo, based on the AFL logo with blue stars]]
With the impending [[AFL–NFL merger|merger]] with the [[American Football League]] (AFL) for the [[1970 NFL season]], the league had careful discussion over the nature of which teams would play in the newly instituted conferences. Then-NFL President and owner of the [[Cleveland Browns]] [[Art Modell]] had suggested of a format in which three teams from the NFL would move to the AFC to create two thirteen-team conferences. But negotiations between NFL commissioner [[Pete Rozelle]] and other owners was rampant in who would move (for his part, Modell had first assumed the three most recent expansion NFL teams - [[Minnesota Vikings]], [[Atlanta Falcons]], [[New Orleans Saints]] would be the ones to move to the AFC), since others wanted to simply have no realignment of NFL teams.<ref name="s806">{{Cite web |last=Clayton |first=John |title=When Modell took one for the league |url=http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/clayton_john/1202791.html |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=ESPN.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=x-fo055624a&article_id=608&chapter_id=13&chapter_title=Sports&article_title=Pro_Football_History|title=Pro Football – History|access-date=April 3, 2009|archive-date=January 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104075832/http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=x-fo055624a&article_id=608&chapter_id=13&chapter_title=Sports&article_title=Pro_Football_History|url-status=dead}}</ref> The AFL had begun play in 1960 with eight teams before adding two more expansion clubs (the [[Miami Dolphins]] in 1966 and the [[Cincinnati Bengals]] in 1968) before the merger.

Modell was hospitalized for internal bleeding around the time negotiations were still going. Moreover, Modell was struggling to service the debt he incurred from his purchase of the Browns. Furthermore, he realized there was an opportunity to establish a [[Bengals-Browns rivalry|lucrative in-state rivalry]] with the newly established Bengals, who had been founded by [[Paul Brown]] after Modell had forced him out of Cleveland after purchasing the team.

When Modell was visited in the hospital by [[Art Rooney]] (owner of the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]) and [[Wellington Mara]] (owner of the [[New York Giants]]), Modell offered to have his franchise move to the AFC, provided two other "old guard" franchises did so as well and the three affected teams to move were adequately compensated for joining what was still looked down on in NFL circles as a "junior" or "inferior" circuit. Not wanting to lose his [[Browns-Steelers rivalry|long-established rivalry]] with Cleveland, the equally cash-strapped Rooney quickly agreed to join the Browns in the AFC. The other NFL owner to ultimately agree to move was the [[Baltimore Colts]]' [[Carroll Rosenbloom]].

Thus, in order to equalize the number of teams in each conference, three NFL teams that predated the AFL's launch (the [[Cleveland Browns]], [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], and the then-[[Baltimore Colts]]) joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC in exchange for $3 million each in indemnities, with the announcement coming on May 10, 1969.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/on-this-day-in-1969-a-brand-new-nfl-took-shape-0ap3000001113428 |title=On this day in 1969, a brand-new NFL took shape |publisher=National Football League |date=May 10, 2020 |access-date=February 10, 2025}}</ref> The two AFL divisions [[AFL East]] and [[AFL West]] were more or less intact, while the NFL's [[National Football League Century Division|Century Division]], in which the Browns and the Steelers had played since 1967, was moved from the NFL to become the new AFC Central. Upon the completion of the merger of the AFL and NFL in 1970, the newly minted American Football Conference had already agreed upon their divisional setup along mostly geographical lines for the [[1970 NFL season|1970 season]]; the National Football Conference, however, could not agree upon their setup, and one was chosen from a fishbowl on January 16, 1970.

Since the merger, five expansion teams have joined the AFC and two have left, thus making the current total 16. When the [[Seattle Seahawks]] and the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] joined the league in 1976, they were temporarily placed in the NFC and AFC respectively. This arrangement lasted for one season only before the two teams switched conferences. The Seahawks eventually returned to the NFC as a result of the [[2002 NFL season#Expansion and realignment|2002 realignment]]. The expansion [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] joined the AFC in 1995. There have been five teams that have relocated at least once. In 1984, the [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]] [[Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis|relocated]] to Indianapolis. In 1995, the [[Cleveland Browns]] had attempted to move to Baltimore; the resulting [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|dispute]] between Cleveland and the team led to Modell establishing the [[Baltimore Ravens]] with the players and personnel from the Browns, while the Browns were placed in suspended operations before they were reinstated by the NFL. The Ravens were treated as an expansion team.

In [[California]], the [[Oakland Raiders]] relocated to [[Los Angeles]] in 1982, back to Oakland in 1995, and then to [[Las Vegas]] in 2020, while the [[History of the San Diego Chargers|San Diego Chargers]] returned to [[Los Angeles]] in 2017 after 56 years in [[San Diego]].

The [[History of the Houston Oilers|Houston Oilers]] moved to [[Tennessee]] in 1997, where they were renamed the Tennessee Oilers. The team would change its name again, two years later, to the [[Tennessee Titans]].

The NFL would again expand in 2002, adding the [[Houston Texans]] to the AFC. With the exception of the aforementioned relocations since that time, the divisional setup has remained static ever since.

Between 1995 and 2022, the AFC has sent only 9 of its 16 teams to the [[Super Bowl]]: [[New England Patriots]] (10 times), [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] (4 times), [[Denver Broncos]] (4 times), [[Baltimore Ravens]] (2 times), [[Indianapolis Colts]] (2 times), [[Kansas City Chiefs]] (3 times), [[Cincinnati Bengals]] (1 time), [[Las Vegas Raiders]] (1 time), [[Tennessee Titans]] (1 time). By contrast, the [[National Football Conference|NFC]] has sent 13 of the 16 NFC teams during that same time frame with only the [[Detroit Lions]], [[Minnesota Vikings]], and [[Washington Commanders]] missing out on an appearance in the [[Super Bowl]]. 17 of the 19 AFC champions from 2001 to 2019 have started one of just three quarterbacks - [[Tom Brady]], [[Peyton Manning]] and [[Ben Roethlisberger]] - in the Super Bowl. The AFC has started 7 quarterbacks in the last 20 Super Bowls, while the NFC has started 16.

==Logo==
[[Image:American Football Conference logo old.svg|right|thumb|2nd American Football Conference logo used from 1970 to 2009|216x216px]] The original AFC logo was very similar to the AFL logo, however the merged league quickly created an updated logo for the AFC that, while preserving the basic elements of the old AFL logo, used a much bolder red "A" and six similarly bold red stars surrounding it, in contrast to the six blue AFL stars. The league also created a logo for the NFC in 1970, which like the AFL and AFC logos also contained only the first letter as opposed to a full abbreviation, but with only three stars (to represent the then-three divisions of the Conference). The AFC logo basically remained unchanged from 1970 to 2009. The 2010 NFL season introduced an updated AFC logo, with the most notable revision being the removal of two stars (leaving four representing the four divisions of the AFC), and moving the stars inside the letter, similar to the NFC logo, which itself was updated at the same time to add a fourth star.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uniwatchblog.com/2010/03/02/but-i-absolutely-refuse-to-write-about-the-draft-caps/ |title=But I Absolutely Refuse to Write About the Draft Caps |author=Paul Lukas |publisher=Uni Watch blog |access-date=April 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506134900/http://www.uniwatchblog.com/2010/03/02/but-i-absolutely-refuse-to-write-about-the-draft-caps/ |archive-date=May 6, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

Notably, the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] (still owned by the descendants of AFL founder [[Lamar Hunt]]) continue to regularly feature the original AFL logo on their jerseys as of {{year}}.

==Television==
[[NFL on NBC|NBC]] aired the AFC's Sunday afternoon and playoff games from 1970 through the 1997 season. From 1998 to 2013, [[NFL on CBS|CBS]] was the primary broadcast rightsholder to the AFC; in those years, all interconference games in which the AFC team was the visiting team were broadcast on either NBC or CBS. Since 2014, the cross-flex policy allows select AFC games (that involve them playing an NFC team at home or intraconference games) to be moved from CBS to Fox. Since 1990, select AFC playoff games have been seen on ABC or ESPN.

==See also==
*[[AFC Championship Game]]
*[[National Football Conference]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{National Football League}}
{{Navboxes|list=
{{Baltimore Ravens}}
{{Buffalo Bills}}
{{Cincinnati Bengals}}
{{Cleveland Browns}}
{{Denver Broncos}}
{{Houston Texans}}
{{Indianapolis Colts}}
{{Jacksonville Jaguars}}
{{Kansas City Chiefs}}
{{Las Vegas Raiders}}
{{Los Angeles Chargers}}
{{Miami Dolphins}}
{{New England Patriots}}
{{New York Jets}}
{{Pittsburgh Steelers}}
{{Tennessee Titans}}
}}

[[Category:National Football League]]
[[Category:American Football League|Conference]]
[[Category:Sports organizations established in 1970]]