The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences in the National Football League (NFL). It currently contains 16 NFL teams organised into four separate divisions and is mirrored by its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC). Both conferences were born out of the groundbreaking American Football League(AFL)-NFL merger in 1970. The NFL’s Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts) formed the AFC with ten of the former AFL teams while the remaining thirteen NFL teams formed the NFC. Team owners failed to agree upon an alignment plan in the NFC; they all wanted to be placed in different divisions before then-NFL commissioner, Peter Rozelle, intervened. It boiled down to the businessmen’s top-five plans being written onto pieces of paper and placed into a glass bowl. Rozelle, as if he was doing the FA Cup draw, picked a piece of paper out of the bowl at random and landed on plan 3.
Since the merger, and initial alignment of teams to divisions, there have been further realignments in 1976, 1995, and 2002: ‘76 saw expansion franchises, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, welcomed into the NFL and placed into the NFC and AFC respectively before switching conferences one season later. The Carolina Panthers joined the NFC in 1995, and the Seahawks then found themselves moved back to the NFC as part of the 2002 realignment.
The only NFC team to have never made a Super Bowl appearance is the Detroit Lions. Since the 2002 realignment, 12 different NFC teams have reached the Super Bowl, suggesting a good deal of parity. The AFC is a different story with just eight different teams reaching the NFL’s title game. This is largely due to the New England Patriots representing the AFC in the Super Bowl a whopping nine times in that period - among their dreaded dynasty in which they won six Super Bowls.
Regarding divisional setups, since 2002, the NFC has remained the same despite team relocations: The St. Louis Cardinals became the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams became the St. Louis Rams, before becoming the Los Angeles Rams once again twenty one years later. Despite the names of divisions being geographical; East, West, North and South, the divisions are not set on officially geographical lines. So, even with teams changing states, their divisions have remained the same.
As is standard in the NFL, every NFC team plays each team in their division twice (home and away) in addition to eleven other games assigned by the NFL. The guaranteed in-division home and away games are where rivalries often lie, as teams battle with each other to win their division, and represent it in the NFL playoffs. At the end of each regular season, the four divisional winners in the NFC and the three wild cards (non-division winners with best records) qualify for the playoffs. The NFC playoffs culminate in the NFC Championship Game, with the victor awarded the George Halas Trophy - named after legendary Chicago Bears owner, coach and player George Halas - and a place in the Super Bowl against the AFC Champion two weeks later. As well as the Super Bowl, the NFC and AFC compete in the Pro Bowl game each season as the ‘team of the year’ around each conference are voted in to play in an all-star flag football game - along with other skill-based competitions - in a fun-filled week devoted to fan engagement and celebrating the achievements of its players and coaches.
The San Francisco 49ers are the reigning champions of the NFC. The NFC currently leads the NFL in Super Bowl wins by just one win with 29 to the AFC’s 28. The most valuable NFC team, the Dallas Cowboys, are also the most valuable team in the NFL - with Forbes valuing them at $9 billion as of 2023. The biggest rivalry in the NFC is also the biggest rivalry in the NFL; the bitter hate between the Packers and Chicago Bears has been a staple of the NFL since its inception. Other great NFC rivalries include the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons, and the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
Looking into 2024; the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles seem to be the teams to beat. While generally considered the weaker conference, both the NFC North and the NFC East feature particularly talented teams capable of winning it all. The 49ers will look to return to the Super Bowl after a painful loss in Super Bowl LVIII, whilst the Detroit Lions are primed to make their first Super Bowl appearance ever. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears may have finally found their quarterback of the future in Caleb Williams - who looks to lead a stacked offense into the 2024 season.
