The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. The league is headquartered in New York City.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Prior to the 1977 season, Tampa Bay switched conferences and divisions with Seattle, becoming a member of the NFC Central division. As a result of the league's realignment prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Emmitt James Smith III is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the league's all-time leading rusher.
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons, he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.
Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history and one of the greatest players of all time. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him: "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Kurtis Eugene Warner is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend from an undrafted free agent to a two-time Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP, is regarded as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NFL history.
Peyton Williams Manning is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with the Denver Broncos. Manning is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the second son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and an older brother of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning. He played college football at Tennessee, where he won the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards as a senior en route to victory in the 1997 SEC Championship.
Randy Gene Moss is an American former professional football player who played as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most talented wide receivers of all time, he holds the NFL single-season touchdown reception record, as well as the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie. All-time, Moss ranks second in career touchdown receptions as well as fourth in career receiving yards. In addition to possessing extraordinary speed at his size and superior leaping ability, he was famously known for often securing spectacular contested catches in tight coverage by physically overpowering defenders. The term "mossed", referring to this ability, has since become a common term in football lexicon.
James Nathaniel Brown was an American football fullback, civil rights activist, and actor. He played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all time, as well as one of the greatest players in NFL history, Brown was a Pro Bowl invitee every season he was in the league, was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times, and won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he held most major rushing records. In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever.
Drew Christopher Brees is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is second in career passing yards, career touchdown passes, career pass attempts, career pass completions, and career completion percentage. He also holds the record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass, breaking the record held by Johnny Unitas for 52 years.
Shannon Sharpe is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he ranks third in tight end receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He was also the first NFL tight end to amass over 10,000 receiving yards.
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. is an American football coach and former player who is the current head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made a World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley to play for the California Golden Bears, where he set several career passing records, including lowest single-season and career interception rates. He was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and played for the Packers from 2005 to 2022. Rodgers is regarded amongst the greatest and most talented quarterbacks of all time.
Brett Lorenzo Favre is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010, including 297 regular season games, the most in league history. He was also the first NFL quarterback to obtain 70,000 yards, 10,000 passes, 6,000 completions, 500 touchdowns, and victories over all 32 teams.
Cameron Jerrell Newton is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL leader in career quarterback rushing touchdowns and second in career quarterback rushing yards. Following a stint with University of Florida, Newton played college football at Auburn University, where he won the Heisman Trophy and 2011 BCS National Championship Game as a junior. He was selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Robert James Gronkowski is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played his final two seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is a four-time Super Bowl champion, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, a four-time First Team All-Pro selection, and was selected in the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Chandler James Jones is an American football defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Arizona Cardinals.
Travis Michael Kelce is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowls LIV and LVII with the team, recording a touchdown reception in both wins. He played college football at Cincinnati.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played college football and baseball at Texas Tech University. Following his sophomore year, he quit baseball to focus solely on football. In his junior year, he led all NCAA Division I FBS players in multiple categories including passing yards (5,052) and total touchdowns (53). He was selected 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft.