NFL fans are a passionate bunch. They love to talk about their favorite teams and players, and they love to learn new things about the sport. In this article, we will provide 20 NFL facts that will impress your friends!
We’ll include regular stats as well as some interesting trivia that you can share with others. So sit back, relax, and get ready to become an NFL expert!
Top 10 Facts About the NFL – Editor’s Choice
- The first female referee to officiate a Super Bowl is Sarah Thomas.
- The Green Bay Packers have held the same name since 1919.
- The Dallas Cowboys are the team with the most official matches won.
- There are only four teams that never played in the Super Bowl.
- Tom Brady and Drew Brees are the only two players to reach 80,000 in passing yards.
- Super Bowl LVI was viewed by more than 100 million people.
- The New Orleans Saints won the first and only Super Bowl they appeared in.
- Mark Moseley Is the only special teams player ever to have won an MVP title.
- Tom Dempsey held the record for the longest field goal for 43 years.
- Ben Roethlisberger is the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl.
1. The Oldest Teams in the NFL
(Oldest)
The National Football League was founded in 1920. The oldest team that still competes in the NFL is the Arizona Cardinals. This team was founded in 1898 as Morgan Athletic Club.
Alongside the Cardinals, The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears are the oldest franchises in the NFL. They were both founded in 1919 and joined the league in 1921 and 1920, respectively.
What makes the Packers unique is the fact that this NFL team has held the same name since it was founded in 1919.
2. The Patriots Complete a Season Undefeated
(NBC Sports)
In 2007, the New England Patriots became the first team to go undefeated in a 16-game regular season. They ultimately lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
The other team that made it through the season without losing a game was the Miami Dolphins who made a score of 14 wins without a loss in 1972.
3. The Most Valuable Player of 1982
(The New York Times)
In 1982, the Washington Redskins’ kicker Mark Moseley won the MVP title after securing his team a place in the Super Bowl. Mosley’s clutch field goals cleared the Redskins way to the title.
What makes this one of the most remarkable NFL football facts is that Moseley is the only placekicker in history to win the MVP title.
In fact, he is the first special teams player to be nominated at that point. Moseley also broke the NFL record for most consecutive field goals without a miss.
4. Highest Revenue in the NFL
(Statista)
The Dallas Cowboys had the highest registered revenue in 2021. The Cowboys made $1.09 billion out of the $17.19 billion gross revenue for all teams in the NFL.
The average value of an NFL franchise has almost doubled since 2016, and in 2022, it’s up to a whopping $4,46 billion.
5. Super Bowl Ads Costs Have Reached $6.5 Million
(Statista)
Super Bowl ads have been a phenomenon in their own right. The most valuable slot in advertising has been on the rise in recent years.
The value for a 30-second ad has gone up to $6.5 million. In comparison, you need to allocate about $115,000 from your budget for an ad on prime TV.
6. First Female Referee to Officiate a Super Bowl
(NFL)
Sarah Thomas made American football history by becoming the first female official in a Super Bowl game.
Thomas was an official in the Super Bowl LV in the down judge position. She also made history by being the first female judge to officiate a game at a Big Ten stadium.
This high-paid profession was until recently reserved for men, which makes Sarah Thomas a true modern-day pioneer of the sport.
7. The Youngest Quarterback to Win the Super Bowl
(NBC Sports)
Super Bowl XL was marked by QB Ben Roethlisberger leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 10-21 victory against the Seattle Seahawks. Roethlisberger managed this feat at the young age of 23, making him the youngest quarterback to ever win the Super Bowl.
8. The Terrible Towel
(Steelers)
There are plenty of NFL fun facts, but what is certainly one of the most entertaining ones comes from the city of Pittsburgh, the home of the Steelers.
What started off as a gimmick became one of Pittsburgh’s greatest symbols. The “terrible towel” was first coined by Myron Cone to attract more publicity to the team during the second part of the 1975 season.
Today, it’s an unavoidable Steelers tradition, and loyal fans are known to exhibit their black-and-gold towels in the most unusual places, one even being taken to the International Space Station.
Cone, who was a radio announcer for the Pittsburgh team, was requested to drum up some publicity by any means necessary. So, he came up with the news of the “thousands of terrible towels” waving from the stands.
Not the catchiest image, one might think, but it just goes to show what a big heart the average Steelers fan has when it comes to their favorite sports club.
9. Teams Leading the Pack
(Statista)
When looking at NFL history facts from 1967 to 2022, the New England Patriots have six Super Bowl victories, and they are tied with the Steelers for the top spot.
The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys have each won five titles. Behind them are the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers, with four Super Bowl wins each.
10. 21 Games Without a Loss
(Pro Football HoF)
The New England Patriots’ 2003-2004 season 21-game winning run came to an end on October 31, when they lost 20-34 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Green Bay Packers made it to 19 games without a loss, and the Chicago Bears accomplished an 18-winning streak twice – first in the 1933-1934 season, when they lost to the New York Giants, and the second time in the 1941-1942 season, when they lost to the Washington Redskins.
11. Thurman Thomas’s Missing Helmet
(Sportscasting)
When it comes to weird NFL facts, the story of how Thurman Thomas had to sit out the beginning of the final is pretty hard to beat.
In the early 1990s, the Buffalo Bills made history with four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. During this era, the team was recognized for its powerful offensive play, with Jim Kelly as the team’s quarterback.
Thurman Thomas was a running back for all four championship games. He should have been the starter if there hadn’t been a mix-up just before the Bills took to the field in Super Bowl XXVI.
Thomas couldn’t find his helmet, and was forced to sit out the beginning of the match until the helmet was recovered.
It didn’t change much in terms of the result, as the Bills lost 37-24 to the Washington Redskins team led by Joe Gibbs.
Still, it remains a fun NFL fact that Thomas had to miss two opening plays because of locker room confusion.
12. Only Two Players Have Reached the 80,000 Yards Milestone
(ESPN)
There are many great quarterbacks that have graced the game of football, but when it comes to NFL records, there are only two players who have made more than 80,000 in passing yards.
Tom Brady is on top of the list with close to 85,000 yards under his belt. Second place is held by Drew Brees, with just over 80,000. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre hold the third and fourth place on this list as the only other two players with more than 70,000 yards in completed passes.
When discussing facts about American football players from the previous decade, these names are regularly mentioned, although Tom Brady is the only one who’s currently active. Therefore, there’s still an opportunity for him to reach the 90,000 yards mark.
13. When The Saints Go Marching In
(CBS Sports)
In 2010, the New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl, and the fact it happened just four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city makes it a proud moment for the community and an NFL fact well worth remembering.
The Super Bowl XLIV 31-17 win against the Indianapolis Colts was the Saints’ first-ever appearance in the finals, too.
14. Unofficial National Holiday
(NFL)
Super Bowl Sunday is considered an unofficial national holiday in the United States. The most recent Super Bowl, Super Bowl LVI, was watched by over 100 million people!
Specifically, with 112.3 million viewers, it became the most watched show in five years.
15. The Team With the Most Wins Since 1967
(Statmuse)
The Dallas Cowboys are known for a handful of impressive NFL facts, like having the highest home attendance in the NFL (over 90,000 fans on average). The Cowboys are also the team with the most wins since the league merger, a whopping 504.
16. A Field Goal for the Ages
(Sportsnaut)
Tom Dempsey’s 63-yard kick for the New Orleans Saints stood unchallenged for 43 years, when the Broncos’ Matt Prater managed to go a yard further.
However, the record for the longest field goal to date was set in 2021, when the Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Tucker scored a 66-yard goal that ultimately won his team the game.
17. The Largest Win Margin Since the NFL Merger
(Statmuse)
The largest victory margin in an NFL game since the league merger is 55 points. This happened when the Miami Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars with a score of 62-7 in 2000.
18. The GOAT
(USA Today)
Tom Brady has the bragging rights to some of the most interesting NFL facts. One more thing he can add to the list is that “Tom Terrific” is, at 45 years of age, not only the greatest but also the oldest player to play in the Super Bowl.
19. The Second Highest Number of Rushing Yards in a Single Season
(Footballdb)
Although the Minnesota Vikings didn’t have much luck in their 52nd NFL season, after losing to the Packers in the first round of playoffs, Adrian Peterson covered the second highest number of yards ever – 2,097, as the rushing champion for the 2012 season.
This put him close to setting a record, as the first place is still held by Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams, who covered 2,105 yards in 1984.
20. Four NFL Teams Have Never Made It to the Super Bowl
(NBC Sports, Wikipedia)
Although the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns both won NFL titles prior to the NFL and American Football League merger, they are among the four teams never to compete directly for the championship title since the new league format was introduced in 1966. The list also includes the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.
Final Thoughts
America’s most popular sport is both fiercely competitive and highly entertaining. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
In this article, we shared with you some important historical results as well as some cool NFL facts and trivia that you have hopefully found interesting and can share with your friends, perhaps over your team’s next big game.
FAQ
What is the NFL's oldest team?
The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest team that competes in the NFL today. The team was founded in 1898 under the name “Morgan Athletic Club,” and it changed its name nine times before becoming the Arizona Cardinals in 1994.
How old is the NFL?
The NFL was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association. The first ever game was played on October 3rd of that year, between teams from Dayton and Columbus. That makes this sports competition over 100 years old. It was renamed to the NFL in 1922.
Who is the richest NFL player?
Tom Brady overtook Peyton Manning on the number one spot as the richest NFL player of all time. There are plenty of additional stunning NFL facts about Tom Brady. He is also the quarterback with the most wins (245) and is tied for the longest touchdown pass (99 yards).
