23 American Football Facts: History, Players & Clubs!

Supriya Jain
Sep 01, 2023 By Supriya Jain
Originally Published on Jan 21, 2022
Edited by Lara Simpson
Know fun facts about the history of American football.
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 7.0 Min

Football is among the most-watched and followed sports in America.

People take great pleasure in indulging in these sports either as an onlooker or a player. Even if you are slightly interested in this sport, here are some informational points about American football.

From the history of this sport in America to its famous players from around the globe to that of America, many things can be learned to enhance football knowledge.

American football, locally known as gridiron or football, is like the typical game of football involving two teams, each of 11 players, where both the teams try to throw the ball in the goal post allotted to their team while a defender from another team tries to stop the ball.

Football is the most played sport in America and even is one of the sports with the biggest fan following in the world. Ronaldo and Messi are some of the names that have graced the sport of soccer, known as football outside of North America.

While this all is true, American football is the most played type of football in the world. Evolved from rugby and soccer, these sports have a history to read about. American football is an international sport and is being played at the local and university levels over the year.

Even good players can get scholarships to study in top American universities. So, let us look at some facts about this popular sport. Afterward, also check Aaron Rodgers facts and Spanish football facts.

Historic Significance

If we consider football in America, then one will find that this sport is a combination of rugby and soccer and was a sport that spread somewhere in 1892.

This sport was first played between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, on November 6, 1869. But it was during the 1880s the rule changed drastically, making rugby into American football, and the credit for this change goes to Walter Camp, a rugby player from Yale.

The credit for spreading this sport in America goes to the athletic clubs, who were found to be enthusiastic embracers of this football game after the civil war. Almost all the athletic clubs had their own football team by the 1880s.

Every club was sworn to have the best players on the team, making the competition all the more intriguing and heated. The players who performed well were awarded rewards and awards.

Still, as the players were all novices, the Amateur Athletic Union questioned, and even some tactics were banned and declared illegal. But as a practice was declared illegal, a new one popped out.

Leagues And Tournaments

The major and the most professional American football league in the NFL. The National Football League has 32 clubs, and these 32 clubs are divided into two conferences, each consisting of 16 teams.

These two conferences have the following names, National Football Conference and American Football Conference. Each conference is divided into four divisions, north, south, east, and west. This means that each division consists of four clubs each. While the NFL is the most professional and major league, there are four other North American Professional Sports Leagues.

While these are the major tournaments, countries have local-level tournaments and even university-level tournaments.

Famous Football Clubs

Before discussing major American football clubs, let us first look at the world’s best clubs. The list of the top 10 football clubs in the world is given below:

Real Madrid: 119 Trophies, FC Barcelona: 129 Trophies, Manchester United: 66 Trophies, Bayern Munich: 80 Trophies, Liverpool: 63 Trophies, Chelsea: 31 Trophies, Manchester City: 28 Trophies, Paris Saint Germain: 43 Trophies, Juventus: 70 Trophies, and Arsenal: 47 Trophies.

While these were the world teams, let us now look at the top football clubs in America. The leading names are São Paulo, Independiente, Atletico Nacional, Olimpia, Colo-Colo, Penarol, Boca Juniors, River Plate, Corinthians, and Santos FC.

America’s most famous football clubs are Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, and San Francisco 49ers.

Famous Football Players

How can we complete this article about football without talking about the famous players from around the world and the American contribution? Some names like Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi are pretty well-known.

Not only are football fans are aware of them, but even non-followers of football seem to be on the list of their fans. Here is the list of the top five football players in the world.

Lionel Messi: at the age of 24, this football player’s name is enough to let people know about the topic of the conversation.

Christiano Ronaldo: whatever type of a person he is, no one can doubt the skills he possesses in his profession. Both Messi and Ronaldo seem to have a tough competition for the first position.

Xavi: again a well-known name from the football world known for his offensive abilities.

Andres Iniesta: a name significantly associated with Barcelona and is the puppet master.

Wayne Rooney: this 25-year-old football player is presently at the most high level of his professional life.

Now it’s time for the best American Football players. Here’s the list

Tom Brady: is considered one of the best and the greatest quarterback of all time.

Aaron Rodgers: can be considered a name next in the list of best quarterback players.

Peyton Manning: known as ‘The Sheriff,’ this player has some outstanding records credited to his name.

Rob Gronkowski: again, a name with some outstanding records and known for the personality considered larger than life.

Drew Brees: is considered among the best players and the best passer in the NFL.

Business With Football

As much as football is a sports game, it involves a lot of business. The business involved in football is to the extent that there are some real investments done on the player, stadium, clubs, and many others.

Merchandise, ticket price, sponsorship(s) are all a factor of business in football. Football and other sports like cricket, basketball, and tennis all involve some business or the other.

In fact, during the matches, the whole club is often bought by people. As much as this sport serves the purpose of entertainment and athletic spirits, it is an excellent source of business in which people are happily involved.

The National Football League (NFL), also known as the Super Bowl, is the most famous American professional football league.

Professional play became more common throughout time, bringing higher salaries, more unpredictable player movement, and the unlawful payment of college players still in school.

The National Football League (NFL game), also known as the Super Bowl, a professional football game league founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, was created to address these issues.

The declared goals of this new league included the elimination of bidding wars for players, the prohibition of the employment of college players, and the prohibition of paying players to leave another team.

The NFL (Super Bowl games) had established itself as the top professional football league in America by 1922.

The Super Bowl, the league’s championship game, is one of the most-watched club athletic events in the world. After the 1966 season, this title game began to be played.

Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns are some favorite NFL teams throughout NFL history. Jim Brown owns the Cleveland Browns.

It is a popular sport in America and Super Bowl Sunday is a popular NFL games event. It is a college game, and the playoff game is played on the football field. The Green Bay Packers NFL team is the only team to have won many games against the opposing team (the other team).

The previous season and the post-season of the NFL footballs have been watched many times since the first game. Some college players are also NFL players.

This big game also has a bye week. There are four teams in the NFL which qualify for the next round in the same week. The top team in the NFL is based on the number of victories of every team.

There have been new rules in the NFL about the protective equipment used by the players. Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns are the teams with the most wins in the NFL.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for American football facts, then why not take a look at Zinedine Zidane facts or French football facts?

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Written by Supriya Jain

Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing

Supriya Jain picture

Supriya JainBachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing

As a skilled member of the Kidadl team, Shruti brings extensive experience and expertise in professional content writing. With a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Punjab University and an MBA in Business Administration from IMT Nagpur, Shruti has worked in diverse roles such as sales intern, content writer, executive trainee, and business development consultant. Her exceptional writing skills cover a wide range of areas, including SOP, SEO, B2B/B2C, and academic content.

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