The San Francisco 49ers (often referred to as the Niners) are a professional American football team. The team plays its home games in San Francisco, California, while the club’s headquarters and practice facility are located in Santa Clara. The 49ers are currently a member of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The 49ers began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged into the older league. The team was the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls. San Francisco is second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl wins (tied with the Dallas Cowboys with five each). Their five league titles place them in a four-way tie for fifth behind the Green Bay Packers (12), the Chicago Bears (9), the New York Giants (7), and the Steelers (6).

The 49ers teams of the 1980s and early 1990s were a great dynasty given their five Super Bowl triumphs in that span, including four in the 1980s. The Niners won 10 or more games for 16 straight seasons. Particularly notable seasons are the 1984 and 1989 teams. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, perennial Pro Bowler Ronnie Lott, all-time highest career quarterback rating holder Steve Young, and career touchdown leader Jerry Rice played for the 49ers during this period. Additionally, some of the most memorable plays (including “The Catch”) and games (such as Super Bowl XXIII) were played by this team.

The name “49ers” comes from the name given to the gold prospectors who arrived in Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush.

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). In 1963, the team relocated to Kansas City, Missouri and were renamed the Kansas City Chiefs. The team is legally and corporately registered as Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, Incorporated and according to Forbes is valued at just over USD $1 billion.

From 1960 to 1969, the Chiefs were a successful franchise in the AFL, winning three league championships (1962, 1966, 1969) and having an all-time AFL record of 92–50–5. The Chiefs were the second AFL team (after the New York Jets) to defeat an NFL franchise in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. The team’s victory on January 11, 1970 remains the club’s last championship to date.

The New England Patriots, commonly called the “Pats”, are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971, although Foxborough is a suburb of Boston, 22 miles (35 km) away.

An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season. Under quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have also compiled the longest winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history, a 21-game streak from October 2003–October 2004.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team located in Jacksonville, Florida. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Jaguars, along with the Carolina Panthers, joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1995.

The club has played all of its home games at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The stadium is located near the St. Johns River. The team headquarters is also located in the stadium. The Jaguars practice during the season and training camp in the stadium and on adjoining practice fields.

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The club was officially founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1953, but can trace its history to the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. After a series of changes, it assumed the “Baltimore Colts” name, replacing a previous team that folded in 1950. Playing at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, the Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders, although the Steelerettes, the Pittsburgh Steelers cheerleaders from 1961-69, dispute this claim. The team then relocated to Indianapolis in 1984, first playing at the Hoosier Dome, which was then renamed the RCA Dome before moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.

The Colts won four NFL championships (three NFL Championships in 1958, 1959, 1968; and Super Bowl V in 1971) while in Baltimore. Since moving to Indianapolis, they won Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Also since 1998, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons—extending this record to seven after the 2009 season.

The team headquarters and practice facilities are also located in Indianapolis. The club currently holds their annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the NFC North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team is legally and corporately registered as Chicago Bears Football Club, Incorporated.

The Bears have won nine professional American football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX). The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with 26 members. The Bears have also recorded more regular season and overall victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise recorded its 700th win on December 7, 2008.

The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919, and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona Cardinals (originally from Chicago), it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL’s founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago’s North Side through the 1970 season. With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago’s Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next to Lake Michigan, and was recently remodeled in a modernization intended to update stadium amenities while preserving a historic Chicago structure. The team has a fierce, long-standing rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, whom they have played 178 times. The Bears currently hold the edge in head to head match ups with a record of 90-82-5.

The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Bills began competitive play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League and joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger.

The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has not won a league championship since the merger. Buffalo is also the only team to win four consecutive American Football Conference Championships — and the only team ever to play in four consecutive Super Bowl games, though they lost all four. Since the NFL’s expansion to 32 teams in 2002 the Bills are the only AFC non-expansion team to not make the playoffs.

The Bills were named as the result of the winning entry in a local contest, which named the team after the AAFC Buffalo Bills, a previous football franchise from the All-America Football Conference that merged with the Cleveland Browns in 1950. That team, in turn, was named after William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The Bills’ cheerleaders are known as the Buffalo Jills. The official mascot is Billy Buffalo.

The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.

They are the only NFL team to play their home games within New York State. Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City. On October 2, 2005, the Bills played the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game held in San Antonio, Texas. With the inception of the Bills Toronto Series in 2008, they are also the only team to play home games in Canada. The Toronto Series has fueled rumors that the team is considering relocating there once the Bills are sold after Wilson’s passing. However, the franchise has tremendous support in the Western New York region.

On January 4, 2010 the Bills informed their entire coaching staff that they were free to seek employment with other teams, in an effort to renew and revitalize the struggling organization. On January 19, 2010, the Bills named Chan Gailey as their next head coach.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League. Founded in 1933, Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles (6), won more AFC Championship Games (7) and hosted more conference championship games (10) than any other AFC or NFC team. They have played in more AFC conference championship games than any other team and are tied with the Dallas Cowboys with 14 championship game appearances in either the NFC or AFC contests. The Steelers are the current National Football League champions, having won Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.

The fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933, by Art Rooney. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding. The current owner is Art’s son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II. The team also enjoys a fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation.

The Steelers currently play their home games in Heinz Field on Pittsburgh’s North Side, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field.

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is currently a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Their first season, 1968, was as an American Football League franchise, but they joined the NFL as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, which had actually been agreed to in 1966. During that time, they have never won a Super Bowl.

The Bengals currently conduct summer training camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky and play home games at Paul Brown Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati.

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The team plays its home games at Giants Stadium, which also serves as its headquarters, and trains at an adjacent practice facility within the Meadowlands Sports Complex. In a unique arrangement, the team shares the stadium with the New York Jets, who also play their home games there but maintain their training complex and headquarters at an off-site location.

The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, but the only one admitted that year which still exists.

The Giants rank third among all NFL franchises with seven NFL titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and three since the advent of the Super Bowl (Super Bowls XXI (1986), XXV (1990), and XLII (2007)). Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (12) and Chicago Bears (9). During their history, the Giants have featured 15 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Charlie Conerly, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.

To distinguish it from the professional baseball team of the same name, the football team was incorporated as the New York Football Giants. Although the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continues to use “New York Football Giants” as its legal corporate name, and is often referred to as such by fans and sportscasters. The team has also gained several nicknames, including “Big Blue,” the “G-Men,” the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew,” “The Road Warriors,” and the “Jints,” a name seen frequently in the New York Post, originating from the baseball team when they were based in New York.