The NFL has been king for decades but alive for much longer. Across the league\u2019s century, some teams have set themselves apart from the rest, reaching feats with consistencies that condemn competitors sufficiently. These most successful franchises, dating back to the NFL\u2019s birth more than 100 years ago, are the subject of this exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1920, the league began as the American Professional Football Association (APFA), ditching that name two years later for the now-famous National Football League title. The NFL has undergone a tremendous amount of change since then: there were no playoffs until 1932, two mergers have happened, and a long line of relocations and expansions to boot, among countless other alterations and evolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s common for people to only consider the Super Bowl era when discussing the league\u2019s history, chopping off everything that happened before the top dogs of the NFL and AFL met in 1966\u2019s Super Bowl I. This ignores decades of football that laid the foundation for what came after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re painting a bigger picture here. I considered the full NFL histories of every franchise in the league to create this list going all the way back to the leather helmet days. A championship is a championship \u2013 all a team can do is play within the constraints of its time. Winning a title in the 1940s carries some weight even if it didn\u2019t require a Super Bowl, because everyone operated under the same situation at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said, more weight was given to accomplishments since the Super Bowl\u2019s reign. As the NFL has expanded and advanced, winning a championship has become more difficult. There are more teams vying for it, the pressure is incomparable, longer playoffs make for a more grueling process \u2013 a championship is a championship, but a ring adorned in the 2000s was a greater get than one in the 1930s. This truth must be mirrored in my marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the most successful NFL franchises ever, dating back decades before the Super Bowl was even a concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All records as of May 13, 2023<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Championships:<\/strong> 6 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl wins:<\/strong> 6 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl appearances:<\/strong> 11 (Losses in 1985, 1996, 2007, 2011, 2017)<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time record:<\/strong> 537-420-9 (.561)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playoff appearances:<\/strong> 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time playoff record:<\/strong> 37-22 (.627)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable players:<\/strong> Tom Brady, John Hannah, Rob Gronkowski<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founded in 1960 as the AFL\u2019s Boston Patriots, the team transitioned to encompass an entire region with the New England name in 1971, perhaps to wash off the stink of a 2-12 campaign the year before. Whatever people thought of the Patriots in 1970 is planets away from how they do now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though this franchise won its first championship in 2001, the level of success it has achieved in the last couple of decades is enough to surpass everyone else for the No. 1 spot. Since 1996, New England has played in 10 Super Bowls and won six of them, meaning more than one-third of the last 27 Super Bowls have included the Patriots. The team\u2019s six Super Bowl victories are tied for the most in the league, and nobody has played in the big game more than the Pats. New England\u2019s all-time win percentage in the playoffs (.627) is also unrivaled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were stretches in which the Patriots were flat-out terrible. In 1990, in the middle of a playoff drought that would last for another three seasons to extend the streak to seven, New England went 1-15, failing in each of the final 14 games on its schedule. But by the mid-1990s, those days were gone, and five years later, they were a distant memory in the minds of Patriots lovers and haters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are NFL franchises with more championships, but nobody has done so much in such relatively-little time. The level of success the Patriots have put together is unbelievable, especially given that it has come when the league has been at its largest and most competitive. Between 1994 and 2021, New England missed only six postseasons and appeared in 11 in a row from 2009 through 2019, the longest run of its kind<\/a> in the league\u2019s history. The franchise has played in so many Super Bowls that it has averaged an appearance roughly every six years. All of this excellence, plus the aura of Tom Brady, is enough to lift the Patriots to the esteemed title of the most successful franchise in the NFL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Championships:<\/strong> 13 (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1996, 2010)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl wins:<\/strong> 4 (1966, 1967, 1996, 2010)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl appearances:<\/strong> 5 (Loss in 1997)<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time record:<\/strong> 790-590-38 (.572)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playoff appearances:<\/strong> 35<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time playoff record:<\/strong> 36-25 (.590)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable players:<\/strong> Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Willie Davis<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where those pre-Super Bowl championships come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They weren\u2019t enough to overcome the Patriots, but the 13 titles the Packers have hoarded is enough to get them next in line. One of the oldest outfits around, Green Bay has been at the forefront of the NFL since the very beginning. The Packers went a combined 34-5-2 in the 1929, 1930, and 1931 campaigns, achieving the prize of championships in all three seasons and cementing themselves as one of the league\u2019s early dynasties. These crowns were claimed at the behest of head coach Curly Lambeau<\/a>, whose name has remained relevant 100 years later. Lambeau co-founded the Packers in 1919 and played the team from then through 1929, also serving as head coach from 1921 to 1949, winning one championship while occupying both roles and five more solely on the sidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Green Bay was quiet in the late-1940s and 1950s, but it erupted again in the \u201860s, this time under the guise of Vince Lombardi, another name that has stood the test of time. The coach had the Packers in the championship game in 1960, their first one in 16 seasons, though it took another go around before he helped them snap their 17-year title drought in 1961. Lombardi oversaw a repeat in 1962, then a return to dominance not long after, which included the final NFL championship that was not a Super Bowl in 1965, Super Bowl I in 1966, and Super Bowl II in 1967, Green Bay\u2019s 11th NFL title in its history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Packers haven\u2019t been as successful since then, but they have still added to their trophy case. In 1996, Brett Favre quarterbacked<\/a> Green Bay to a triumph in Super Bowl XXXI, and he had them back again in 1997, though that one ended differently. In 2010, Aaron Rodgers led the team to another ring via Super Bowl XLV. Wisconsin\u2019s NFL representative leads the league in division titles (31), is tied for first in playoff appearances (35), and has qualified for two-thirds of all postseasons since the expansion to 12 participants in 1990. All of this rich history and largely-consistent output of contention for more than a century is enough to position the Packers as the NFL\u2019s second-most successful franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Championships:<\/strong> 5 (1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl wins:<\/strong> 5 (1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl appearances:<\/strong> 8 (Losses in 1970, 1975, 1978)<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time record:<\/strong> 550-408-6 (.574)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playoff appearances:<\/strong> 35<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time playoff record:<\/strong> 36-30 (.545)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable players:<\/strong> Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Randy White<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cowboys began their journey in 1960 with a miserable 0-11-1 campaign. Fortunately for Dallas fans, this was not an omen of things to come. Instead, the Cowboys have become one of the most successful franchises in the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom Landry was the team\u2019s head coach during that opening winless season, and he still was when Dallas lived the complete opposite end of the spectrum 11 seasons later as Super Bowl champions. The legendary coach<\/a>\u2019s reign was a slow burn, building incrementally over the course of years, chipping away at various barriers until eventually breaking the final one. With Landry in control, the Cowboys won two Super Bowls and played in three more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the 1970s were good to Dallas, the 1990s were even better. After a lackluster 80s, the Cowboys were back in full force early in the next decade, stomping out the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, 52-17, to close the 1992 campaign for the franchise\u2019s first title since 1977. Dallas did it again the following year, then a third time two seasons later to make it three triumphs in four tries, a true dynasty. The organization\u2019s five Super Bowl victories are even for the second-most in league history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It hasn\u2019t been the same since. Dallas played in its last conference championship game 28 seasons ago, the fifth-longest of such droughts in the league. There have been better times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you can\u2019t deny how much Dallas has done in its more than five decades of life. With 35 playoff appearances, the Cowboys are knotted with Green Bay for the most in the NFL, and their .574 all-time winning percentage leads the league, too. To maintain such a lofty location on this list, Dallas does need to overcome some more opponents in the playoffs, and probably soon. But at least for now, the \u2018Boys are in the top three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Championships:<\/strong> 6 (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl wins:<\/strong> 6 (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl appearances:<\/strong> 8 (Losses in 1995, 2010)<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time record:<\/strong> 661-571-22 (.536)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playoff appearances:<\/strong> 33<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time playoff record:<\/strong> 36-27 (.571)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable players:<\/strong> Joe Greene, Ben Roethlisberger, Terry Bradshaw<\/p>\n\n\n\n Known as the Pittsburgh Pirates when they were founded in 1933, the Steelers adopted the new nickname seven years later. The team played in its first playoffs in 1947, losing immediately to the Eagles, 21-0<\/a>, and it remained its only visit to the postseason until 1972 \u2013 the earliest days of Steelers football were not the prettiest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But from the mid-1970s on, Pittsburgh left its loser ways behind. Two years after snapping their 24-year playoff drought, the third-longest<\/a> in NFL history, the Steelers won their first championship in Super Bowl IX. They became repeat champions in 1975, then ran it all back again in 1978 and 1979 to cap off a marvelous Steel Curtain-controlled<\/a> decade, all with Chuck Noll patrolling the sidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the \u201880s and \u201890s, the Steelers far from returned to the deep depths of despair they experienced in the \u201850s and \u201860s, but they didn\u2019t maintain what they produced in the \u201870s, either. The team reached one Super Bowl (1995) and appeared in 10 playoffs across those 20 seasons, including six-straight postseason showings from 1992 through 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2000s were much better, offering two Super Bowl opportunities that Pittsburgh took advantage of both times with Ben Roethlisberger receiving snaps, winning one for the thumb in 2005 and an extra to start off the next hand in 2008. A defeat in Super Bowl XLV to conclude the 2010 campaign raised the franchise\u2019s number of Super Bowl showings to eight, tied for second-most in the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pittsburgh has been one of the most common playoff participants ever, is even with New England for the most Super Bowl victories, and holds 25 division titles. The struggles of the franchise\u2019s first few decades slightly weigh it down, but there are simply too many accomplishments to ignore when considering the most successful organizations the NFL homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Championships:<\/strong> 5 (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl wins:<\/strong> 5 (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Bowl appearances:<\/strong> 7 (Losses in 2012, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time record:<\/strong> 612-510-16 (.545)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playoff appearances:<\/strong> 29<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-time playoff record:<\/strong> 37-24 (.607)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable players:<\/strong> Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 49ers started off in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946 before joining the NFL as part of the merger between the leagues following the 1949 season, and thus their National Football League lives began. San Francisco had been good in the final season of the AAFC, losing in the championship game. It soon learned that the NFL was different, limping to a 3-9 mark in 1950 and making only one playoff appearance throughout the entirety of the \u201850s and \u201860s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t until the \u201880s that the Niners made a major imprint on the NFL. In 1981, San Francisco snapped an eight-season playoff drought with a bang, sauntering to its first-ever Super Bowl showing and victory in 1981. One year prior to that run, the 49ers were 6-10. Two seasons earlier, they were experiencing their second-straight 2-14 campaign. Head coach Bill Walsh performed quite the turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1981 championship marked the start of something special. Between 1981 and 1994, San Francisco climbed the mountaintop five times and missed only two playoffs as it introduced the NFL to one of its most intimidating dynasties ever. Three of those happened under Walsh, while George Seifert was at the helm for the second two. Hall of Famers like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, and so many more played pivotal roles during that era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Niners are without NFL supremacy since the 1994 crown, a drought that ranks roughly in the middle of the league. San Francisco has been to Super Bowls in the meantime, coming one win away from elation in 2012 and 2019, upping its trips to the holy grail to seven, the fourth-most in the NFL. The 49ers have also played in the most NFC Championship Games of anyone by a comfortable margin, outdoing the second-place Cowboys by four (18 to 14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the start of the 1980s, San Francisco has been one of the most usual suspects lurking late in the playoffs. Its abundance of bad seasons before then drags it down somewhat, but a top-five nod is nothing to scoff at \u2013 the 49ers are within the inner circle of the NFL\u2019s most successful franchises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting play in 1925, the Giants are among the oldest franchises in the NFL. Back before there were playoffs, they won their first championship in 1927 with a 11-1-1 record. Later after the introduction of a title game, they won their second in 1934. Two more in 1938 and 1956 round out the four crowns New York achieved prior to the advent of the Super Bowl, plus 11 other appearances in the championship contest that came up empty. The Giants have amassed eight NFL titles in total, winning four Super Bowls (1986, 1990, 2007, 2011) to go along with their four other triumphs. The G-men sit on the outside of my top five for a few reasons \u2013 too much of their success came before the Super Bowl era, their .528 all-time winning percentage is below all other contenders, and it has had a good number of dark years since the Super Bowl grabbed hold. But really, I\u2019m splitting hairs here. The Giants are one of the most successful NFL franchises ever, and they don\u2019t get recognized as such as much as they probably should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bears have had 103 seasons of NFL football under their belt, and they\u2019ve amassed nine championships in that time. They won their initial one as the Chicago Staleys in 1921 when the NFL was still the APFA after a 9-1-1 season. More followed more than a decade later, and this rain poured. The Bears lapped up the NFL\u2019s prized possession in 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946 as George Halas built an incredible legacy. The Bears and Halas would again top the NFL in 1963, a few years before the introduction of the Super Bowl. Things have been rougher in Chicago since then with the team winning just one (1985) and playing in only two (loss in 2006). It has been a long time since the Bears were a feared outfit in the NFL, and it\u2019s not something that has happened much in the last 50 years. But what Chicago did back in the day, a key reason why the team is in the top five of the NFL in all-time winning percentage (.557), is enough for it to be considered one of the league\u2019s most successful franchises.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Most Successful Franchises in NFL History<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1: New England Patriots<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2: Green Bay Packers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3: Dallas Cowboys<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4: Pittsburgh Steelers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5: San Francisco 49ers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Honorable Mentions: New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n