NFL Football Teams List

How many teams were in the NFL when it first started?

When the NFL was first created in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, there were a total of 14 teams in the league. These teams were all from the American Midwest, and they were: the Akron Pros, the Decatur Staleys, the Buffalo All-Americans, the Chicago Cardinals, the Rock Island Independents, the Dayton Triangles, the Rochester Jeffersons, the Canton Bulldogs, the Detroit Heralds, the Cleveland Tigers, the Chicago Tigers, the Hammond Pros, the Columbus Panhandles, and the Muncie Flyers. Only two of the original 14 teams have survived to this day: the Chicago Cardinals (later renamed the Arizona Cardinals) and the Decatur Staleys (currently the Chicago Bears).