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+----- Thread: Alternate History: AFL/NFL Merger Leads to Geographic Realignment (/thread-1012383.html)
Alternate History: AFL/NFL Merger Leads to Geographic Realignment - Nerdlinger - 07-11-2025 12:55 PM
I don't think this was ever a possibility, but I like to imagine that when the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, they realigned geographically, like so:
AFC North: Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
AFC South: Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins
AFC West: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC North: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Cardinals
NFC South: Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, New Orleans Saints
NFC West: Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers
Then they continued to maintain a largely geographic alignment throughout the subsequent expansions and team relocations:
1971: Boston Patriots to New England Patriots (remain in AFC North)
1976: Seattle Seahawks join NFC West; Tampa Bay Buccaneers join AFC South
1982: Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles Raiders (remain in NFC West)
1984: Baltimore Colts (AFC South) to Indianapolis Colts (AFC West)
1988: St. Louis Cardinals (NFC North) to Phoenix Cardinals (NFC South)
1994: Phoenix Cardinals to Arizona Cardinals (remain in NFC South)
1995: Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars join AFC South; Arizona Cardinals from NFC South to NFC West; Indianapolis Colts from AFC West to NFC North; Los Angeles Raiders to Oakland Raiders (remain in NFC West); Los Angeles Rams (NFC West) to St. Louis Rams (NFC South); Washington Redskins from AFC South to AFC West
1996: Baltimore Ravens join AFC West; Cleveland Browns (AFC West) suspended from league for attempting to move to Baltimore
1997: Houston Oilers to Tennessee Oilers (remain in NFC South)
1999: Cleveland Browns (re)join AFC West; Tennessee Oilers to Tennessee Titans (remain in NFC South)
Thus, before the 2002 realignment, we have:
AFC North: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
AFC South: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
AFC West: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins
NFC North: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
And the timeline continues:
2002: AFC East and NFC East divisions created; Baltimore Ravens (AFC West), Carolina Panthers (AFC South), Philadelphia Eagles (AFC North), and Washington Redskins (AFC West) to AFC East; Dallas Cowboys (NFC South), Houston Texans (expansion), New Orleans Saints (NFC South), and Tennessee Titans (NFC South) to NFC East; Arizona Cardinals from NFC West to NFC South; Kansas City Chiefs from NFC North to NFC South
2016: St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles Rams (remain in NFC South)
2017: San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles Chargers (remain in NFC West)
2020: Los Angeles Rams from NFC South to NFC West; Oakland Raiders (NFC West) to Las Vegas Raiders (NFC South); Washington Redskins to Washington Football Team (remain in AFC East)
2022: Washington Football Team to Washington Commanders (remain in AFC East)
Leading to the present day alignment:
AFC East: Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders
AFC North: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets
AFC South: Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
AFC West: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC East: Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans
NFC North: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders
NFC West: Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
RE: Alternate History: AFL/NFL Merger Leads to Geographic Realignment - BePcr07 - 07-13-2025 03:37 PM
There was a bit of shifting at the start of the merger because the NFL had quite a few more teams than the AFL.
RE: Alternate History: AFL/NFL Merger Leads to Geographic Realignment - Nerdlinger - 07-13-2025 03:45 PM
(07-13-2025 03:37 PM)BePcr07 Wrote: There was a bit of shifting at the start of the merger because the NFL had quite a few more teams than the AFL.
Sure, 16 in the NFL vs. 10 in the AFL. Baltimore, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh agreed to transfer to the AFC in exchange for significant financial compensation, as I understand.
RE: Alternate History: AFL/NFL Merger Leads to Geographic Realignment - Fighting Muskie - 07-13-2025 05:48 PM
What if they had just added the AFL Divisions to the existing “conferences”:
Eastern Conference—
Capitol Division: Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, New Orleans
American Division: NE, Buffalo, NYJ, Miami, Houston
Century Division: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, NYG, St Louis
Western Conference—
Central Division: Minnesota, GB, Chicago, Detroit
Continental Division: Oakland, SD, Denver, KC, Cincinnati
Coastal Division: SF, LA Rams, Baltimore, Atlanta
I think there could be some arguments for a few trades—Cincinnati, Baltimore & Atlanta should move east. Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas are better suited in the west.
RE: Alternate History: AFL/NFL Merger Leads to Geographic Realignment - Nerdlinger - 07-13-2025 07:21 PM
(07-13-2025 05:48 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: What if they had just added the AFL Divisions to the existing “conferences”:
Eastern Conference—
Capitol Division: Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, New Orleans
American Division: NE, Buffalo, NYJ, Miami, Houston
Century Division: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, NYG, St Louis
Western Conference—
Central Division: Minnesota, GB, Chicago, Detroit
Continental Division: Oakland, SD, Denver, KC, Cincinnati
Coastal Division: SF, LA Rams, Baltimore, Atlanta
I think there could be some arguments for a few trades—Cincinnati, Baltimore & Atlanta should move east. Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas are better suited in the west.
Yeah, I've done that too. Since the theme for division names was 7-letter words starting with "C", I thought of Classic and Country for the former AFL East and West, respectively.
I agree with your trades and will raise you further: Atlanta and Baltimore to the Capital; Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans to the Country; Oakland and San Diego to the Coastal; Cincinnati to the Century; and the NY Giants to the Classic.