 Under pressure from Congress, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle had promised that professional football would be maintained in each of the twenty-three markets where it then existed.There were a total of 24 franchises in the two leagues at the time (fifteen in the NFL and nine in the AFL), but the powerful congressional delegation of Louisiana led by Senator Russell Long and Congressman Hale Boggs had further insisted on an NFL franchise in New Orleans in return for their support.As a result, the New Orleans Saints became the NFL's sixteenth franchise in 1967, meaning another team would be required if the merged league was to have an even number of teams.