the nfl changed to a 16 game schedule on january 2, 1983.
when did the nfl change to a 16 game schedule?
january 2, 1983
the nfl adopted many ideas introduced by the afl, including names on player jerseys and revenue sharing of gate and television receipts. the older league also adopted the practice of using the stadium scoreboard clocks to keep track of the official game time, instead of just having a stopwatch used by the referee. the afl played a 14-game schedule for its entire existence, starting in 1960. the nfl, which had played a 12-game schedule since 1947, changed to a 14-game schedule in 1961, a year after the american football league instituted it; it has been 16-game seasons since 1978. the afl also introduced the two-point conversion to professional football thirty-four years before the nfl instituted it in 1994 (college football had adopted the two-point conversion in the late 1950s). all of these innovations pioneered by the afl, including its more exciting style of play and colorful uniforms, have essentially made today's pro football more like the "afl" than like the old-line nfl. the afl's challenge to the nfl also laid the groundwork for the super bowl, which has become the standard for championship contests in the united states.
list of gridiron football rules
the afl introduced many policies and rules to professional football which the nfl later adopted, including:





















































bullet::::- a 14-game regular season schedule, which the nfl adopted in 1961 (increased from 12 games), exactly one year after the afl's inaugural season. the cfl's eastern and western conferences had already been playing 14 and 16 game schedules, respectively, for several years. the aafc in the 1940s also played a 14-game schedule.





















































bullet::::- players' last names on the jersey back (adopted by the nfl in 1970).





















































bullet::::- a flashier, exciting style of play, as opposed to conservative-style nfl game plans.
afl–nfl merger