Few moths after AFL 's first draft in 1959 , owners of the Minneapolis new team ( later known as the Minnesota Vikings ) accepted the invitation to join the established National Football League . Needed a replacement , the AFL tried to find one quickly . A few months after the first AFL draft in 1959 , the owners of the yet-unnamed Minneapolis franchise accepted an offer to join the established National Football League as an expansion team ( now called the Minnesota Vikings ) in 1961 , sending the AFL scrambling for a replacement .