9781422283080

TV money got real in this decade, too. In 1964, the NFL signed a two-year deal with CBS for $28.2 million. The AFL was in the fifth and last year of a deal with ABC worth over $2 million a year. The AFL then switched to NBC, which paid $36 million for five years. In 1966, the NFL and AFL agreed to merge in 1970, but to have the league champions meet at the end of the season right away. The first AFL-NFL World Championship Game was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1967. Green Bay of the NFL defeated Kansas City of the AFL 35–10. The Packers beat the Oakland Raiders the following year. The annual championship game eventually changed its name to the Super Bowl—a monicker it lived up to in January 1969. “Broadway Joe” Namath, the AFL New York Jets quarterback, boldly predicted a victory in Super Bowl III over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts of the NFL. The Jets won 16–7. The Super Bowl has since become America’s number- one sporting event.

Inside the NFL-AFL merger

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