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First Draft
The NFL holds its first annual draft of college players. The first player selected, Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger, chooses to pursue a career in plastics manufacturing instead of pro football and never plays a down in the NFL. -
First Televised Game
An NFL game airs on television for the first time, with NBC producing a local broadcast of a game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles. -
Football Beats Baseball as Favorite Sport
For the first time, more people polled in a national survey choose pro football than baseball as their favorite sport. -
First Super Bowl
The NFL's Green Bay Packers easily defeat the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs to win the first Super Bowl. More than 32,000 tickets go unsold for the game, held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the game draws more television viewers than any previous sporting event. -
Walter Payton Breaks Rushing Record
Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton punishes the Minnesota Vikings' defense while rushing for an NFL single-game record of 275 yards. Payton's record will stand for 23 years. -
First Halftime Concert
Super Bowl XVI, held just outside Detroit in Pontiac, Michigan, includes the first Super Bowl musical performance by a major recording industry superstar: Motown's own Diana Ross. Ross's performance will kick off a new era in elaborately produced pregame and halftime entertainment. -
Football Strike
The NFL Players Association goes out on strike, hoping to force the NFL into allowing free agency and guaranteeing players a higher proportion of league revenues. The strike will last nearly a month. -
Big Cities Lose Teams
In a two month-span, both of Los Angeles's NFL teams flee the nation's second largest city for new locations. The Rams move to St. Louis, while the Raiders return to their original home of Oakland. -
Emmit Smith Breaks Walter Payton's Record
In the fourth quarter of a game against the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith breaks off an 11-yard run that allows him to surpass the legendary Walter Payton to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Smith finishes the game with 109 yards on 24 carries, running his career total up to a staggering 16,728 yards from scrimmage. -
Roger Goodell Named Commissioner
The NFL selects Roger Goodell as its new commissioner. The early years of Goodell's reign will be marked by a strong crackdown by the league against various acts of off-field misconduct by its players, and attempting to make it higher scoring. -
Patriots Fail to Achieve Perfect Season
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sets a new NFL record by throwing for 50 touchdown passes in the 2007 season. Brady's Pats storm to the NFL's first undefeated regular season since 1972, but fail to achieve perfection after losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. -
50th Super Bowl
The Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers 24-10. The game was dominated by Von Miller who caused two fumbles and one being returned for a touchdown. Miller earned the MVP award for his efforts in the Super bowl.
