List of NFL champions (1920–1969)
The National Football League champions, prior to the merger between the National Football League and American Football League in 1970, were determined by two different systems. The National Football League was established on September 17, 1920, as the American Professional Football Association. The APFA changed its name in 1922 to the National Football League, which it has retained ever since. From 1921 to 1931, the APFA/NFL determined its champion by overall win–loss record, with no playoff games; ties were not counted in the winning percentage total. The APFA did not keep records of the 1920 season; they declared the Akron Pros, who finished the season with an 8–0–3 record, as the league's first champions by a vote of the owners. The Canton Bulldogs won two straight championships from 1922 to 1923, and the Green Bay Packers won three in a row from 1929 to 1931.
The 1932 NFL season resulted in a tie for first place between the Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans, and could not be resolved by the typical win–loss system. To settle the tie, a playoff game was played; Chicago won the game and the championship. The following year, the NFL split into two divisions, and the winner of each division would play in the NFL Championship Game. In 1967, the NFL and the rival AFL agreed to merge, effective following the 1969 season; as part of this deal, the NFL champion from 1966 to 1969 would play the AFL champion in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game in each of the four seasons before the completed merger. The NFL Championship Game was ended after the 1969 season, succeeded by the NFC Championship Game. The champions of that game play the champions of the AFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion.
The Chicago Bears won a total of eight titles, and the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and New York Giants each won four. The Bears recorded the largest victory in a championship game, defeating the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game; six other title games ended in a shutout as well. The Philadelphia Eagles recorded two consecutive shutouts in 1948 and 1949. New York City hosted the most championship games, while the highest-attended title game was the 1955 NFL Championship Game, where 85,693 fans showed up in Los Angeles to watch the Browns beat the Rams 38–14.
APFA/NFL champions (1920–1932)
Champion determined by win–loss percentage. The number in parentheses indicates the number of championships the franchise had won to that point.| Season | Champion | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Runner-up | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct. | Ref. |
| 1920 | Akron Pros* | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | Decatur Staleys | 10 | 1 | 2 | .909 | |
| 1921 | Chicago Staleys* | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | Buffalo All-Americans | 9 | 1 | 2 | .900 | |
| 1922 | Canton Bulldogs | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | |
| 1923 | Canton Bulldogs | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | Chicago Bears | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | |
| 1924 | Cleveland Bulldogs | 7 | 1 | 1 | .875 | Chicago Bears | 6 | 1 | 4 | .857 | |
| 1925 | Chicago Cardinals* | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | Pottsville Maroons | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | |
| 1926 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | 14 | 1 | 2 | .933 | Chicago Bears | 12 | 1 | 3 | .923 | |
| 1927 | New York Giants | 11 | 1 | 1 | .917 | Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | |
| 1928 | Providence Steam Roller | 8 | 1 | 2 | .889 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | 11 | 3 | 2 | .786 | |
| 1929 | Green Bay Packers | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | New York Giants | 13 | 1 | 1 | .929 | |
| 1930 | Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | New York Giants | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 | |
| 1931 | Green Bay Packers | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | Portsmouth Spartans | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | |
| 1932 | Chicago Bears | 7 | 1 | 6 | .875 | Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 |
Note: disputed champions are listed with an asterisk
NFL champions (1933–1969)
Numbers in parentheses in the table indicate the number of times that team won the NFL championship as of the championship game.| Season | Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Site | Attendance | Ref. |
| 1933 | Chicago Bears ^ | New York Giants‡ | Chicago - Wrigley Field | 26,000 | |||
| 1934 | New York Giants ‡ | Chicago Bears^ | New York City - Polo Grounds | 35,059 | |||
| 1935 | Detroit Lions | New York Giants‡ | Detroit - University of Detroit Stadium | 15,000 | |||
| 1936 | Green Bay Packers ^ | Boston Redskins‡ | New York City - Polo Grounds | 29,545 | |||
| 1937 | Washington Redskins‡ | Chicago Bears^ | Chicago - Wrigley Field | 15,870 | |||
| 1938 | New York Giants ‡ | Green Bay Packers^ | New York City - Polo Grounds | 48,120 | |||
| 1939 | Green Bay Packers ^ | New York Giants‡ | Milwaukee - Dairy Bowl | 32,279 | |||
| 1940 | Chicago Bears ^ | Washington Redskins‡ | Washington - Griffith Stadium | 36,034 | |||
| 1941 | Chicago Bears ^ | New York Giants‡ | Chicago - Wrigley Field | 13,341 | |||
| 1942 | Washington Redskins ‡ | Chicago Bears^ | Washington - Griffith Stadium | 36,006 | |||
| 1943 | Chicago Bears ^ | Washington Redskins‡ | Chicago - Wrigley Field | 34,320 | |||
| 1944 | Green Bay Packers ^ | New York Giants‡ | New York City - Polo Grounds | 46,016 | |||
| 1945 | Cleveland Rams^ | Washington Redskins‡ | Cleveland - Cleveland Stadium | 32,178 | |||
| 1946 | Chicago Bears ^ | New York Giants‡ | New York City - Polo Grounds | 58,346 | |||
| 1947 | Chicago Cardinals ^ | Philadelphia Eagles‡ | Chicago - Comiskey Park | 30,759 | |||
| 1948 | Philadelphia Eagles‡ | Chicago Cardinals^ | Philadelphia - Shibe Park | 36,309 | |||
| 1949 | Philadelphia Eagles ‡ | Los Angeles Rams^ | Los Angeles - Memorial Coliseum | 27,980 | |||
| 1950 | Cleveland Browns‡ | Los Angeles Rams^ | Cleveland - Cleveland Stadium | 29,751 | |||
| 1951 | Los Angeles Rams ^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Los Angeles - Memorial Coliseum | 57,522 | |||
| 1952 | Detroit Lions ^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Cleveland - Cleveland Stadium | 50,934 | |||
| 1953 | Detroit Lions ^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Detroit - Briggs Stadium | 54,577 | |||
| 1954 | Cleveland Browns ‡ | Detroit Lions^ | Cleveland - Cleveland Stadium | 43,827 | |||
| 1955 | Cleveland Browns ‡ | Los Angeles Rams^ | Los Angeles - Memorial Coliseum | 85,693 | |||
| 1956 | New York Giants ‡ | Chicago Bears^ | New York City - Yankee Stadium | 56,836 | |||
| 1957 | Detroit Lions ^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Detroit - Briggs Stadium | 55,263 | |||
| 1958 | Baltimore Colts^ | New York Giants‡ | New York City - Yankee Stadium | 64,185 | |||
| 1959 | Baltimore Colts ^ | New York Giants‡ | Baltimore - Memorial Stadium | 57,545 | |||
| 1960 | Philadelphia Eagles ‡ | Green Bay Packers^ | Philadelphia - Franklin Field | 67,325 | |||
| 1961 | Green Bay Packers ^ | New York Giants‡ | Green Bay - City Stadium | 39,029 | |||
| 1962 | Green Bay Packers ^ | New York Giants‡ | New York City - Yankee Stadium | 64,892 | |||
| 1963 | Chicago Bears ^ | New York Giants‡ | Chicago - Wrigley Field | 45,801 | |||
| 1964 | Cleveland Browns ‡ | Baltimore Colts^ | Cleveland - Cleveland Stadium | 79,544 | |||
| 1965 | Green Bay Packers ^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Green Bay - Lambeau Field | 50,777 | |||
| 1966 | Green Bay Packers ^ | Dallas Cowboys‡ | Dallas | 74,152 | |||
| 1967 | Green Bay Packers ^ | Dallas Cowboys‡ | Green Bay | 50,861 | |||
| 1968 | Baltimore Colts ^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Cleveland | 78,410 | |||
| 1969 | Minnesota Vikings^ | Cleveland Browns‡ | Bloomington | 46,503 |