List of AFL and AFC champions
The American Football Conference is one of two conferences within the National Football League, the National Football Conference being the other.
The AFC has its roots in the American Football League, which began to play in 1960. In 1970, the AFL merged with the NFL. As part of the merger, the former AFL teams, plus three former NFL teams, were placed in the AFC. The remaining former NFL teams were placed in the NFC. As of the 2025 season only the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans have not won an AFC or AFL championship.
Background
The AFC champion is not necessarily the team with the best record in the regular season. Rather, the champion is decided by the AFC Championship Game as part of the post-season playoffs involving the teams with the best regular season records. The Houston Oilers won the first two AFL championships, in 1960 and 1961. The only other team to win two consecutive AFL championships prior to the merger was the Buffalo Bills, who won in 1964 and 1965 with future United States Congressman, HUD Secretary and Vice-Presidential nominee Jack Kemp at quarterback. After the merger, the first team to win three consecutive AFC championships was the Miami Dolphins in 1971 through 1973. The only team to win four consecutive AFC championships was the Buffalo Bills in 1990 through 1993. The New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs are the only other AFC teams to win three consecutive championships, from 2016 through 2018, and 2022 through 2024 respectively.Through the 2025 season, the most AFL or AFC championships won by any team is twelve, by the Patriots, followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, and Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, who have each won eight AFL or AFC championships. The Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders have been the AFL or AFC runner up, as a result of losing the AFL or AFC Championship Game, a record nine times. The Steelers have been the runner up eight times, while the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers have been the runner up seven times.
The record for the most regular-season wins by an AFL or AFC champion is 16, by the 2007 New England Patriots, with a perfect 16-0 record, followed by the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs, who won 15 games in a 17-game season. The 1972 Miami Dolphins also had a perfect season, winning 14 games in a 14-game season, with a 14-0 record.
File:Photo of the Day- 4-20 .jpg|thumb|right|Bill Belichick has won nine AFC Championships as a head coach.
Bill Belichick has been the head coach for nine AFC championship teams. Don Shula and Andy Reid have each been the head coach of five AFC championship teams. Chuck Noll and Marv Levy each coached four AFC champions.
Tom Brady has been the starting quarterback for nine AFC championship teams, more than any other quarterback. In addition, he was the starting quarterback for one NFC championship team, the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for a total of 10 conference championships. John Elway and Patrick Mahomes were the starting quarterback for five AFC champions. Terry Bradshaw, Jim Kelly and Peyton Manning were each the starting quarterback for four AFC champions. Manning started in five championships for two different franchises, the Indianapolis Colts and the Broncos.
Franco Harris and Thurman Thomas were each the leader in rushing yards for an AFC champion four times. Larry Csonka was the leader in rushing yards for an AFC champion three times. Travis Kelce was the leader in receiving yards for an AFC champion five times. Andre Reed was the leader in receiving yards for an AFC champion four times and Paul Warfield and Julian Edelman have been the leader in receiving yards for an AFC champion three times.
The 1973 Miami Dolphins had seven first-team All-Pros, more than any other AFC champion since the AFL–NFL merger. The 1971 Miami Dolphins, 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers and 2007 New England Patriots each had five 1st team All-Pros. The 1970 Baltimore Colts, 1982 Miami Dolphins, 1987 Denver Broncos and 1996 and 2001 New England Patriots did not have any 1st team All-Pros. Jack Ham is the only defensive player to be named as a 1st team All-Pro for four AFC champions. Troy Polamalu and Chris Jones were defensive 1st team All-Pros for three AFC champions. Larry Little is the only offensive lineman to be named as a 1st team All-Pro for three AFC champions. Rob Gronkowski is the only tight end to be named a 1st team All-Pro for three AFC champions. Garo Yepremian is the only kicker to be named as a 1st team All-Pro for two AFC champions.
At the end of the 1966 season, the Super Bowl began to be played between the AFL champion and the NFL champion. After the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the Super Bowl continued to be played between the AFC champion and the NFC champion. The AFL champion lost the first two Super Bowls. The 1968 AFL champion New York Jets with Joe Namath at quarterback became the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl. Starting with that Super Bowl, the AFL or AFC champion won 11 out of 13 Super Bowls. However, the AFC champion lost 13 consecutive Super Bowls, from the 1984 AFC champion Miami Dolphins through the 1996 AFC champion New England Patriots. Overall, the AFL or AFC champion has won 29 of the 58 Super Bowls played through the end of the 2023 season.
Key
| Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular AFL or NFL season. |
| Team | Name of AFL or AFC Championship team, linked to the team's championship season |
| Record | Championship team's regular season record wins-losses; if the team played any tie games the record is shown as wins-losses-ties |
| Head coach | Championship team's head coach; if the team had multiple head coaches for the season they are shown in decreasing order of number of regular season wins |
| Quarterback | Name of quarterback with most passing attempts for the AFL/AFC champion during the regular season |
| Leading Rusher | Name of player with most rushing yards for the AFL/AFC champion during the regular season |
| Leading Receiver | Name of player with most receiving yards for the AFL/AFC champion during the regular season |
| All-Pros | List of 1st team AP All-Pros on that season's AFL/AFC champion |
| Runner Up | Name of team that lost the AFL or AFC Championship Game |
| † | Super Bowl Champion |
| * | Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame |
AFL and AFC championship teams
AFL Champions
AFC Champions
| Season | Team | Record | Head coach | Quarterback | Leading rusher | Leading receiver | All-Pros | Runner-up | Reference |
| 1970 | Baltimore Colts† | * | Oakland Raiders | ||||||
| 1971 | Miami Dolphins | * | * | * | * | Csonka*, Griese*, Little*, Warfield*, Yepremian | Baltimore Colts | ||
| 1972 | Miami Dolphins† | * | * | * | Anderson, Little*, Morrall, Stanfill | Pittsburgh Steelers | |||
| 1973 | Miami Dolphins† | * | * | * | * | Anderson, Csonka*, Langer*, Little*, Scott, Warfield*, Yepremian | Oakland Raiders | ||
| 1974 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | * | * | * | Greene*, Greenwood, Ham* | Oakland Raiders | |||
| 1975 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | * | * | * | * | Blount*, Greenwood, Ham* | Oakland Raiders | ||
| 1976 | Oakland Raiders† | * | * | Branch, Casper*, Guy* | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||
| 1977 | Denver Broncos | Alzado, Gradishar*, Jackson, Thompson | Oakland Raiders | ||||||
| 1978 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | * | * | * | * | Bradshaw*, Ham*, Swann*, Webster* | Houston Oilers | ||
| 1979 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | * | * | * | * | Ham*, Lambert*, Shell, Stallworth*, Webster* | Houston Oilers | ||
| 1980 | Oakland Raiders† | * | Hayes, Hendricks* | San Diego Chargers | |||||
| 1981 | Cincinnati Bengals | * | Anderson, McInally, Munoz* | San Diego Chargers | |||||
| 1982 | Miami Dolphins | * | New York Jets | ||||||
| 1983 | Los Angeles Raiders† | * | * | Christensen | Seattle Seahawks | ||||
| 1984 | Miami Dolphins | * | * | Marino*, Newman, Roby, Stephenson* | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||
| 1985 | New England Patriots | * | Hannah*, Tippett* | Miami Dolphins | |||||
| 1986 | Denver Broncos | * | Jones, Mecklenburg | Cleveland Browns | |||||
| 1987 | Denver Broncos | * | Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| 1988 | Cincinnati Bengals | Esiason, Krumrie, Munoz* | Buffalo Bills | ||||||
| 1989 | Denver Broncos | * | Mecklenburg | Cleveland Browns | |||||
| 1990 | Buffalo Bills | * | * | * | * | Hull, Smith*, Thomas* | Los Angeles Raiders | ||
| 1991 | Buffalo Bills | * | * | * | * | Hull, Kelly*, Thomas* | Denver Broncos | ||
| 1992 | Buffalo Bills | * | * | * | * | Jones | Miami Dolphins | ||
| 1993 | Buffalo Bills | * | * | * | * | Smith* | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1994 | San Diego Chargers | Carney, Seau* | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| 1995 | Pittsburgh Steelers | * | Dawson*, Lloyd | Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| 1996 | New England Patriots | * | * | Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||
| 1997 | Denver Broncos† | * | * | Davis*, Mobley, Sharpe* | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||
| 1998 | Denver Broncos† | * | * | Davis*, Sharpe* | New York Jets | ||||
| 1999 | Tennessee Titans | Kearse, Matthews* | Jacksonville Jaguars | ||||||
| 2000 | Baltimore Ravens† | * | Lewis*, Ogden* | Oakland Raiders | |||||
| 2001 | New England Patriots† | Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||
| 2002 | Oakland Raiders | * | Gannon, Kennedy, Robbins, Woodson* | Tennessee Titans | |||||
| 2003 | New England Patriots† | Harrison, Law*, Seymour* | Indianapolis Colts | ||||||
| 2004 | New England Patriots† | Seymour*, Vinatieri | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| 2005 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | * | Faneca*, Polamalu* | Denver Broncos | |||||
| 2006 | Indianapolis Colts† | * | * | * | Harrison* | New England Patriots | |||
| 2007 | New England Patriots | * | Brady, Light, Moss*, Samuel, Vrabel | San Diego Chargers | |||||
| 2008 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | Harrison, Polamalu* | Baltimore Ravens | ||||||
| 2009 | Indianapolis Colts | * | Manning, Clark, Freeney* | New York Jets | |||||
| 2010 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Harrison, Polamalu*, Pouncey | New York Jets | ||||||
| 2011 | New England Patriots | Gronkowski, Mankins, Welker, Wilfork | Baltimore Ravens | ||||||
| 2012 | Baltimore Ravens† | Jones, Leach | New England Patriots | ||||||
| 2013 | Denver Broncos | * | Manning, Thomas, Vasquez, Prater | New England Patriots | |||||
| 2014 | New England Patriots† | Gronkowski, Revis | Indianapolis Colts | ||||||
| 2015 | Denver Broncos† | * | Miller | New England Patriots | |||||
| 2016 | New England Patriots† | Slater | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| 2017 | New England Patriots | Brady, Gronkowski | Jacksonville Jaguars | ||||||
| 2018 | New England Patriots† | Gilmore | Kansas City Chiefs | ||||||
| 2019 | Kansas City Chiefs† | Mathieu | Tennessee Titans | ||||||
| 2020 | Kansas City Chiefs | Kelce, Hill, Mathieu | Buffalo Bills | ||||||
| 2021 | Cincinnati Bengals | Chase, Mixon, Hendrickson | Kansas City Chiefs | ||||||
| 2022 | Kansas City Chiefs† | Andy Reid | Patrick Mahomes | Isiah Pacheco | Travis Kelce | Mahomes, Kelce, Jones, Townsend | Cincinnati Bengals | ||
| 2023 | Kansas City Chiefs† | Andy Reid | Patrick Mahomes | Isiah Pacheco | Travis Kelce | Thuney, Jones, McDuffie | Baltimore Ravens | ||
| 2024 | Kansas City Chiefs | Andy Reid | Patrick Mahomes | Kareem Hunt | Travis Kelce | Thuney, Jones | Buffalo Bills | ||
| 2025 | New England Patriots | Mike Vrabel | Drake Maye | TreVeyon Henderson | Stefon Diggs | Denver Broncos |