The NFL Belt · era belt
The belt since the 1970 merger
The NFL and AFL merged into one league for the 1970 season; this belt starts with that season's first game. Los Angeles Rams won that game against St. Louis Cardinals, 34–13 on September 18, 1970.
408Reigns since 1970
408Title changes
32Franchises that held it
GiantsHolder today
Start the NFL belt with Los Angeles Rams’ win on September 18, 1970 and it takes a different path for 4 reigns: on January 3, 1971 the new line and the original line land in the same hands, and from that day on they never differ again. Every reign since is the same reign on both belts, so this page is the era's record book rather than a second history.
Where the two lines differed
| # | Holder | From | To | Def. | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Rams | Sep 18, 1970 | Oct 11, 1970 | 2 | first game |
| 2 | San Francisco 49ers | Oct 11, 1970 | Nov 22, 1970 | 5 | beat Rams 20–6 |
| 3 | Detroit Lions | Nov 22, 1970 | Dec 26, 1970 | 4 | beat 49ers 28–7 |
| 4 | Dallas Cowboys | Dec 26, 1970 | Jan 17, 1971 | 1 | beat Lions 5–0 |
The era's record book
Most days held since 1970
| 1 | New England Patriots | 2,025 |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1,598 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,356 |
| 4 | New York Giants | 1,171 |
| 5 | Washington Commanders | 1,102 |
| 6 | Dallas Cowboys | 1,081 |
| 7 | San Francisco 49ers | 1,047 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Chargers | 1,019 |
| 9 | Seattle Seahawks | 952 |
| 10 | Miami Dolphins | 934 |
Most reigns since 1970
| 1 | Las Vegas Raiders | 24 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | 22 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Rams | 21 |
| 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | 21 |
| 5 | Dallas Cowboys | 19 |
| 6 | San Francisco 49ers | 18 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 17 |
| 8 | Buffalo Bills | 17 |
| 9 | Seattle Seahawks | 15 |
| 10 | Cleveland Browns | 14 |
Most defenses since 1970
Longest reigns of the era
| # | Reign | Defenses | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver BroncosJan 25, 1998 – Dec 13, 1998 | 13 | 322 |
| 2 | Green Bay PackersFeb 6, 2011 – Dec 18, 2011 | 13 | 315 |
| 3 | Kansas City ChiefsJan 21, 2024 – Nov 17, 2024 | 11 | 301 |
| 4 | New England PatriotsDec 2, 2001 – Sep 29, 2002 | 10 | 301 |
| 5 | New England PatriotsFeb 1, 2015 – Nov 29, 2015 | 10 | 301 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh SteelersOct 31, 2004 – Jan 23, 2005 | 10 | 84 |
| 7 | New England PatriotsNov 4, 2007 – Feb 3, 2008 | 9 | 91 |
| 8 | New England PatriotsFeb 3, 2019 – Nov 3, 2019 | 8 | 273 |
| 9 | New York GiantsSep 16, 1990 – Nov 25, 1990 | 8 | 70 |
| 10 | Baltimore RavensNov 3, 2019 – Jan 11, 2020 | 8 | 69 |