Editing All-America Football Conference (section)

===The AAFC and the NFL record book===
One notable difference between the All-America Football Conference and the [[American Football League]] (AFL), which merged with the NFL two decades later, is that the records and statistics of AAFC players and teams were not included in the NFL record book for many years, while those of their AFL counterparts were.<ref name="Official-Introduction"/> For example, [[Joe Namath]]'s pre-1970 statistics with the AFL [[New York Jets]] have long been considered official NFL statistics, while [[Y. A. Tittle]]'s pre-1950 statistics with the AAFC Baltimore Colts were not.

According to the NFL, this was because official scoresheets of AAFC games were not made available to the NFL after the merger. Without these, the NFL could not verify the authenticity of any AAFC statistics or records, and so it chose to ignore them.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pavlick|first=Ed|url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/coffin-corner80s/02-07-036.pdf|title=Opinion: pro football records should include the AAFC|journal=Coffin Corner|volume=2|issue=7|year=1980|access-date=December 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907215637/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/coffin-corner80s/02-07-036.pdf|archive-date=September 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in the case of the [[AFL–NFL merger]], which was completed in 1970, the AFL gave all of its official scoresheets to the NFL, making it possible for the NFL to accept the AFL's statistics and records. 

Another explanation{{whom|date=April 2025|reason=These are general differences. How does this _directly_ explain which statistics the were recognized by the NFL?}} is that unlike the NFL–AFL agreement, the NFL–AAFC agreement was not a merger between equals: only three of the seven AAFC teams were admitted to the NFL, there was no interleague playoff in December 1949, and "American" swiftly disappeared from the enlarged league's name. In contrast, the AFL was able to force the NFL to admit all of its teams, to play an interleague championship game on a neutral field (retroactively known as [[Super Bowl I]]), and to maintain the "American" name in the form of the [[American Football Conference]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=NFL and AFL announce merger|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nfl-and-afl-announce-merger|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=HISTORY|language=en}}</ref>

A push to have AAFC statistics officially recognized by the NFL started in 2019, but stalled for a number of years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-s-official-records-to-finally-incorporate-all-america-football-conference-statistics |title=NFL's official records to finally incorporate All-America Football Conference statistics |first=Judy |last=Battista |website=NFL.com |date=April 1, 2025 |accessdate=April 2, 2025}}</ref> On April 1, 2025, NFL owners approved a proposal from the Competition Committee to officially recognize AAFC records, spanning player, coach, and team statistics.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfl-will-include-stats-from-1946-49-all-america-football-conference-in-official-records |title=NFL will include stats from 1946-49 All-America Football Conference in official records |first=Michael David |last=Smith |website=[[NBC Sports]] |date=April 1, 2025 |accessdate=April 2, 2025}}</ref> Incorporating AAFC records credited longtime [[Cleveland Browns]] head coach [[Paul Brown]] with an additional 52 regular-season and playoff wins, as recognized by the NFL.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/01/sports/nfl-aafc-paul-brown/ |title=Paul Brown gets a career win total boost after NFL officially incorporates old AAFC stats |first=Josh |last=Dubow |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |url-access=limited |date=April 1, 2025 |accessdate=April 2, 2025}}</ref>

Historically, the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] did not recognize AAFC statistics.<ref name="Official-Introduction">{{cite book|title=The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football|chapter=Introduction|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nflsofficialency00nati/page/7 7-8]|year=1977|publisher=National Football League Properties|isbn=0-02-589010-7|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/nflsofficialency00nati/page/7}}</ref>