Editing Super Bowl I (section)

===Origins===
{{main|AFL–NFL merger}}
[[File: SuperBowl I - Los Angeles Coliseum.jpg|thumb|[[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] on game day]]
When the NFL began its 41st season in {{nfly|1960}}, it had a new and unwanted rival: the [[American Football League]]. The NFL had successfully fended off several other rival leagues in the past, and so the older league initially ignored the new upstart and its eight teams, figuring it would be made up of nothing but NFL rejects, and that fans were unlikely to prefer it to the NFL. But unlike the NFL's prior rivals, the AFL survived and prospered, in part by signing "NFL rejects" who turned out to be highly talented players the older league had badly misjudged. Soon the NFL and AFL found themselves locked in a massive bidding war for the top free agents and prospects coming out of college. Originally, there was a tacit agreement between the two not to raid each other by signing players who were already under contract with a team from an opposing league. This policy broke down in early 1966 when the NFL's [[1966 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] signed [[Pete Gogolak]], a placekicker who was under contract with the AFL's [[1966 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]]. The AFL owners considered this an "act of war" and immediately struck back, signing several contracted NFL players, including eight of their top quarterbacks.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Eventually, the NFL had enough and started negotiations with the AFL in an attempt to resolve the issue. As a result of the negotiations, the leagues signed a [[AFL–NFL merger|merger agreement]] on June 9, 1966. Among the details, both leagues agreed to share a [[common draft]] to end the bidding war for the top college players, as well as merge into a single league after the {{nfly|1969}} season. In addition, an "AFL–NFL World Championship Game" was established, in which the AFL and NFL champions would play against each other in a game at the end of the season to determine which league had the best team.<ref name=rappoport>{{cite book|last1=Rappoport|first1=Ken|title=The Little League That Could: A History of the American Football League|date=2010|publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing|location=Lanham, MD|isbn=978-1589794627}}</ref>

Los Angeles wasn't awarded the game until December 1, less than seven weeks before the kickoff;<ref name=spblgm>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AbpeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fC8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1956%2C487673 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |title=Football's Super Bowl game will be played at Los Angeles |date=December 2, 1966 |page=16 |access-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225074705/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AbpeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fC8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1956%2C487673 |url-status=live }}</ref> likewise, the date of the game was not set until December 13.<ref name=scdjan15la/> Since the AFL Championship Game originally was scheduled for Monday, December 26, and the NFL Championship Game for Sunday, January{{nbsp}}1, the "new" championship game was suggested to be played Sunday, January 8. An unprecedented TV [[Doubleheader (television)|doubleheader]] was held on January 1, with the [[1966 American Football League Championship Game|AFL Championship Game]] telecast from Buffalo on NBC and the [[1966 NFL Championship Game|NFL Championship Game]] telecast from Dallas on CBS three hours later.

Coming into this "first" game, considerable animosity still existed between the two rival leagues, with both of them putting pressure on their respective champions to trounce the other and prove each league's dominance in professional football. Still, many sportswriters and fans believed the game was a mismatch, and any team from the long-established NFL was far superior to the best team from the upstart AFL.

The players' shares were $15,000 each for the winning team and $7,500 each for the losing team.<ref name=rtmposen>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SbsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yvcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6712%2C659347 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Record team payoff seen for grid play |date=December 2, 1966 |page=14 |access-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224202514/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SbsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yvcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6712%2C659347 |url-status=live }}</ref> This was in addition to the league championship money earned two weeks earlier: the Packers' shares were $8,600 each<ref name=sgptwtv>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5ThWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7ugDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7234%2C702863 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Starr guns Packers to wild title victory |date=January 2, 1967 |page=16 |access-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512042005/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5ThWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7ugDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7234%2C702863 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Chiefs' were $5,308 each.<ref name=ldjwaprdy>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jNFTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=szgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7205%2C79036 |newspaper=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |title=Chiefs ready for Packers |date=January 2, 1967 |page=14 |access-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-date=April 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426205343/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jNFTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=szgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7205,79036 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=splfow>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jNFTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=szgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2513%2C79297 |newspaper=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Kansas |title=K.C. splits pot 51 ways |date=January 2, 1967 |page=14 |access-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-date=April 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424061831/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jNFTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=szgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2513,79297 |url-status=live }}</ref>