How did the NFL-AFL merger lead to the Super Bowl?

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Jalen Hurts, wearing number 1 for the Philadelphia Eagles, winds up to throw a football during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs. — American football Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during Super Bowl LVII, 2023; the team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The American Football League (AFL) was founded in 1959 as a rival to the National Football League. Throughout the 1960s, the two leagues engaged in a fierce bidding war for top talent, which created significant financial strain for both organizations.1

To resolve these business difficulties, AFL founder Lamar Hunt and NFL general manager Tex Schramm held secret negotiations that led to the announcement of a merger in June 1966. As part of this agreement, the leagues established an end-of-season championship game between their respective winners, which was initially called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game and later became known as the Super Bowl.1

The first of these games took place in January 1967. While the merger was announced in 1966, it was not fully implemented until 1970, at which point the AFL teams officially joined the NFL as the American Football Conference (AFC).1