Notes

Superbowl History
SUPER BOWL HISTORY

The year was 1966, and war was raging in professional football. It was a bidding war for talent also it ended up occurring because the American Football League came on the scene in 1960 to challenge the National Football League, forty years its senior. At first, the battles were for college players, as well as the AFL scored a young victory each time a court ruled and only the Houston Oilers in the NFL's Los Angeles Rams after both clubs had signed Billy Cannon, the Heisman Trophy winning halfback at Louisiana State.

Although directory opted for a "no tampering" rule on existing player contracts, the stakes became high for college talent. Bonuses went sky-high. The AFL's New York Jets signed Alabama quarterback Joe Namath in 1965 to a $400,000 contract, the most important amount ever for any collegian. In 1966, the NFL's Atlanta Falcons gave Texas linebacker Tommy Nobis a $600,000 package along with the Green Bay Packers forked over $711,000 to Texas Tech running back Donny Anderson.

Meanwhile, veteran players were settling for small raises on relatively small salaries. For example, John Brodie, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, received $35,000 in 1965 and was asking to get a raise to $65,000 after leading the NFL in completions, completion percentage, yardage and touchdown passes. Then came a back-breaker. Buffalo placekicker Pete Gogolak, who had played out his option in 1965, signed with the NFL's New York Giants. The "no tampering" code had been broken. The conflict was in outdoors, also it was time for action.

On April 7, 1966, peacemaker Joe Foss resigned as AFL commissioner and the next day Al Davis, general manager in the Oakland Raiders, took over. Davis was a hawk in regard to the NFL, and that he stood a plan. Davis organized an AFL war chest and urged keepers to start actually talking to established NFL stars. The NFL had bragged of the company's superiority because with the caliber of the quarterbacks. Davis desired to sign those quarterbacks for the AFL.

The Raiders quickly signed Los Angeles quarterback Roman Gabriel to a commitment starting in '67. Houston offered the 49ers' Brodie $75,000, spread over decade, to sign a five-year deal with all the Oilers. Reportedly, eight with the NFL's starting quarterbacks were dickering with all the AFL. The NFL had no choice. On June 8, 1966, two months after Davis took over as AFL commissioner, a merger agreement was announced. There would be considered a common draft starting in 1967, interleague preseason games starting in '67 and regular-season play combining the leagues in 1970. Territorial indemnification of $18 million would have been to be paid to the 49ers and Giants over a 20-year period. Most important, in the standpoint of football fans, was the immediate establishment of your championship game involving the leagues. This was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game -- that was popularized because the Super Bowl looking at the inception.

Gabriel never went for the Raiders and Brodie never left the 49ers, but Brodie collected one million dollars on the agreement he made in his talks with Houston. Davis resigned as AFL commissioner a month as soon as the merger. He clearly had won his battle.
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