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When he took office there were twelve teams in the NFL; by the time he resigned, that number had grown to twenty-eight. Following the lead of the rival American Football League, he negotiated large television contracts to broadcast every NFL game played each season. He got NFL team owners to agree to share revenues between teams, as the American Football League had done since its inception.
In November 1963 the NFL played its full schedule of games, only three days after JFK's assassination, while the rival American Football League (AFL) postponed its games out of respect for the fallen president. Rozelle rued his decision to have the NFL play, and frequently stated publicly that it had been his worst mistake.
With American Football League Commissioner Al Davis and other AFL and NFL executives, he negotiated the merger between the American Football League and the NFL. In October, 1966, he testified to Congress to convince them to allow the merger, promising that if they permitted it, "Professional football operations will be preserved in the 23 cities and 25 stadiums where such operations are presently being conducted."; and "Every franchise of both leagues will remain in its present location." Following the urging of Al Davis, Rozelle also agreed to the creation of the Super Bowl and later supported the concept of Monday Night Football.