League vs League
NBA vs NFL
National Basketball Association versus National Football League — a side-by-side breakdown of two very different worlds of pro sports, plus the tools to compare their teams and players by the numbers.
Head to head
Basketball
Sport
American Football
1946
Founded
1920
30
Teams
32
October – June
Season
September – February
Points (2s, 3s, FTs)
Scoring
Touchdowns, field goals
4 × 12 min
Game length
4 × 15 min
LeBron James, Nikola Jokić, Stephen Curry
Stars today
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson
Basketball
NBA
National Basketball Association
Global superstar league with the highest-paid athletes in team sports.
Since 194630 teamsOctober – June
American Football
NFL
National Football League
Most-watched league in the U.S., peaking with the Super Bowl.
Since 192032 teamsSeptember – February
Take it further
Compare teams & players from either league
CompariSport pulls real, historical stats going back decades. Pick 2–4 teams or players and see who leads every stat.