The starting rosters for the game were released on December 18, 2007, with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady starting for the AFC and the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre for the NFC. However, Brett Favre withdrew due to an ankle injury. Notable Pro Bowl selections included the late Sean Taylor. The Dallas Cowboys had a record thirteen players named to the Pro Bowl roster, while five teams, including all four members of the NFC South, had no players initially named (Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was later chosen as a replacement quarterback for Brett Favre.) On February 4, 2008, Brady, Patriots receiver Randy Moss, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, and Chargers defensive lineman Jamal Williams decided to pull out of the 2008 Pro Bowl. Brady was replaced by Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson, Moss was replaced by Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, Gates was replaced by Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, and Williams was replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Casey Hampton.[3]

The AFC was coached by Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers staff, while Mike McCarthy and the staff of the Green Bay Packers coached the NFC. Three Washington Redskins players (Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels and Ethan Albright) wore #21 in memory of Taylor, their deceased teammate.[4] The game featured 41 players appearing in their first Pro Bowl (out of 86 total players), the most in eight years.[5] In addition, the NFC played their first defensive play with only ten players on the field, lacking a free safety, in Taylor's honor.

The game was the most watched Pro Bowl since 2000, pulling in a Nielsen rating of 6.3 and a 12 share.[6] It also marked the first ever Pro Bowl to be televised by Fox. The 2008 Pro Bowl also marked the fewest players represented by a Super Bowl winning team, with Osi Umenyiora being the lone representative of the New York Giants, winners of Super Bowl XLII.

The game marked a coaching rematch of a regular season meeting. The AFC was coached by Baltimore's John Harbaugh, while the NFC's coach was Philadelphia's Andy Reid.

The team was established in Chicago in 1898 and was a charter member of the NFL in 1920. Along with the Chicago Bears, the club is one of two franchises still in operation since the league's founding. The club moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1960 and played in that city through 1987 (sometimes referred to as the "football Cardinals", "Big Red", "Gridbirds" or "Cardiac Cards" to avoid confusion with the baseball St. Louis Cardinals). Before the 1988 NFL season, the team moved to Tempe, Arizona, an eastern suburb of Phoenix, and played their home games for the next 18 years at Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium. In 2006 the club began playing all home games at the newly constructed University of Phoenix Stadium in the northwestern suburb of Glendale.

The franchise's lone NFL championship game victory came in 1947 while they were based in Chicago, and came two decades before the first Super Bowl game was ever played. The club's other NFL championship occurred in 1925, eight years before the league began holding a championship game, and is a controversial title to this day. The much contested title was believed to belong to the Pottsville Maroons but was given to the Cardinals instead in what is called the 1925 NFL Championship controversy. In the six-plus decades since winning the championship in 1947, the Cardinals have qualified for the playoffs only six times and have won only five playoff games, three of which were achieved during their run in the 2008-09 NFL Playoffs in which they reached Super Bowl XLIII. The team has also won only four division titles (1974, 1975, 2008, and 2009) since their 1947–1948 NFL championship game appearances. In addition, the club has won one NFC Championship Game in 2008.

The Cardinals conduct their annual summer training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has not won a league championship since the merger. Buffalo is also the only team to win four consecutive American Football Conference Championships -- and the only team ever to play in four consecutive Super Bowl games. Since the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002 the Bills are the only AFC non-expansion team to not make the playoffs.[citation needed]

The Bills were named as the result of the winning entry in a local contest, which named the team after the AAFC Buffalo Bills, a previous football franchise from the All-America Football Conference that merged with the Cleveland Browns in 1950. That team, in turn, was named after William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The Bills' cheerleaders are known as the Buffalo Jills. The official mascot is Billy Buffalo.

The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.

They are the only NFL team to play their home games within New York State. Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City. On October 2, 2005, the Bills played the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game held in San Antonio, Texas. With the inception of the 5-year Bills Toronto Series deal in 2008 that is good through 2012, they are also the only team to play a home game in Canada. The franchise has tremendous support in the Western New York region.

On January 4, 2010 the Bills informed their entire coaching staff that they were free to seek employment with other teams, in an effort to renew and revitalize the struggling organization. On January 19, 2010, the Bills named Chan Gailey as their next head coach.

The Bears have won nine professional American football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX). The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with 26 members. The Bears have also recorded more regular season and overall victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise recorded its 700th win on December 7, 2008.[2][3][4]

The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919[5], and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona Cardinals (originally from Chicago), it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season. With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next to Lake Michigan, and was recently remodeled in a modernization intended to update stadium amenities while preserving a historic Chicago structure. The team has a storied, long-standing rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, whom they have played 178 times. The Bears currently hold the edge in head to head match ups with a record of 90–82–5.[6]

The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their annual training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

The Bengals are the current AFC North Division Champions.

The Bengals currently conduct summer training camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky and play home games at Paul Brown Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati.

Cleveland has won a total of eight league championships. They won all four AAFC titles (including a 15-0 undefeated season in 1948), and after joining the NFL won four additional championships prior to the league's merger with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. Following the merger, the Browns were one of three NFL teams which joined the ten former AFL teams to form the new American Football Conference. Despite having the sixth-highest winning percentage of all NFL franchises [1], the Browns have not played in a league championship game since the merger; however, they have competed for the AFC Championship three times. Having lost all three games, along with two NFL Championship Games of the Super Bowl era prior to the merger (in 1968 and 1969), Cleveland is one of four NFL teams that has yet to reach the Super Bowl. Furthermore, Cleveland has never hosted a Super Bowl, making it the only NFL city to have neither hosted nor sent a team to the Super Bowl.[2][3]

An article from Forbes Magazine, dated September 2, 2009, lists the Cowboys as the highest valued sports franchise in the history of the United States, and second in the world (behind the United Kingdom's Manchester United), with an estimated value of approximately $1.65 billion, above the Washington Redskins ($1.5 billion) and the New England Patriots ($1.361 billion).[5] They are also the wealthiest team in the NFL, generating almost $269 million in annual revenue.[6]

Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, the team began play in 1929 as an independent professional team,[1] one of many such teams in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys. For the 1930 season, the Spartans formally joined the National Football League (NFL) as the other area independents folded because of the Great Depression. Despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFL's smallest city. The team was purchased and moved to Detroit for the 1934 season.

The Lions have won four NFL Championships, the last in 1957, giving the club the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals, who last won in 1947 (as the Chicago Cardinals). The Lions are one of four current NFL teams that have yet to qualify for the Super Bowl. The team has qualified for the playoffs only nine times in the more than 50 years since winning the 1957 championship.

The Lions hold the second longest regular season losing streak in NFL history; losing 19 straight games from the final week of the 2007 season and ending on September 27, 2009, when the Lions defeated the Washington Redskins 19–14. It is second only to the 1976–77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' losing streak of 26. Also since the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002 the Lions are the only NFC team to not make the playoffs.

The 2008 Detroit Lions became the only team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular-season games. Ironically, their preseason record had been 4-0. They are only the second team to go winless without a tie (next to the 0–14 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers) since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They went 2–14 in 2009. The Lions currently hold a 20 game road losing streak, the 4th longest in NFL history.

The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau (hence the name Lambeau Field in which the team plays) and George Whitney Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL).

The Green Bay Packers have won twelve league championships (more than any other team in the NFL) including nine NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era and three Super Bowl victories in 1967 (Super Bowl I), 1968 (Super Bowl II) and 1996 (Super Bowl XXXI). The team has a historic rivalry with the Chicago Bears, whom they have played in over 170 games. The Packers also share a fierce blood rivalry with the Minnesota Vikings, who also reside in the NFC North along with the Packers, and the Dallas Cowboys who have historically been known as the Packers largest playoff rivals after the Packers defeated them in the famous Ice Bowl.[3]

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States. Beginning with the 1992 season, the Packers had 13 non-losing seasons in a row (their worst record being 8–8 in 1999), two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win (Super Bowl XXXI). The Packers' 13 consecutive non-losing seasons was an active NFL record until the team finally suffered a losing campaign in 2005. They returned to playoff form with winning campaigns in 2007 (13-3), reaching the NFC Championship game and 2009 (11-5) under current head coach Mike McCarthy.

The club was officially founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1953, but can trace its history to the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. After a series of changes, it assumed the "Baltimore Colts" name, replacing a previous team that folded in 1950. Playing at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, the Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. The team then relocated to Indianapolis in 1984, first playing at the Hoosier Dome, which was then renamed the RCA Dome before moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.

The Colts won four NFL championships (three NFL Championships in 1958, 1959, 1968; and Super Bowl V in 1971) while in Baltimore. Since moving to Indianapolis, they won Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Also since 1998, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons—extending this record to seven after the 2009 season. The team headquarters and practice facilities are also located in Indianapolis. The club currently holds their annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.

The club has played all of its home games at EverBank Field. The stadium is located near the St. Johns River. The team headquarters is also located in the stadium. The Jaguars practice during the season and training camp in the stadium and on adjoining practice fields.

From 1960 to 1969, the Chiefs were a successful franchise in the AFL, winning three league championships (1962, 1966, 1969) and having an all-time AFL record of 92–50–5.[3] The Chiefs were the second AFL team (after the New York Jets) to defeat an NFL franchise in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. The team's victory on January 11, 1970 remains the club's last championship game victory and appearance to date. The Chiefs were the second team, after the Green Bay Packers, to appear in more than one Super Bowl; and, they were the first team to appear in the championship game in two different decades.

The team made its first Super Bowl appearance following the 1971 season in Super Bowl VI, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys. In 1972, the Dolphins completed the NFL's first and only perfect season culminating in a Super Bowl win, winning all 14 regular season games, two playoff games and Super Bowl VII. The achievement became the fourth pro football team to accomplish the feat along with the 1937 Los Angeles Bulldogs (16-0-0, AFL), the 1948 Calgary Stampeders (14-0-0, CFL) and the 1948 Cleveland Browns (15-0-0, AAFC).

The 1972 Dolphins held the fourth perfect regular season in NFL history, but the other three teams were beaten in the NFL Championship game. The team also won Super Bowl VIII, becoming the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls, and the second team (first AFL/AFC team) to win back-to-back championships. Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games.

For most of their early history, the Dolphins were coached by Don Shula, the winningest head coach in professional football history. His Dolphins teams posted losing records in only two of his 26 seasons with the club. Six future Hall of Fame members played for Miami during the 1970s, including running back Larry Csonka and quarterback Bob Griese. During the 1980s and 1990s quarterback Dan Marino became the most prolific passer in NFL history, breaking numerous league passing records. He led the Dolphins to five division titles, 10 playoff appearances and Super Bowl XIX before retiring after the 1999 season.

The Vikings have been one of the most successful NFL franchises.[1] They currently have the fifth-highest winning percentage in the NFL. They are also one of only five NFL teams to win fifteen games during the regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL championship (pre-1970 AFL-NFL Merger), but subsequently lost 23–7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. The Vikings were the first team to play in four Super Bowls, though losing them. The Vikings have won their division 18 times, third most among teams currently playing in the NFL and most among current teams in their division. Counting playoff appearances only after 1970, they are tied with the second most in the league. No team has as many NFC or AFC Championship game appearances (nine) without a Super Bowl title. Only three other NFC teams have played in more Super Bowls than the Vikings. The team currently has ten members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The team played home games at Metropolitan Stadium through the 1981 NFL season and have played their home games at Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome since 1982. The Vikings have been conducting summer training camp at Minnesota State University, Mankato since 1966. From 1961–65 they held camp at Bemidji State University.

An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season. Under quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have also compiled the longest winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history, a 21-game streak from October 2003–October 2004.

The Saints were founded on November 1, 1966 as an expansion team and played their home games at Tulane Stadium through the 1974 season. They went more than a decade before they managed to finish a season with a .500 record, two decades before having a winning season, and over four decades before reaching the Super Bowl. The team's first successful years were from 1987–1992, when the team made the playoffs four times and had winning records in the non-playoff seasons. In the 2000 season, the Saints defeated the then-defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams for the team's first playoff win.

The Saints reached the NFC Championship Game in the 2006 season but lost 39–14 to the Chicago Bears. They repeated this feat in their most successful season in 2009, this time winning the game and their first conference championship to send them to their first Super Bowl appearance. At Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints won the city of New Orleans its first league championship, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.

Since 1975, the Saints' home stadium has been the Louisiana Superdome,[1] except for the 2005 disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, but the only one admitted that year which still exists.

The Giants rank third among all NFL franchises with seven NFL titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and three since the advent of the Super Bowl (Super Bowls XXI (1986), XXV (1990), and XLII (2007). Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (12) and Chicago Bears (9). During their history, the Giants have featured 15 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Charlie Conerly, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.

To distinguish it from the professional baseball team of the same name, the football team was incorporated as the "New York National League Football Company, Inc." in 1929 and changed to "New York Football Giants, Inc." in 1937. Although the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continues to use "New York Football Giants, Inc." as its legal corporate name,[1] and is often referred to by fans and sportscasters as the "New York Football Giants". The team has also gained several nicknames, including "Big Blue," the "G-Men", and the "Jints," an intentionally mangled abbreviation seen frequently in the New York Post and New York Daily News, originating from the baseball team when they were based in New York. Additionally the team as a whole is occasionally referred to as the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", even though this moniker primarily and originally refers to the Giants defensive unit during the 80's and early 90's. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The Jets hold the distinction of being the first AFL team to defeat an NFL club in an AFL-NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.[4]

During their first three seasons, the Raiders struggled both on and off the field. In 1963, Al Davis was brought to the team as head coach and general manager, and from 1963 until 2002 the team had only seven losing seasons. He also initiated the use of team slogans such as "Pride and Poise," "Commitment to Excellence," and "Just Win, Baby"—all of which are registered trademarks.[1][2][3] Except for a brief term as AFL Commissioner in 1966, Davis has been with the team continuously. Upon his return to Oakland in 1966, he became a managing partner of the franchise.

After a few years of legal battles, Davis moved the team from Oakland to Los Angeles, California, in 1982. While in LA, the Raiders won their third Super Bowl, but made just two playoff appearances through the rest of the 1980s. In 1995, Davis moved the team back to Oakland. In 2000, head coach Jon Gruden led Oakland to a 12–4 season and their first division title since 1990, which was the first of a 3-year winning streak for the Raiders in the AFC West. In 2002, under head coach Bill Callahan, Oakland faced Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, where the team lost a lopsided affair, 48–21. Following the loss, the team won a league-worst 26 games during the six full seasons from 2003-2008.

The club was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets after a syndicate led by future NFL commissioner Bert Bell purchased the rights to a Philadelphia franchise from the league. The Eagles were named after the Blue Eagle, a symbol used for the New Deal stimulus programs initiated during the Great Depression.

Eagles players who have been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Earle "Greasy" Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen and Norm Van Brocklin. Bell was also inducted as a contributor.

The fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933, by Art Rooney, taking its original name from the National League baseball team of the same name, as was common practice for NFL teams to do at the time.[1] The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding.[2] The current owner is Art's son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II.

The team enjoys a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation[3] and currently play their home games in Heinz Field on Pittsburgh's North Side, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field.

The Chargers are the only team to start a season 0-4 and make the playoffs (1992), and the only team to start a season 4-8 and make the playoffs (2008).

The Chargers won one AFL title in 1963 and reached the AFL playoffs five times and the AFL Championship four times before joining the NFL (1970) as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.[1] In the 34 years since then, the Chargers have made ten trips to the playoffs and four appearances in the AFC Championship game.[1] At the end of the 1994 season, the Chargers faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX and fell 49-26.[1] The Chargers have six players and one coach enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio: wide receiver Lance Alworth (1962-1970), defensive end Fred Dean (1975-1981), quarterback Dan Fouts (1973-1987), head coach/general manager Sid Gillman (1960-1969, 1971), wide receiver Charlie Joiner (1976-1986), offensive lineman Ron Mix (1960–1969) and tight end Kellen Winslow (1979-1987).[2]

The 49ers began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged into the older league. The team was the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls. San Francisco is second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl wins (6) and tied with the Dallas Cowboys with 5 each. Their five league titles place them in a four-way tie for fifth behind the Green Bay Packers (12), the Chicago Bears (9), the New York Giants (7), and the Steelers (6).

The 49ers teams of the 1980s and early 1990s were a great dynasty given their five Super Bowl triumphs in that span, including four in the 1980s. The Niners won 10 or more games for 16 straight seasons. Particularly notable seasons are the 1984 and 1989 teams. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, perennial Pro Bowler Ronnie Lott, all-time highest career quarterback rating holder Steve Young, and career touchdown leader Jerry Rice played for the 49ers during this period. Additionally, some of the most memorable plays (including "The Catch") and games (such as Super Bowl XXIII) were played by this team.

The name "49ers" comes from the name given to the gold prospectors who arrived in Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush.

The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League. Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, the NFL considers it a separate entity since only four of the players (William "Bud" Cooper, Harry "The Horse" Mattos, Stan Pincura, and Mike Sebastian) and none of the team's management joined the new NFL team.[1]

The team then became known as the Los Angeles Rams after the club moved to Los Angeles, California in 1946, opting not to compete with Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference. Following the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby Orange County, playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim for fifteen seasons (1980–94), keeping the Los Angeles name. The club moved east to St. Louis prior to the 1995 season.

The team relocated from Houston, Texas to the state of Tennessee in 1997, first playing temporarily in Memphis for one season before moving to Nashville. For two seasons, the team was known as the Tennessee Oilers before changing its name to Titans in 1999.

The Redskins won the 1937 and 1942 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. They also played in and lost the 1936, 1940, 1943, and 1945 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls VII and XVIII. They have made twenty-two postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 23 wins and 17 losses. Only four teams have appeared in more Super Bowls than the Redskins: the Dallas Cowboys (eight), Pittsburgh Steelers (seven), Denver Broncos (six), and New England Patriots (six); the Redskins' five appearances are tied with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, and Miami Dolphins.[2]

All of the Redskins' league titles were attained during two ten-year spans. From 1936 to 1945, the Redskins went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them.[3] The second period lasted between 1982 and 1991 where the Redskins appeared in the postseason seven times, captured four Conference titles, and won three Super Bowls out of four appearances.[3] The Redskins have also experienced failure in their history. The most notable period of failure was from 1946 to 1970, during which the Redskins did not have a single postseason appearance.[1] During this period, the Redskins went without a single winning season between 1956 and 1968.[1] In 1961, the franchise posted their worst regular season record with a 1–12–1 showing.[1]

According to Forbes Magazine, the Redskins are the second most valuable franchise in the NFL, behind the Dallas Cowboys, and were valued at approximately $1.55 billion as of 2009.[4] Being the second most valuable franchise, the Redskins remain the highest grossing team in the NFL with $345 million in revenue during the 2009 season.[4] They have also broken the NFL's mark for single-season attendance eight years in a row.[5]

The Redskins were the first team in the NFL with an official marching band. The other team with a marching band is the Baltimore Ravens, their regional rivals.[6] The Redskins were the second team to have a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins".