TheDenver Broncos are anAmerican footballfranchise based inDenver, Colorado. Founded byBob Howsam on August 14, 1959, the team was one of the founder members of theAmerican Football League (AFL), which began in1960, beforemerging with theNational Football League (NFL) ahead of the1970 season,^[1] when the Broncos became part of theAmerican Football Conference (AFC)West division; they have been in the same division ever since. As of the end of the2020 season, Denver has completed 61 seasons (playing in over 970 combined regular season and playoff games), and has appeared in eightSuper Bowls; although they lost in each of their first four Super Bowl appearances, they have since won three of them, most recentlySuper Bowl 50.

The franchise has experienced three major periods of success. The first was from1976 to1981, when the Broncos did not have a losing season (a season when the team has more losses than wins), and won two AFC West division titles, and one AFC championship. The second began in1983 and ended in1998. During this period, the Broncos had just two losing seasons, were AFC champions five times and wereSuper Bowl champions for two consecutive years. This second period of success is best remembered forJohn Elway being the team'squarterback.^[2] The most recent run of success began in 2011, lasting until their victory in Super Bowl 50 at the end of the 2015 season. The five-year stretch was primarily spearheaded by the 2012 free agent acquisition of the then four-time League MVP formerIndianapolis Colts quarterbackPeyton Manning, and included five AFC West titles, two AFC championships, as well as the Super Bowl. From their inaugural season in 1960 until1975, they did not make either theAFL playoffs orNFL playoffs and had just two winning seasons. The Broncos were the only charter AFL franchise to never have a winning season during the AFL's 10 years of existence (although the team finished at 7–7 in1962), with their first winning season not occurring until 1973, their fourth year as a member of the NFL's AFC. They also experienced their two seasons with the fewest wins ever, winning just two of 14 games in both1963 and1964.^[3]

The Broncos have been AFC West champions 15 times, winning the division for five consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2015, and have also earnedwild card berths into the playoffs seven times, for a total of 22 playoff appearances. They have been conference champions eight times (tied with thePittsburgh Steelers, and two behind theNew England Patriots who have the most AFC championships) and Super Bowl champions thrice.^[3]

• Denver Broncos seasons
• NFL teams seasons
• Denver Broncos lists

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2024