MLB, NFL and NBA League Structures

League Structures

The league structures for the MLB, NFL, and NBA are surprisingly similar!

• Top-level split in league hierarchies
  • MLB
    • 30 teams
    • Split into two nationwide “leagues”
    • 15 teams in the American League (AL)
    • 15 teams in the National League (NL)
    • There is one team in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays.
  • NFL
    • 32 teams
    • Split into two nationwide conferences
    • 16 teams in the American Football Conference (AFC)
    • 16 teams in the National Football Conference (NFC).
  • NBA
    • 30 teams
    • Split into two conferences based on location
    • 15 teams in the Eastern Conference
    • 15 teams in the Western Conference
    • There is one team in Canada, the Toronto Raptors.
• Second-level divisions (In all 3 leagues the divisions are based on location)
  • MLB
    • Both leagues consist of 3 divisions based on location: East, Central, and West.
    • There are 5 teams in each division.
  • NFL
    • Both conferences are divided into 4 divisions based on location: North, East, South, and West.
    • There are 4 teams in each division
  • NBA
    • Both conferences consist of 3 divisions based on location
    • There are 5 teams in each division
    • In the East there are the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast divisions
    • In the West there are the Northwest, Pacific, and Southeast divisions