The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area in western New York. They play their home games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. The team was founded in 1959 and began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 after the AFL- NFL merger
. The Bills derive their name from an earlier Buffalo football team named after the famous western frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody, though he had no direct connection to the city. The team has a passionate fanbase known as "Bills Mafia" and is the only NFL franchise that plays its home games in the state of New York outside of the New York City metropolitan area
. In summary:
- Location: Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, Buffalo, New York
- Home stadium: Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY
- Founded: 1959, first season in 1960
- League: NFL, AFC East division
- Named after: Buffalo Bill Cody (western frontiersman)
This makes the Buffalo Bills distinctly a team from Buffalo, New York, representing that region in the NFL
