The Pittsburgh Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC; seven franchises in the National Football Conference (NFC) have longer tenures in the NFL. The team struggled to be competitive in its early history, posting winning records in just 8 of its first 39 seasons. Since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, however, it has appeared in eight Super Bowls and is one of only two teams, along with the New England Patriots, to have won the Super Bowl six times. The six championships place the Steelers fourth in the league in terms of total championships, trailing only the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears (9) and the New York Giants (8). The club's 16 AFC Championship Game appearances are the most all-time and behind only the 49ers (17) for total conference championship game appearances. In addition, they have hosted the second-most conference championship games (11) than any franchise in either conference, and are tied for second with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos with eight Super Bowl appearances; the Patriots currently hold the record of eleven appearances, as of 2021.