[6] Founded in 1959 by Houston oil tycoon Bud Adams (who remained the owner until his death in 2013), they were a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL–NFL merger.
[11][15] They changed their name to the Tennessee Titans for the 1999 season, when they moved into Adelphia Coliseum (now known as Nissan Stadium), where they have played their home games since.
[20] The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks.
Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker.
As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues began holding a multiple round "common draft".
[25] Beginning in the 1961 draft, the AFL, using the same system as the NFL, began to assign picks based on the previous season's standings.