Most people trace the beginning of professional football back to the modern National Football League (NFL) in the 1920s but there were leagues in which players were paid long before that. FIRST, explain the who, what, when, where, and why of pre-modern NFL professional football. SECOND, give a brief history of the evolution of the modern NFL making sure to include the major milestones of that league and when and why the "Golden Age" of the NFL began and ended.

Most people trace the beginning of professional football back to the modern National Football League (NFL) in the 1920s but there were leagues in which players were paid long before that. FIRST, explain the who, what, when, where, and why of pre-modern NFL professional football. SECOND, give a brief history of the evolution of the modern NFL making sure to include the major milestones of that league and when and why the "Golden Age" of the NFL began and ended.