21st century

=== Gridiron football ===
[[File:Tom Brady 2016.JPG|thumb|upright|Quarterback [[Tom Brady]] played in 10 Super Bowls, the most ever.]]
* In the [[National Football League]], the [[New England Patriots]] were the dominant franchise of the first two decades of the 21st century, winning six [[Super Bowl]]s between their first, in 2001, and their most recent, in 2018 and appearing in an additional three others. Head Coach [[Bill Belichick]] and quarterback [[Tom Brady]] led the team during the stretch, with Brady also leading the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] to an additional Super Bowl following the 2020 season. Other teams with multiple Super Bowl appearances over that time period include the [[Philadelphia Eagles]], [[New York Giants]], [[Kansas City Chiefs]], [[Seattle Seahawks]], and [[Carolina Panthers]]. Besides Brady, who also won three [[Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award]] (MVP), other highly recognized players include quarterback [[Peyton Manning]], who won five MVP awards, the most in history, and quarterback [[Aaron Rodgers]] who won three MVPs, who in 2011 set the NFL record for season [[passer rating]]. Successful offensive players at other positions include wide receiver [[Randy Moss]], who set the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season with 23 in 2007, wide receiver [[Michael Thomas (wide receiver, born 1993)|Michael Thomas]], who set the NFL record for most receptions in a season with 149 in 2019, tight end [[Rob Gronkowski]], who became the first tight end to lead the league in receiving touchdowns in 2011, and running back [[Adrian Peterson]], who set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards in a game with 296 in 2007, his rookie year. Key defensive players of the century include safety [[Ed Reed]], who led the league in interceptions three times, linebacker [[Ray Lewis]], who set the career tackles record when he retired in 2012, and linebacker [[J. J. Watt]], who is the only player to record more than 20 quarterback sacks in two different seasons.
* In American [[college football]], the sport saw the creation of the [[College Football Playoff]], the first playoff for [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision]], the highest level of college football in the U.S. The series was dominated by two teams, the [[Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson Tigers]] and [[Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama Crimson Tide]], at least one of which has played in every Playoff since its inception in 2014 and between them have won all but one of said championships. Prior to 2014, the method of determining the champion was done via the [[Bowl Championship Series]] (BCS), a single championship game that attempted to match the top two teams in the country using a series of polls and computer rankings to choose the top two teams. In the BCS era, the top teams were Alabama, which won three BCS Championships, and [[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State]], [[LSU Tigers football team|LSU]], and [[Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]], which won two BCS Championships each. [[Nick Saban]], who led both LSU and Alabama to one and seven national championships respectively, was the most dominant coach of his era, while quarterbacks dominated the [[Heisman Trophy]], winning 16 of 20 during the first two decades of the 21st century. Several controversies over the payment of athletes dominated the sport, with Heisman Trophy winner [[Reggie Bush]] being forced to return his award over receiving improper benefits while maintaining amateur status, while officials and media continued to debate the possibility of paying athletes at all levels of [[college athletics in the United States|college athletics]].
* In [[Canadian football]], the league opened the 21st century facing an uncertain financial future, suffering from the failures of the experiment of trying to field [[Canadian Football League in the United States|Canadian football teams in the United States]] and having to contract a large number of teams at the end of the 20th century. The league fluctuated between eight and nine teams as two different Ottawa-based franchises failed during the first decade of the 21st century. The league found stability during the 2010s, and showed surprising parity between the teams, with all nine teams appearing in at least one [[Grey Cup]] during the 2000s and 2010s, and with only the [[Montreal Alouettes]] winning back-to-back titles during those two decades, in 2009 and 2010. Quarterback [[Anthony Calvillo]] of the Alouettes was the face of the league during his career, winning three [[CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award|Most Outstanding Player Award]]s and setting several passing records in the process.

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