New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's American Football Conference East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles southwest of downtown Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2022, the Patriots are the ninth most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots.