The team was founded in 1959 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt, and was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL).[12] In spring 1963, the team relocated to Kansas City,[13][14] and assumed its current name.[15][16] The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the merger in 1970, and the team is valued at over $3.7 billion.[17] Following Hunt's death in 2006, his wife, Norma, and children became legal owners of the team. After Norma's death in 2023, the Hunt children inherited her stake in the franchise. Clark Hunt, one of the Hunt's children, has served as chairman and CEO since 2006 and is the ultimate authority over personnel decisions. He is also the team representative at league owner meetings.
The Chiefs won three AFL championships, in 1962, 1966, and 1969,[18][19] and were the second AFL team (after the New York Jets) to defeat an NFL team in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game, now the Super Bowl, when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. That victory on January 11, 1970, was the final game before the leagues' merger went into full effect. The Chiefs were also the second team, after the Green Bay Packers (whom they played in Super Bowl I), to appear in more than one Super Bowl (and the first AFL team to do so) as well as the first to appear in the championship game in two different decades. Despite post-season success early in the franchise's history, winning five of their first six postseason games, the team struggled to find success in the playoffs for decades, including losing ten of eleven playoff games from the 1993/94 AFC Championship Game to 2017, which included an eight-game losing streak. Since then, the Chiefs have risen to dynastic performance and lead under head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce, appearing in four Super Bowls since 2019 and winning three, LIV, LVII, and LVIII.[20][21][22]
^"Chiefs History"(PDF). 2023 Kansas City Chiefs Media Guide. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived(PDF) from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^"Chiefs Uniform History"(PDF). 2023 Kansas City Chiefs Media Guide(PDF). NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived(PDF) from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023. At one of the initial organizational meetings of the American Football League in late '59 – before the teams even had any players or coaches – the AFL owners choose their team colors. Lamar Hunt desires Columbia Blue and Orange for his Dallas Texans franchise. But before Hunt or any other owner can make a selection, Houston's Bud Adams claims Columbia Blue for his Oilers franchise. Hunt reverts to Red and Gold for the Texans, which remains the primary color scheme for the Chiefs to this day.
^"Everything is set for Texans' change". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. May 23, 1963. p. 10. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Google News.
^"AFL team moves to Kansas City". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI reports. May 23, 1963. p. 4D. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Google News.
^"K.C. pro eleven has 'Chiefs' tag". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). May 27, 1963. p. 17. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Google News.