The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). Founded in 1966, the Dolphins began their history as a team in the American Football League (AFL). After 4 seasons in the league, the team joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger. Despite not having much success in their first few years as an organization, the Dolphins found almost immediate success in the NFL. They won Super Bowl VII (1972) over the Washington Redskins and Super Bowl VIII (1973) over the Minnesota Vikings. The 1972 Dolphins are the only team in NFL history to complete a perfect season. The Dolphins have not won a Super Bowl since 1973, but they have since won two conference championships and nine division titles with their most recent coming in 2008. Stephen Ross became the majority owner of the team in 2009.

The Dolphins play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. From 1970-1995 the Dolphins were coached by Don Shula. Shula is the winningest coach in professional football history with 328 career wins. This includes a perfect 17-0 season (including the playoffs) in 1972. The Dolphins are still the only team in NFL history to complete an undefeated season. During his tenure as coach, Shula coached quarterback Dan Marino for 13 seasons. Marino is regarded by many as one of the top quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Since his retirement in 1999, the Dolphins have been a franchise mostly in turmoil and used 20 different quarterbacks in 20 seasons.