The NFC Central refers to the Central Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League. The division existed from 1970 to 2001.

The NFC Central was formed in 1970 when the National Football League and American Football League merged. The new NFL was broken into six divisions. The original NFC Central had four members: the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers, and the Minnesota Vikings.

In 1977, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were placed in the NFC Central. The Buccaneers had spent the previous season in the AFC West division.

In 2002, the NFL realigned into eight divisions of four teams, and the NFC Central was disbanded. The five teams in the NFC Central were placed into two newly-created divisions, with the Buccaneers moving to the NFC South, and the other four teams forming the NFC North.