Category: Alternative Football

For those of you craving American-based, non-NFL professional football, you’re going to have to wait nine months until the “new and improved” XFL kicks off.

On Monday Vince McMahon’s do-over league announced an impressive media partnership (ESPN and FOX Sports), so unlike some upstarts that miss their launch date I think this one really is a go for February, 2020.

The Freedom Football League and Pacific Pro Football are also planning to begin their inaugural seasons next year, and there are probably others in the works.

There always are these days.

But since the last league to successfully exist in the same universe as the NFL was the American Football League, those of us who are fans of Brand X operations know not to get too attached.

What’s here today is quite likely to be gone tomorrow.

However, I’ve often thought about what kind of NFL alternative league I’d put together if given the chance. What would I want to see and how could it possibly work?

Glad you asked.

First off, forget about spring football … the United States Football League did it best and nothing else has come close. Plus, these leagues that start the week after the Super Bowl (such as the original and future XFL as well as the recently expired Alliance of American Football) are beginning play at a terrible time of year.

The weather is cold and nasty, and doesn’t really get better until the season is done.

My league – I’m calling it the Summer Football League – would start the first Saturday in May and have a 14-week regular season.

Using this year’s calendar, Week 1 would’ve commenced on May 4, the final week of the set schedule would be played on August 3, and there would be two weeks of playoffs with the SFL championship game (the Summer Bowl) on August 17.

Unlike those who continually insist that Americans have an unquenchable thirst for football year round, I’m not sure I believe that.

I think it’s perfectly fine to take three months off in February, March and April, especially with March Madness and the start of baseball season on the horizon.

Besides,  more fans would be in a football frame of mind with a May kickoff.*

* I’m a huge Canadian Football League fan and the preseason starts this month, so I’m already girded up and ready to go.

Ideally, the SFL would start with 12 teams in a mixture of markets. It’s always a good idea to have franchises in places like New York, Chicago and Southern California to entice TV partners, but second-tier cities might put more people in the seats. (Maybe announce the league 18 months from the start and do some polling to find out which cities are most likely to support summer football).

One important note: the SFL would not be a single entity circuit, which is the preferred model of late. I’m looking for men and women who want to own football teams and have tons of disposable income.

So, just for fun, let’s say the SFL features the following teams, which I’ve been nice enough to nickname for you:

EASTERN DIVISION

New York Nighthawks

Norfolk Admirals

Orlando Spirit

Raleigh Oaks

CENTRAL DIVISION

Birmingham Battalion

Chicago Zephyrs

Louisville Rivermen

Memphis Kings

WESTERN DIVISION

Portland Woodsmen

San Antonio Fortress

San Diego Armada

Tulsa Energy

The three division winners and one wildcard team would qualify for the playoffs.

All who know me know that when it comes to alternative leagues I want to see innovative rules and – fortunately – many of the ones I like best were used in the World Football League (1974-75).

WFL rules I’d steal for the SFL are:

* Touchdowns are worth 7 points.

* Instead of a PAT kick, offenses would attempt a 1-point conversion from the two and a half yard line.

* Offensive backs can go in motion toward the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped.

* Fair catches are not permitted on punts. Instead, the returner receives a 5-yard cushion allowing him to field the kick.

* Only one foot in bounds required for a pass completion.

With kickoffs moving closer to becoming obsolete in tackle football, I’d be inclined to replace them with no-rush punts.

The “replacement” play would take place at the kicking team’s 30, and since you wouldn’t have players charging at each other from opposite directions, the chances of dangerous hits would be lessened.

Another rule change I really like is awarding defenses a single point for a fumble recovery or interception. Yeah, it’s a bit radical and usually when I bring it up I’m met with eye rolls, but it’s my league and my fantasy, so I’m going with it.

OK, we’ve got a season, 12 franchises and unique rules.

What about the players?

Well, I don’t think this “developmental league” approach is ever going to gain traction, especially since so many college players are already NFL ready before they leave school.

So, if my owners want to go after established NFL stars and high draft picks, they have my blessings. But ultimately, they aren’t going to prevail in bidding wars.

What I think would work best is to chase older NFL players and backups.

You won’t get Tom Brady to defect to the SFL, but you might get Brady’s backup, Brian Hoyer.

And the SFL would be a good landing spot for fading stars looking for one last shot at glory.

I’m betting fans would be more inclined to follow teams with former NFL players than squads stocked with guys who were never quite good enough to make the big leagues in the first place.

Thus, the SFL would be a nice warmup act for the college football and NFL headliners.

So, is something akin to the Summer Football League viable?

Only if you have a bunch of rich owners who take great satisfaction in losing money year after year and playing second fiddle to the “big league.”

The NFL has cornered the market on elite professional football, and by and large American football fans seem perfectly content with the gridiron fix provided by its 32 teams.

I’d love to see additional leagues pop up – the more the merrier – but the chances of their success are astronomically low.

If someone wants to form the Summer Football League and make me commissioner, though, I’m available.

And hopelessly optimistic.

Can you envision an American sports landscape in which college football is largely irrelevant?

I can’t.

But just for the sake of argument, what if some of the best high school football players could dispense with that pesky education thing and go straight to the pay-for-play model? What kind of impact would that have on the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision?

Beyond that, what if many first and second-year college guys decided to bolt early for a non-NFL circuit?

Maybe we’re going to find out.

Pacific Pro Football is a four-team league scheduled to begin play next July. My impression when it was first announced a couple of year ago (its launch has already been delayed twice) was that it was targeting prep stars who either didn’t qualify for college or simply didn’t want to go.

According to its website:

Pacific Pro is the most significant innovation in American football in decades. Pacific Pro is the first professional football league ever created to provide developing football players with a choice to play professionally directly from high school – a league where emerging players can hone their craft, play football, and be compensated for it.

If you follow Clemson football, however, you probably already know that one of Pac Pro’s organizers – Don Yee – covets Tiger quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Three weeks after the freshman sensation led Clemson to a 44-16 drubbing of Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Yee (Tom Brady’s agent, by the way) was inviting Lawrence to forgo the rest of his college eligibility and become the fledgling league’s first big “get.”

“Our player population, for example, will be players such as Trevor Lawrence at Clemson,” Yee said during a radio interview with 104.5 The Zone in Nashville. “We would like to make him an employment offer, professionalize right away. Be our Joe Namath. Adidas is one of our founding sponsors, and I think they might want to make him an endorsement proposal. “And he would be professional, and he would learn an NFL style of game with us before he declares for the draft.”

More from the Pac Pro website:

Pacific Pro will be the first league to professionalize players who are less than 4 years removed from their high school graduation. Players will receive a salary, benefits, and even paid tuition and books for one year at community college. Players also will be able to market themselves for compensation, and begin creating a financial retirement plan if they so choose.

Pac Pro is offering a salary in the $50,000 range, which is pretty sweet for a couple of months’ work. And in Lawrence’s case, there would be no shortage of big money endorsement offers.

The kid’s the real deal.

But as tempting as the money might be, I doubt No. 16 has any desire to leave Death Valley before he becomes NFL Draft eligible.

With one national title under his belt, he has more to chase – as well as a Heisman Trophy. Plus, it would be a huge risk to jump to an organization that – so far – provides nothing more than promises.

Namath spurned the NFL for the New York Jets and the American Football League, but the AFL was already (almost) the NFL’s equal. He signed his contract just 17 months before the leagues announced their merger.

Sure, it was a huge boardroom victory for the “insurgents,” but it made perfect sense financially.

Pac Pro is designed as a bridge league and has yet to even identify its teams, although all four will supposedly be placed in southern California. And with the Alliance of American Football serving as the latest object lesson, pro football upstarts usually stop – and they often stop rather abruptly.

Imagine jumping into the league, seeing it fold after one season (or before the first season is completed, as was the case with the AAF), and then finding yourself in limbo since you no longer have college eligibility and don’t yet qualify for the NFL.

That’s a gamble most future NFL first-rounders wouldn’t be willing to take right now.

So while Yee might want a “Namath,” the best he can hope for is a guinea pig. And if Pac Pro does get off the ground, there should be some college players who’ll be willing to try the experiment. Whether there will be enough to turn it into a viable league that plays a level comparable to big-time college football is, of course, the big question.

If it defies all odds by surviving and expanding, then blue-chippers might one day begin to see Pac Pro as a better and more lucrative way to chase their goals. And if they decide to do that, more power to them.

There was a time when I was excited about the prospects of this league. Some people are cut out for four-year colleges and others are a better fit for trade school, and this appeared to be a good option for those whose trade is football.

But if I’m understanding Yee correctly, Pac Pro is really more interested in college freshmen and sophomores who are tired of waiting for a big payday and willing to settle for a smaller one while waiting to join pro football’s top tier.

That paints the picture of a vulture league that hovers over the college game.

There’s nothing wrong with vultures – they have to eat, too – but there’s just something unseemly about it all. (Of course there are plenty of unseemly things about the NCAA, too, so perhaps my indignity is misplaced).

That being said, I like the idea of a league that gives football players who don’t want to go to school another option, but I’m not sure that’s Pac Pro’s primary mission anymore.

If the plan is to raid colleges for first and second-year stars, things could get messy for Pac Pro and the NCAA – and particularly the players caught in the middle.

For anyone who held out hope that the Alliance of American Football’s “suspension of operations” earlier this month didn’t mean the league had folded, well, that hope is gone.

It’s dead.

It passed away on Wednesday surrounded by friends, family, lawyers and creditors.

An official release from what is left of the AAF delivered the solemn news:

“We are deeply disappointed to be taking this action. The AAF was created to be a dynamic, developmental professional football league powered by an unprecedented alliance between players, fans and the game.  The AAF strove to create new opportunities for talented players, coaches, executives and officials while providing an exciting experience for fans. We are proud of the fact that our teams and players delivered on that goal.

“We thank our players, coaches and employees for their commitment to the game of football and to this venture. Our fans believed in the AAF from the beginning, and we thank them for their support. We are hopeful that our players, coaches and others will find opportunities to pursue their football dreams in the future.

“The AAF is committed to ensuring that our bankruptcy proceeds in an efficient and orderly manner. Pursuant to the bankruptcy laws, a trustee will be empowered to resolve all matters related to the AAF’s remaining assets and liabilities, including ongoing matters related to player contracts.”

I think most of use realized it was already gone, but filing for bankruptcy now means all future Alliance games will be played in court, and it’ll be a no-win situation for the latest spring gridiron upstart to flame out.

What a mess.

When the league had its rollout last year I bragged about what a first-class operation it seemed to be and how co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian were saying and doing all the right things.

They told us there was enough funding to ensure three seasons without another dime coming in and I believed them because, apparently, I still have a blind spot when it comes to my own gullibility.

Instead, this league was on shaky ground from the get-go and never had much of a chance.

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon was brought in to effectively take over the league early in the season (reportedly pledging $250 million), and Ebersol insisted it was an investment, not a bailout.

I bought it, and that was stupid on my part.

When there are reports that a league needs an infusion of cash to survive, those reports usually have some substance.

Knowing what we know now, had Dundon not come aboard it would’ve likely died after a couple of weeks instead of eight (it closed shop with two weeks of the regular season remaining).

And then when Dundon couldn’t work out a deal with the NFL to make the AAF its official developmental league, he pulled the plug before more of his money went down the drain.

In the bankruptcy filings (first reported by Front Office Sports), we learn that the league claims assets of $11.3 million and liabilities totaling $48.3 million.

On the bright side, the league still has $536,160.68 in cash.

(Just kidding … there is no bright side. This is a disaster).

Throw in the fact that former employees and some players have filed lawsuits against league officials (the word “fraud” seems to come up a lot) and you’re left with an organization that will ultimately be remembered for failing its workers, partners and fans.

The NFL has already signed several former AAF players, which is great. And hopefully soon the Canadian Football League will be able to do the same.

The Alliance of American Football was a second chance circuit, and in that respect it served its purpose for those who are moving on and moving up.

But in the annals of professional sports, it’ll go down as just another league destined to die young.