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ShareThisNew professional football league
This isn't typically a news blog, but this story is of great interest, and I'm a little surprised that I hadn't heard anything about it before. A group of former university presidents, chancellors, and athletic directors are forming a new spring football league.
Their main schtick is that they will play in (unspecified for now) college stadiums, and that the teams will have some sort of territorial rights to the players from that college and nearby colleges. Did the USFL have a similar element to it, or am I making that up?
The season will run from April to June (starting in 2007), the players will be "owned" by the league rather than the individual teams, and they will make about $100,000 per year. Not too shabby. Now here is the weird part:
All 44-48 players per team must have graduated from college and exhausted their college eligibility.
I understand the college eligibility part --- they don't want to step on the NCAA's or the NFL's toes --- but why require graduation? They say it's "an incentive for current college players to graduate," but I just don't see that working out. Let's see, I'm a marginal NFL prospect who will probably get drafted on the second day. Oh by the way, I hate school because I never had any business being there in the first place. I'd have to take a heavy load in my last semester to graduate. Here are my choices:
A. quit school, work full-time with a speed coach, and try to shave .08 off my forty time before the combine.
B. get serious about academics so that I'll be eligible to play in the minor leagues.
If this blog is like every other spot on the internet, I must have dozens of lawyers reading this. Is it even legal to require a college degree for a job in which it is clearly not necessary?
Aside from that nonsense, I'm all for it.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 27th, 2006 at 5:12 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
The USFL and XFL both had rules that gave teams first dibs on the players who went to nearby colleges. I don't think it made any difference in the popularity of the XFL, but I do remember a lot of people getting excited for the USFL's Michigan Panthers because they had Anthony Carter and some other players from the Michigan Wolverines.
I think you might be overlooking option C: do option A, then if you don't get drafted, go back to college and do option B. I don't think that they require you to graduate immediately.
"I’d have to take a heavy load in my last semester to graduate."
I'm not sure that's entirely accurate. I think that college advisors usually make sure that players are making enough progress towards a degree that if they stay the whole time, they shouldn't have much trouble graduating. Of course, there are exceptions, and I could be wrong about that anyway, but that's the impression I get. I mean, how many players do you know of who used up all of their eligibility and still didn't graduate?
"Is it even legal to require a college degree for a job in which it is clearly not necessary?"
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think there's any law against overly stringent standards for job applicants. I mean, as long as you don't require people to be a certain race, sex, religion, or national origin, I don't think there's really any problem.
I am no lawyer, but my guess is if it is legal for hooters to require your servers to have breasts, it is legal for this league to require college degrees. Several employers require degrees just for the sake of degrees. College, Graduate, Highschool, GED. Easy screening device. Plus, if this is run by former NCAA officials, then you know the set of regulations will be total garbage and not based in reality. Its doomed to fail. You are going to put ONE team in the SEC region made up with players from 12 SEC schools? Um, I don't think this is going to get the fans from that region to bite. Its doomed to fail just like the rest of them. I think they should just make the NFL be a semi-annual league. You know the world cup (both soccer and rugby) have games years in advance that affect your qualification into the world cup - why can't we take the crappy NFL teams (maybe expand the league to 50) and make the worst 24 teams or so fight it out for the final six spots in the "bigs" the following fall. I guess the NFLPA would crap their pants - but screw them. How about a 48 week NFL schedule? I am not skerd. GLS.
I would think that the college graduation requirement is needed to get college teams to cooperate. Why play for free when you can get $100K until you're ready for the NFL? Or drop out to earn a quick 100K while you're young before you enter the real world.
A new league will sprout to compete with the NFL in the near future unless the NFL starts paying its players better. There is too much money out there with many players earning well-below their marginal revenue products for a new league not to. However, I think the college tie-in is key. College fans follow their pros, and I have to believe the NFL thinks this is important to its success. Otherwise, they would allow kids to be drafted earlier.
If this league succeeds, look for the teams to drop the college ties and start taking freshmen and sophomores.
Now it's time for Doug to explain why I'm an idiot.
It wouldn't be the first time.
Watch Eric Crouch and Correl Buckhalter play for the Nebraska Osbornes!
I wonder if you might get some middling guys on the backside of their careers playing in this league as well.
I don't know if this would work or not, but I think the way to cream the NFL might be to literally cream them. Form an 8 team league. 7-team double round robin and go after the top players. Essentially create a league of only first round draft picks. I'm not sure how you would handle depth issues in this league. The amount of capital needed would be astronomical, but if you went the soccer route and had corporate sponsors it might be doable.
Play in San Fran, PacBell
Los Angeles, Coliseum
Chicago, ??
New York, Yankee Stadium (or other)
Dallas, Texas Stadium
Washington, RFK
Houston, Astrodome
Florida, traveling team.
The only guys you are going to get are guys who the NFL doesn't want anymore. Remember, we're talking $100K a year. That's good money for any normal person, but the minimium for NFL rookies is like $300K, and it goes up the longer you play.
Sean, you are a genius. Where do I invest? Sarcasm of course. Ask Lamar Hunt about having two teams in Dallas and about having two leagues competing. He lives about a block away from Jerry Jones in Dallas (and not far from where the Murchison family was based). The NFL ran the Hunt family who's got some of the deepest pockets in the world (at the time) to a secondary market - you think some start up league will work in Dallas or at all? He threw an EMENSE amount of capital at the AFL and it ended up being nothing more than a great NFL expansion. Yes, he took a big swipe at the NFL and some could argue that he had a "victory" of sorts because the AFL survived through merger but it was not without personal cost. Upon the creating of Hunt's league, the NFL countered and created the Cowboys in order to break Hunt and ran Hunt's own team out of town. The NFL was not successful at breaking Hunt's league - so they basically bought the league (or at least admitted the owners to their little club). Don't believe me, look it up. America's team was born out of spite for Lamar Hunt going after the NFL's marketshare. You think it is a coincidence how quickly the Cowboys came on the scene as far as winning and national publicity? When dealing with these ego's I'd say the NFL owners had the last laugh because they made Hunt pay the price of his own personal goal; relegating him to a crap market.
I love the idea of a league like this. I think having the regional tie-ins could be valuable. One last chance to see your favorite college players who didn't make it to the NFL. I think the key to any new pro league (of any sport) succeeding is in keeping costs down, and limiting salaries to $100k would do that.
The XFL tried keeping costs down also. I think the XFL could have worked. I enjoyed it. I think the main reason the XFL didn't work was because Vince McMahon was involved, which caused almost all the mainstream sportswriters to treat the XFL as a joke. Had it been organized by a more credible person, I think the XFL could have worked. I'm not sure if some of the XFL's crazy rules hurt or helped that league. But again, I think the crazy rules, coupled with McMahon's involvement was its downfall.
So much of sports fandom is about tradition. It's hard for a new league to succeed now because most fans prefer to align themselves with players and teams they know well. With a new league, that does not exist. The local college tie-in will again help with the familiarity of players a bit. A good idea might be to create 2 teams per major conference. 2 teams on the west coast (Rose Bowl, Husky Stadium) for the Pac-10, and they would also get players from the WAC. Big 12 could have 2 teams (Austin Texas, Lincoln Nebraska) and also get players from the Mountain West conference, etc.
Lets start drafting our fantasy teams for it.
"I would think that the college graduation requirement is needed to get college teams to cooperate. Why play for free when you can get $100K until you’re ready for the NFL?"
They already took care of that problem by requiring that players use up all of their college eligibility. They didn't need to add a graduation requirement.
"All 44-48 players per team must have graduated from college and exhausted their college eligibility."
If they just wanted to make sure colleges would cooperate, they could've worded it like this,
"All 44-48 players per team must have exhausted their college eligibility."
That would allow players who haven't graduated, but have used up all their eligibility.
Hey Doug, just a thought: If you had eight teams play a 14 game schedule, and then a short playoff of the four teams with the best records, how often would the best team win the championship? A lot more than 24%, I would think. But how much more? For that matter, what if you just determined the champion by regular season record? I think you'd still do better than 24%. Would a "10,000 AAFL seasons" post be possible?
dear god
What's wrong, monkeytime?
It would be a Football first attempt at a minor league. Baseball has hundreds of minor league teams from around the country, statistically not many of those players will advance to play for their major league affiliate but many make a decent living entertaining small market cities. There is even an occasional minor league team that makes more than some of the lower tier major league teams. For independent and foreign leagues there is also the revenue source of selling contracts of your best players to big league teams. I don't know how this new league will structure their contracts but if a players does bloom later, can his contract be sold to an nfl team. It will be interesting to see how this league will take form.
"It would be a Football first attempt at a minor league."
NFL Europe, with actual NFL roster players, is far more of a minor league than this seems designed to be. This really sounds more like another XFL or arena ball.
If this were a real minor league, they wouldn't have to offer $100,000 salaries. The possibility of moving to an NFL team would make $20,000 or $30,000 plenty. Minor league baseball players make more like $10,000.
This seems more like another excuse for not acknowledging that college football is more about football than college. This is an alternative to promoting real reforms, like openly paying players while they're in college (instead of a system of under the counter kickbacks and after the fact rewards) or allowing players to concentrate full time on football during the college years and use their scholarship to go to school *after* the end of their football career. Expect a rush of basket weaving majors to get the degree to get onto the team.
I am having a difficult time determining what market niche this league is hoping to capture and what void it is attempting to fill? If the sole purpose is to provide another opportunity to evaluate the athletic talent graduating from specific conferences, then will it replace the combines? My feeling is that it will not because of the emphasis put on raw athletic talent, as desired by the NFL. Not to mention, the possibility that a great collegiate injures himself in one of these minor league games creates enough of an incentive for players to skip out on playing. On the other hand, if the purpose is to generate a minor league fan base within each conference, then the league is doomed from the start. Take for instance the Southeastern Conference, where rivalries within each division exist and rivalries across divisions exist (ie.. Alabama-Tennessee, Ole Miss-LSU, Auburn-Georgia, Tennessee-Florida, Alabama-Auburn, Arkansas-LSU, etc.) Just because a team in Tennessee has Alabama and Florida players, does not necessarily mean that Alabama and Florida fans will pull for a team in Tennessee or travel to Knoxville, Nashville or wherever to see the games. With strictly a local fan base, will this league not simply become a failure or a prime candidate for NFL expansion? Again, my gut feeling tells me that either the league will fizzle out after three or four years, once the capital is exhausted, or it will chug along, in the red, attempting to fill unfillable college stadiums (70,000 plus fans) and will provide a sunset opportunity for players not good enough to make the NFL.
On a seperate note, will all divisions (I, I-AA, II, and III) be represented?
I'm about to be a third-year law student; not a lawyer yet, but not far off either. I haven't studied much employment law, but I can't imagine there's anything illegal about requiring a college degree. Some cities, such as Atlanta, require two years of college (though not a degree) to become a police officer. Employment discrimination is usually illegal if it's on the basis of things like race, sex, religion, age, ancestry, etc. I've never heard of "education discrimination" being on the list.
Again, though, I'm not a lawyer (yet), and I don't know much about employment law specifically, so take this post for what it is: Some random moron on the Internet, spouting off on subjects he knows nothing about.
Love the blog; keep it up.
Cool blog. I will link it to NFLCRIMES.COM
[...] In this post from a few weeks ago, I offered some thoughts on the All-American Football League, a new pro league that will start up next spring. [...]
I am looking for investor team owners for a new football league my group has organized. We need tea, ownership groups and offer a unique opportunity.
Anyone who knows of potential investors or anyone who has legitiment interest, please e-mail me. I would only like to receive e-mails from those who are serious about inquiring about this new league.
I will say this, this new league is very unique and will provide opportunity for more players and they will be payed a salary that is enough to live comfortably.
I can only provide details of this new league to qualified investors and groups who are serious about making this league happen. We hope to start league play in the fall of 2007.
Thanks,
Chris A. Curtis
League Commissioner
I have friends in the know in Birmingham and they tell me this league is taking off with signed or near signed agreements from many schools, and that there will be a team in Birmingham called Alabama, to feature players from Alabama and Auburn. Will play in Legion Field. Other schools include Florida, Florida St., Tenn, Purdue, NC St, and a Texas team to play in the Alamo Dome. I'm pretty sure the Alabama team needs someone to be the owner or owner group. I think playing in the spring has its advantages in these towns where there's really not much else going on and it doesn't compete with the NFL and college football. I'm most interested to know what the purists have to say about this league. They admit they're not competing with the NFL for players and so I see a difference between the USFL and XFL. They aren't creating millionaires so the payrolls won't be through the roof, but the salaries are the best average of the non-NFL leagues, so they should attract the best players. I believe there's a place for league for these players who may just need some seasoning before they're ready for the NFL or were cut for younger players. MLB has AAA minor league where they obviously have MLB level players but no roster spots. I read an article where over 150 USFL players ended up in the NFL so there's apparently a lot of good players that need a place to play. Please chime in with your thoughts. I am very interested in the Birmingham team myself. Thx.
http://www.allamericanfootballleague.com/ownership.html
An Alabama newspaper published this article yesterday. I've also heard the league has extended an invitation to Auburn to host a team.
That would be in addition to Alabama, Purdue, NC State, Tennessee, Florida, Florida St., Texas (at the Alamo Dome)
http://www.annistonstar.com/sports/as-sports.htm
Scott Adamson: Start-up pro league hopefully won't be another W-Laugh
09-09-2006

When you watch Auburn play Mississippi State this morning and then take in the Alabama-Vanderbilt game this afternoon, you'll be seeing several players who'll be in the NFL next season.
And you could be seeing several players who'll be in the fledgling All-American Football League next season, as well.
Reports are that Birmingham's Legion Field likely will host one of the eight flagship franchises when the league kicks off in the spring of 2007. The AAFL is designed to be something of a post-graduate pro league; the players must have college degrees to be eligible, and the teams, for the most part, will play on college campuses.
West Lafayette, Ind., home of Purdue University, has secured a franchise, while Gainesville, Fla., and Knoxville, Tenn. — where the NCAA's Gators and Volunteers, respectively, call home — also are sure bets.
Legion Field is not located on a college campus. However, it qualifies as a venue because it's the site of a college bowl game. Any team that played there primarily would be made up of Alabama, Auburn and UAB graduates, although I'm sure former Jacksonville State Gamecocks and Troy Trojans also will be on the field — as long as they have degrees, of course.
On the one hand the AAFL has potential. With players making $100,000 per season, the league will attract far better athletes than those who toil in semi-pro leagues. And with the blessings of the NCAA, it has credibility right out of the gate.
But ...
While quite a few football nuts like myself gladly would watch the gridiron game 52 weeks out of the year, the only non-NFL pro football circuit that has thrived in the United States is the Arena Football League.
And let's be honest: The AFL can be fun to watch, but it's not “real” football. It's a niche sport stocked mostly with minor league-caliber athletes.
A real 11-on-11 outdoor league is a long shot.
In 1974 and 1975 the World Football League was in operation, but owners with shallow pockets and a public that quickly tired of the novelty of an alternative league spelled its doom.
The 1980s marked the evolution of the United States Football League, which was solid and popular — until it inexplicably decided to move to the fall and compete with the NFL.
Next thing you know the USFL is fodder for trivia aficionados.
Really, no spring league since the USFL has been viable.
The World League of American Football — WLAF for short (and, perhaps, to its detriment) — flopped and now primarily is a German-based farm system for the NFL known as NFL Europe.
The Canadian Football League's expansion to the Lower 48 was short-lived, as the CFL quickly contracted back to the Great White North where fans could appreciate three downs and 25-yards-deep end zones.
The last spring league, of course, was the XFL — one of the greatest disasters in pro sports history.
So what do we make of the All-American Football League? It's a nice idea with credible people behind it. It's something I'd watch and likely enjoy.
Yet considering all other spring leagues that have come before it died, I'm not convinced it'll live. Heck, I'm not even convinced it'll get beyond the point of conception.
I guess we'll see.
Meantime, enjoy watching the Tide and Tigers play today. You probably can tell which seniors, and perhaps juniors, will be performing on Sundays in 2007.
As for the ones not good enough for the NFL, well, those degrees will come in handy with or without the AAFL.
They've just put up a brand new FAQ page on their website today.
http://www.allamericanfootballleague.com/faq.html
I am very interested in the possibility of an AAFL. I've been playing football professionally for about three years now, with the average pay being well under $100,000. And I swear to you, there is an unbelieveable amount of talent still out there. Guys just haven't been in the right place at the right time to take advantage of an NFL opportunity. Being from Texas and learning to play and respect the game in the mecca of football(TEXAS)I've always known that football was for me. And I've always wanted to play against the best in the business. But do to bad decission that I've made and obstacles that were out of my hand I've yet to get my opportunity to display what God is able to do threw those who trust in him. I graduated from a small private college and because I had never in my life imagined graduating from college I didn't participate in the Nfl combine or the senior day festivities. At that point in my life I felt like graduating from collge was the best move for my family and myself. A good friend of mine sat down with me and went over my options and we decided to go ahead and sign a contract with this local indoor team, which would aloow me to finish school while adjusting to the type of speed that would be awaiting me at the next level. And here I am three years later; A college degree and still awaiting my opportunity.
Perhaps you may not be a candidate for this league....but I am sure you know others who are. This new league is set to start playing in Spring of 2012. It is an exclusive league for ex-offenders only. To learn more, sponsor, support or own a piece of the action, go to the website now. Please remember to share the information with others as well.
I didn't see the link in my comment above, so I am including the link in my second comment. Here is the website of the new league: http://www.exconleagueofsports.com
The league has 24 teams in 12 States. The States are selected based on professional study conducted on interests and feasibility.