Major League Football: Will the league launch? Will it survive?

[Quillz]

So... I assume this league will maybe make it a few months, at best?

[dfwabel]

Might not make it to next weekend.  They are in debt (of course), but owe back taxes to the state of Delaware and on their last stock filing, not only did they have basically no revenue, some financier rescinded a $5M investment but supposedly is to close on a $20M investment by Feb. 1.  They haven't named cities yet since they cannot pay facility deposits.

[MJWalker45]

What will end sooner, this league or John Kasich`s campaign?

[WideRight]

On 1/27/2016 at 11:16 AM, Brass said:

 

18 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

 

I suspect the MLFB will never play a down.  So they are more like Scott Walker.  But, in pure calendar terms, I suspect they will bow out after Santorum and Fiorina but before Kasich or Jeb. 

[pianoknight]

I really WANT to like the idea of a minor league farm system for the NFL and/or CFL but the reality is that top tier FBS/Power 5 colleges are just too good.  For instance, take an all star team of this MLFB league and put them against Alabama, Michigan State or Oregon.  NCAAF wins every time, IMO.  Factor in the BILLIONS made from college football (playoffs, bowls, merch) and there's just no way people will support a minor league.  I know from experience that Husker fans will pay tens of thousands of dollars for season tickets and there's something like a 10-year waiting list to even get a shot TO buy season tickets.  I'm sure fanbases like Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, etc, are much the same.  I simply can't fathom a minor league ever attracting enough money to warrant the slim-to-none difference in talent.

 

The only way this sort of thing works, IMO, is with a significant format change to the game such as Arena Football.  There are plenty of cases (see: Kurt Warner) where arena leagues can help a player hone their skills for the next level.  Plus, it's "different" enough from NFL/NCAAF that fans will actually follow those teams to some degree.

 

A straight-up NFL style game, a la UFL, MLFB or other "100 yards/4 down" football is just white noise.

[WideRight]

I agree with you on some points, particularly that NCAA football is a tough hurdle for a minor league football league, but I think a minor league could work (exist, play games, break even) under these circumstances:

 

1. Be funded by the NFL.  Let's face facts, that is really the best way for a league of this type to stay solvent.  Minor league baseball, hockey, basketball all depend on money and support from the big leagues in each sport, so why not the NFL?

 

2. Avoid playing in Columbus, Birmingham, Austin, etc.  You don't want the competition from fans and you cannot fill the large stadiums anyway.

 

3. Seek out maybe 8-12 markets, 16 at the most (1 team with 2 NFL sponsors) but look for cities that are not hubs of college sports or MLB/NBA/NHL teams.  

     It might be smarter to play in Chattanooga than in Memphis, or San Antonio instead of Austin, or Akron instead of Columbus. 

 

4. Play in the Spring, when the only football are the occasional NCAA spring intra-squad games.

 

5. Limit the rosters to players who are within 5 years of leaving college with maybe 3-4 exceptions who are designated by the NFL affiliates.

 

6. Hire position coaches who are recent NFL alums, particularly those from the NFL affiliates. 

        I am picturing a team in Hartford with former Patriot and Giant players as coaches:  Tiki Barber,Teddy Bruschi, etc.

        Obviously you need to make it a part-time position so that these guys can also have careers in the media, as many do. 

 

7. Show games on NFL Network.

 

8. Offer ticket packages where season tickets to the minor league teams come with 1 game tickets to the NFL affiliate of your choice (of the 2-4 for each team). 

      So If I am buying tickets to the Louisville Steamers season, I get 1 game tickets to the Colts, Bengals or Bears, for example. 

 

Just some thoughts.  i agree that an independent "developmental" league is a really tough sell and a hard business to keep from collapse.  Far more leagues have crashed and burned before a game has ever been played than have lasted 2-3 seasons for a reason. 

[clonewars2008]

They say they wanna get a team in both Canada and Mexico. Most of their "Franchise" players are CFL washouts. This is skeptical for me.

[dfwabel]

Shocker!!!  Seems that did not get their $20M in funding after drafting 600 players. They revenue for the last 36+ months and owed state taxes in Delaware prior to relocating to Bradenton, FL. Last week, they never released cities as they never had $$$ for deposits. Then they media silent for a few days this week.

 

There ALWAYS be former football players under 30 of various skills who think that they are "one chance" away from a NFL roster. Luckily, those drafted won't be stranded in Bradenton or the franchise city due to lack of funds.

 

http://www.edgarexplorer.com/EFX_dll/EdgarPro.dll?FetchFilingHTML1?SessionID=Xh0Oev-lxc9m3T9&ID=11153097

 

"The entire $20 million sale and purchase of the common stock was scheduled to close on February 1, 2016. The Purchaser breached the Amended Purchase Agreement by not delivering to the Company the $20,000,000 purchase price to purchase the common stock as required by the terms of the Amended Purchase Agreement.

The Company is presently in discussions with the Purchaser regarding a remedy of the Purchaser’s breach of the Amended Purchase Agreement."

[dfwabel]

Bumping due to MLFB's claim that their training camps will begin on March 30.

 

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1536354599995472&substory_index=0&id=1397372430560357&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1536354599995472%3Atl_objid.1536354599995472&__tn__=%2As

 

This is even though they have yet to close on actually having the cash to pay for flying 800+ players and coaches to Bradenton, FL. No cities named either.