Idea for a new spring football league

[Mac the Knife]

Guys,

For the past few years I've been tinkering with the concept of a new, lower-level spring pro football league (could be considered semi-pro I guess), and I wanted to bounce the idea off folks here to see:

(1) If anyone thinks it's viable,

(2) If anyone has any suggestions that might make it more viable, and

(3) If, on the off-chance there are any semi-pro team owners here, they'd like to explore the concept further.

ON THE FIELD:

Teams would play using essentially NFL rules but with one significant change: instead of kicking extra points, a team scoring a touchdown would have an opportunity to score 1, 2 or 3 points by run or pass from the 5, 10, or 15 yard line. This would, at least in theory, add a little more strategy to the mix.

Games would be played on Saturdays and/or Sundays in the spring (depending on facility availability, a team owner's prediction regarding local trends, etc.), running either 12 or 14 weeks beginning in early March, with no "bye" weeks unless it was absolutely necessary. Playoffs would follow with a format based on the number of teams, ending with a championship game at the home site of one of the finalist's teams.

OFF THE FIELD:

The league and its teams would adhere to a strict business model that minimizes expenses and strives for making each team a sort of "community" team, with HEAVY focus on local promotion.

Players would be compensated using a formula directly tied to ticket sales, with a decent percentage of the gate being split between the two clubs' players. This concept both gives the league's players a vested interest in promoting the games in their home markets, but it also offers team owners a cushion against losses - their player costs are tied to revenues, so their only real risk are the fixed costs they incur (facility rent, insurance, league and office expenses, etc.)

Owners would be screened out through a process that (1) would require a significant application fee (no ABA-style "$10K and you're in" arrangements), (2) would require criminal and financial background checks on anyone holding more than a 5% interest in the team, (3) would require the team to have a facility lease in place as well as proper insurance, and (4) would be followed by requiring a deposit held by the league to guarantee the team's appearance at road games - at least an amount sufficient to cover a home team's expenses in the event of a forfeit. If a visiting team fails to show for a game, they lose the deposit - along with their league membership.

Merchandising and corporate sponsorships would be managed at the league level and executed at the team level - with the league providing teams their merchandise for re-sale, and setting the guidelines for the team's to sell sponsorships. Revenue from these sources would be shared (though not equally) among the selling club, the league office, and a pool of all league clubs - a case where each team can help the others financially. The internet presence would also be league-controlled, ensuring a consistent, professional looking image of the league and all its teams. League-generated revenue would be split equally among the clubs, with a portion retained by the league to help defray front office operations.

A television contract obviously wouldn't be in the cards, but should a team land a local radio deal to broadcast their games, the revenue from that would be 100% theirs.

I'm probably whistling "Dixie" with this concept, but again I just wanted to bounce the idea off of you guys to see just how ridiculous (or not so ridiculous) it might be. So feel free to ask questions, sound off why you think it won't work, how you think it might work, and so forth. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!