Major League Football
 | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Inaugural season | 2016 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |
 United States |
| Official website | MLFB.com |
The Major League Football (MLFB) is a starting professional American football league based out of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, that will consist of 8 teams in its first year.[1] All teams will be league owned.[2] The league founder and president is former National Football League wide receiver Wes Chandler. Major League Football, Inc., is a publicly traded company.
League history
Major League Football was founded in December 2014 as a spring football league in an attempt to fill the void left by minor or development football leagues such as the World Football League, the United States Football League, the XFL and United Football League (all of which lasted less than five years), and the the current Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). The league looked to establish teams in unrecognized U.S. markets such as Birmingham, AL, Memphis, TN, Las Vegas, NV, Orlando, FL, Portland, OR, Sacramento, CA, and San Antonio, TX.[3] It also planned to develop a non-conflicting and competitive league to the National Football League and other sports leagues in the United States (including the Arena Football League and Indoor Football League) and expand the media platform.[4]
The MLFB is a single-entity business model where the league owns and operates all of the teams with franchises in cities that are absent of NFL or Major League Baseball teams. The MLFB's goal is to have franchises be individual owner and operated by 2019 or 2020. Average attendance is expected to be between 12,500 and 15,000 fans by the end of the first season, which is expected to start in the spring of 2016 and run from April to July.[5]
The league's first season is planned to consist of eight teams playing ten regular season games and three playoffs games.
Rules differences
The rules of the MLFB will basically be the same as the NFL with a few differences: there will be a 30-second play clock instead of 40 seconds (NFL rules), 50-yard field goals will be worth 4 points (former NFL Europe rule) and unlike other leagues, the ground can cause a fumble in the MLFB. In the case of overtime, a 10-minute overtime period will be played to the determine the winner. Similar to the former NFL rules, first score wins the game. In the event the game is still tied after the first overtime period, there will be alternating possessions from the 10-yard line. There will be four plays to score a touchdown and 2-point conversion. That goes until there is a winner.[6]
Potential teams
While currently unannounced, the MLFB has filed trademarks for eight regional teams and have held a territorial draft in which coaches draft based on region. The reported names are:[7]
- Alabama Airborne
- Arkansas Attack
- Florida Fusion
- Northwest Empire
- Ohio Union
- Oklahoma Nation
- Texas Independence
- Utah Stand
Staff [8]
Management Team
- Wes Chandler – President
- Michael Queen – Executive Vice President of Finance
- Rick Smith – Chief Operating Officer
- Frank Murtha – Senior Executive Vice President
- Ivory Sully – Vice President of Branding and Licensing
- Rick Nichols – Vice President of Business Development
- Nick Athan – Vice President of Media Relations
- John “JJ” Coyne – Vice President Project Management Officer
Senior Advisors
- Herm Edwards – Major League Football Senior Advisor
- Marc Bulger - Quarterback Advisory Team
General Managers
- Jerry Hardaway
- Rodney Knox
- Gerald Loper
- Michael McCarthy
- Glenn Smith
- Quintin Smith
- Stephen Videtich
Head Coaches
- Dave Campo
- Charlie Collins
- Ted Cottrell
- Robert Ford
- Wayne ‘Buddy’ Geis
- Galen Hall
- Larry Kirksey
- Chris Miller
Media
Television deal
On January 12, 2016, MLFB announced a two-year television deal with the American Sports Network.[9]
References
- ↑ "Developmental Pro Football League Looking at Louisville". 89.3 WFPL. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
- ↑ "Ready for some football in the spring? MLFB thinks so". The Washingtion Times. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
- ↑ MLFB vs. Past Leagues, MLFB website, November 23, 2015
- ↑ Company Overview, MFLB website, November 23, 2105
- ↑ League Overview, MLFB website, November 23, 2015
- ↑ MLFB Rulebook, MFLB website, November 23, 2015
- ↑ Spor Repor About To Break Some MLFB News Bros, Spor Repor, January 27, 2016
- ↑ MLFB Directory, MLFB website, November 20, 2015
- ↑ MLFB Announces Two-Year Television Contract With American Sports Network, MLFB Staff, MLFB website, January 12, 2016