Major League Football
 | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |
 United States |
| Official website | MLFB.com |
Major League Football (MLFB) is a proposed professional American football league based in Lakewood Ranch, Florida; it currently consists of eight announced teams[1] and all teams are 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. In June 2016, eviction papers were served to the league for non-payment of rent beginning in March 2016 on its offices at the Lakewood Ranch facility.[3]
League history
Major League Football was founded in December 2014 with the intention of a being 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 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.[4] 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.[5]
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 and run from April to July.[6]
The MLFB originally planned on having its inaugural season in spring 2016. In January 2016, the MLFB held a draft for eight teams based on territory. However, in February 2016, a major financial backer of the league backed out of a $20 million commitment putting the league's first season in jeopardy.[7] The league continued to push forward in an attempt to start games in April 2016, but the league was unable to come up need financials in order to operate a full season. On March 31, 2016, the league announced that the first season would be postponed and 2016 would be considered a "developmental" year.[8] However, by June 2016, the league would miss at least four months of rent payments on its headquarters in Lakewood Ranch, Florida and were served with an eviction notice.[3]
Rules differences
The rules of the MLFB are basically the same as the NFL with a few differences such as:[9]
- A 30-second play clock instead of the NFL's 40 seconds.
- 50-yard field goals being worth 4 points (former NFL Europe rule).
- The ground can cause a fumble.
- In the case of overtime, a 10-minute period will be played to determine a winner. Similar to former NFL rules, first score wins the game. In the event the game is still tied after overtime, there are alternating possessions from the 10-yard line; teams get four plays to score a touchdown and 2-point conversion.
Potential teams
While currently unannounced, the MLFB has filed trademarks for nine regional teams and have held a territorial draft for eight teams in which coaches draft based on region. The reported names are:[10]
- Alabama Airborne
- Arkansas Attack
- Florida Fusion
- Northwest Empire
- Ohio Union
- Oklahoma Nation
- Oregon Crash[11]
- Texas Independence
- Utah Stand
- Virginia Armada[12]
Staff[13]
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.[14]
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.
- 1 2 "Eviction papers served on Major League Football at Lakewood Ranch". Bradenton Herald. June 23, 2016.
- ↑ MLFB vs. Past Leagues, MLFB website, November 23, 2015
- ↑ Company Overview, MFLB website, November 23, 2105
- ↑ League Overview, MLFB website, November 23, 2015
- ↑ "Football league runs after lost $20M". Florida Business Observer. February 11, 2016.
- ↑ "MLFB to Launch 2016 Development Season". MLFB. April 1, 2016.
- ↑ MLFB Rulebook, MFLB website, November 23, 2015
- ↑ "Major League Football, Inc. Trademarks". Justia Trademarks. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ↑ A thankful Mark Mason, a battling Greg Ballard, and a football league on hold, Kerry Eggers, Portland Tribune, April 14, 2016
- ↑ "Major League Football Adds The Virginia Armada To List Of Potential Teams". Spor Repor. Retrieved March 8, 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