Fútbol Americano De México

The Mexican American Professional Football League ('', FAM'') was a professional american football minor league in Mexico, founded in 2018. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as FAM-YOX for the 2022 season.

Starting with five teams, the FAM expanded to seven members in 2020 and nine members in 2022 in the cities of Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Jalisco, Mexico City, Monterrey, Naucalpan, San José del Cabo and Zapopan. Alongside the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the FAM was the top level of professional American football in Mexico, as both leagues competed for television exposure, players, and coaches. The FAM season spaned 8 regular season games in May and June with each team playing every other team in the league once. The post season ran in July.

The league announced it would shut down operations in late 2022.

History

The Mexican American Football (FAM) was founded on August 7, 2018, as ''Liga de Football Pro (LFP)''. The league was founded by the same initial investors of the LFA, (operating since 2016) with the intention of competing directly with them, offering a different business model. According to the league, their final goal was to merge with the LFA with the two league champions playing in a Bowl similar to the Super Bowl after the AFL–NFL merger.

2019

The league held its inaugural season in 2019 with five teams: Bulldogs de Naucalpan (''Naucalpan Bulldogs''), Centauros de Ciudad Juárez (''Juárez Centaurs''), Pioneros de Querétaro (''Querétaro Pioneers''), Tequileros de Jalisco (''Jalisco Tequileros'') and the Titanes de la Ciudad de México (''Titans of Mexico City''). The Pioneers finished as the first league champions after beating 16-0 the Centauros in the final.

2020

In 2020 the league added the Caudillos de Chihuahua (''Chihuahua Chieftains'') as the first FAM expansion team, while the Rojos de Lindavista (''Lindavista Reds'') and Marlins de Los Cabos (''Cabos Marlins'') would join soon thereafter. In July the "Pioneros" decided to withdrew from the league and joined the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) for the 2020 season, while the "Titanes" disbanded. The season had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico after only four weeks.

2021

For the 2021 season, the FAM added the Rarámuris de Ciudad Juárez (''Juárez Raramuris'') and the Tiburones de Cancún (''Cancún Sharks''), while the "Centauros" withdrew from the league. In February it was announced that former NFL first round draft pick Trent Richardson signed with the "Caudillos de Chihuahua". When asked of his role on the team Richardson said: "I might play. I might be a part of making decisions or helping out bringing awareness or I might be a part of D – all of the above. So we’ll see." In 2021, the "Pioneros" returned to the FAM. Ultimately the 2021 season was also canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the league still found success with three players on FAM rosters in 2021 making NFL appearances in 2022.

2022

In 2022, the league returned after a two year hiatus from COVID with nine teams. The league doubled in size since inception despite the break, in large part due to the growing popularity of American Football in Mexico, which recently became the second most popular sport in the country. It also grew in popularity due the signing of a few high profile athletes, such as two ex starting NFL running backs in Trent Richardson and Antonio Andrews.

The league faced financial trouble and shut down operations after being able to finish the 2022 season. Multiple teams migrated to rival league LFA.

Structure and schedule

The league plays with National Football League (NFL) rules. The final roster size is 48 players, with each team having up 16 roster spots for foreign born players (non-Mexican). This also contributes to the high level of competition in the FAM compared to other International leagues (mostly in Europe) which usually allow only 2-5 roster spots for Americans. Many teams will have 70+ players invited to training camp, which runs in March and April, with final cuts occurring before the season to trim the roster to the final size of 48.

For the 2022 season, the league had five US based tryouts across Texas, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and California. Each tryout consisted of 30-70 athletes across a range of skill levels and experience, from recent high school standouts to ex NFL players. The league also has local regional tryouts in Mexico, mostly selecting players from the highest division of Mexican Collegiate Football (Organización Nacional Estudiantil de Fútbol Americano).

The salary cap for FAM teams is $1,300,000 Mexican pesos (approximately $66,000 USD) for the entire season. The purpose of the salary cap is to prevent the team's owners from unsustainable spending on player salaries and to prevent a competitive imbalance among teams, but the league allows additional salary spending for international players (similar to the MLS) that is exempt from the salary cap, in order to increase in on-field competition.

Season format

The 8-weeks regular season was held from March through June, with games were held on Saturdays and Sundays. Each team played four home and four away games. Four teams advanced to the playoff each year.

Balón de Plata Champions

The "Balón de Plata" (Silver Ball) was a single match at the end of the season that determines the season winner and FAM National Champion. The game was played at the home stadium of the higher seed team.

Teams

Last active franchises

Former teams

Membership timeline

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Notable players

* Antonio Andrews
* Jeremy Johnson
* Mauricio Tyson López
* Kamryn Pettway
* Trent Richardson
* Khiry Robinson
* Troy Stoudermire

External links

Fútbol Americano de México games

References

{{International American football

American football in Mexico
Sports leagues in Mexico
Sports leagues established in 2018
2018 establishments in Mexico
Professional sports leagues in Mexico