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Major League Football (MLFB) is a proposed professional
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
minor league consisting of teams that are all league-owned and Major League Football, Inc., is a publicly traded company. MLFB will operate on a strict budget, well under the Alliance of American Football,
USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
and the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
operating budget, while it plans to be a developmental league similar to the
NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...
or Triple-A baseball. Also, unlike most alternative professional football leagues since the 1980s, the league would've played its first season overlapping the traditional fall season (ending in September), competing directly with the NFL, college football, and
high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
. For the 2022 season, the players would have been paid $2,000 per game, with a $500 bonus for wins.


History


Premise

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 United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
, the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
and United Football League (all of which lasted less than five years), and the then current
Fall Experimental Football League The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL). The lea ...
(FXFL). The league looked to establish teams in unrecognized U.S. markets such as
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
;
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
;
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
; Orlando, Florida;
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
;
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
; and
San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
. According to the league website, they also plan to expand to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. In its original incarnation, the league planned to start with 10 teams as part of a single entity ownership model, with a 12-week regular season schedule, a 43-player active roster, while players could participate in the league for no more than four years and there will be an "age-cap" at 32. It also planned to develop a non-conflicting and competitive league to the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
and other sports leagues in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(including the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
and
Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...
) and expand the media platform. The league named former NFL player
Wes Chandler Wesley Sandy Chandler (born August 22, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was selected to the Pro Bowl four t ...
as its first president. The MLFB single-entity business model, where the league owns and operates all of the teams, was supposed to be temporary, as the league goal was to have franchises be individual owner and operated by 2019 or 2020, with the franchises located in cities that are absent of NFL or
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
teams. The average attendance was expected to be between 12,500 and 15,000 fans by the end of the first season. The season was planned to run from April to July each year.


2016: canceled season

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 and announced seven general managers (Jerry Hardaway, Rodney Knox, Gerald Loper, Glenn Smith, Quintin Smith, Stephen Videtich and Martin Prince) and eight head coaches (
Dave Campo David Cross Campo (born July 18, 1947) is an American football coach and former player. Campo served as the head coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 2000 to 2002, compiling a record of 15 wins and 33 losses. He ...
, Charlie Collins,
Ted Cottrell Theodore John Cottrell (born June 13, 1947) is an American football coach and former player. He was formerly the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, and the San Diego Chargers in the National Football Le ...
, Robert Ford, Wayne 'Buddy' Geis,
Galen Hall Galen Samuel Hall (born August 14, 1940) is a retired American college and professional football coach and player. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and an alumnus of Penn State University, where he played college football. Hall was previously t ...
, Larry Kirksey and Chris Miller). 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. The league continued to push forward in an attempt to start games in April 2016, but was unable to come up with the needed financials in order to operate a full season. On March 31, the league announced that the first season would be postponed and 2016 would be considered a "developmental" year. Nevertheless, by June 2016, the league would miss at least four months of rent payments on its headquarters in
Lakewood Ranch, Florida Lakewood Ranch is a planned community and census-designated place in southeastern Manatee County and northeastern Sarasota County, Florida, United States, consisting of approximately . It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida M ...
, and eviction papers were served for non-payment of rent beginning in March 2016. While the team names were unannounced, MLFB filed trademarks for ten regional team names and have held a territorial draft for eight teams where the coaches drafted players based on region (all trademarks have since been abandoned ). The trademarked names were: Alabama Airborne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Northwest Empire, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Oregon Crash, Texas Independence, Utah Stand and Virginia Armada


2017 takeover

In early 2017, the league registered websites for some of their teams that listed eight teams in the league: Alabama Airbourne, Arkansas Attack, Florida Fusion, Ohio Union, Oklahoma Nation, Oregon Crash, Texas Independence, and Virginia Armada. In mid-2017, the league operations were taken over by Jerry C. Craig and a new group of directors based out of Huntington Beach, California, and planned to keep the eight franchises format, while the cities considered were:
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
and
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
;
Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
; Denton and
Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Ba ...
; Canton, Ohio;
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
;
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
;
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
; Shreveport, Louisiana; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and a city in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. However, by October 2017, Craig apparently had failed to follow through with a purchase agreement and the general counsel resigned. On October 14, Craig also vacated his position as CEO and Director leaving the publicly traded company without management. Craig then went on to announce he was starting another league, with proposed start in spring 2018, called the Professional Football League. His new league also stated they would start with eight cities and listed several of the general managers and coaches associated with MLFB as part of the new league. Craig also clarified the PFL is a privately held entity and has no official association with the publicly traded MLFB.


2018–2021: the almost season

On April 25, 2018, MLFB filed a Form 10-K with the intent to restart the league with an abbreviated 2018 season beginning in June or July prior to fully launching in March 2019. However, the start date was postponed every time the company filed a quarterly financial report. By July 2019, the league stated it was planning a 2020 start with six teams and that it had agreed to purchase most of the equipment from the recently defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF). The AAF equipment had been bought by former
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
commissioner
Jerry Kurz Jerry B. Kurz (born June 21, 1949) is a founding father of the now-defunct Arena Football League. He was one of the earliest leaders of Arena football, and was part owner of Gridiron Enterprises, original owner of the proprietary, formerly patent ...
in a bankruptcy auction earlier that month. In January 2020, CEO Frank Murtha stated that MLFB is "a developmental showcase league, with games in May and June in six midsize cities -
Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
; Norfolk, Virginia; Canton, Ohio; and so on - that aren't served by the NFL or, for that matter, Major League Baseball" and said that the annual operating budget will be in the "ballpark of $30 million" as a single entity. The centralized all-players training camp was stated to be scheduled for April in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, where the league is headquartered. These tryouts did not take place in the midst of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and MLFB then announced plans for tryouts and camps in Lakewood Ranch for December 2020 through March 2021 for a 2021 season. However, these tryouts also did not take place and the league again postponed its demonstration season until summer of 2021, which also never took place due to continued pandemic restrictions. For the planned 2021 season, the players would have been paid between $2,500-$3,500 per game, with a $1,000 bonus for wins.


2022: 2nd canceled season

In July 2021, they stated there would be a full season regular season in spring 2022 played in six cities. The league also claimed it had secured a line of credit for $1,000,000. On November 2, 2021, Murtha announced several cities to potentially house its six teams for a planned 2022 season: Mobile, Alabama;
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
;
Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
; Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia; Canton/Massillon, Ohio; Daytona Beach, Florida; Orlando, Florida;
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
;
Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
;
San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
; and
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
. Murtha also stated that training camp for the first six teams will be hosted at the Premier Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, in mid-April 2022 and all teams would return to their home cities after the camp. On March 15, 2022, the league announced its first head coach in
Jerry Glanville Jerry Michael Glanville (born October 14, 1941) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Alabama Airborne of Major League Football. He played football at Northern Michigan University in the early 1960s, and is a former NASCAR ...
. Three days later MLFB launched a new website and revealed that there will be only four teams for the first season: Virginia Armada, Arkansas Attack, Ohio Force and Alabama Airborne. On March 22 the league reveled their second coach in
Terry Shea Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Am ...
. On March 30 former Ohio Dominican head coach, Bill Conley, was announced as the league third HC. After some delays and many candidates, MLFB hired their fourth coach for 2022
Earnest Wilson Earnest Wilson is an American football coach. He is the head coach for the Arkansas Attack of the newly-formed Major League Football. Prior to that he was the head football coach at . Wilson served as the head football coach at Savannah State Un ...
. Wilson was most recently the head coach at
Defiance College Defiance College is a private college located in Defiance, Ohio and affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The campus includes eighteen buildings and access to the Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary. History The college began as Defiance Female ...
. It was reported that MLFB would be using 50 man rosters for the 2022 season and that league executives, coaches, and general managers would be responsible for selecting players via a draft and also via territorial selections. There are also reports that MLFB was closing in on a broadcast deal with a major media partner and had plans to provide coverage that focused on how coaches were developing players and helping them grow to the next level. MLFB continued to make news as they announced one definitive term sheet offering a $7.5 million equity line of credit. Days later the League received a second term sheet for a similar $7.5 million equity line of credit which would give it access to $15 million in capital for the 2022 Season. Neither of these equity lines of credit were actioned on at the time. In early May, MLFB announced they had entered into a $10 million equity line agreement with an institutional investor. This is thought to give them the initial access to cash to begin moving forward quickly for their 2022 season. It was reported in early June 2022 that the Virginia Armada would be playing at the
Virginia Beach Sportsplex The Virginia Beach Sportsplex is a sports complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The name is most commonly attached to the main stadium within the complex, which opened in 1999. It has a permanent seating capacity of 6,000, on two decks of seating, ...
and that the Ohio Force would be playing at
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, formerly Fawcett Stadium, is a football stadium and entertainment complex in Canton, Ohio. It is a major component of ''Hall of Fame Village'', located adjacent to the grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ...
. The Armada will be coached by Terry Shea and the Force will be coached by Bill Conley. It was also reported that players will be paid $2,000 per week of the regular season and that MLFB will be offering win bonuses as well. Connor Kaegi was reported to be the first quarterback under contract with MLFB. On July 28, 2022, players from the Alabama Airborne and two other teams were abruptly evicted from the hotels where they were being housed over unpaid bills and reports from coaches that the league had "shut down" prior to the start of the season. MLFB acknowledged that a "funding delay" had forced the suspension of the 2022 season. This happened after a major financial backer of the league backed out of a $10 million commitment after, presumably, the league failed to put a team in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
(and later
San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...
). Players were paid only $50-a-week stipend during training camp, before the league was shut down. Four days later it was reported that MLFB employees’ paychecks were "reversed", while the league official website was shutdown as a result of unpaid bills. On August 5, 2022, an unrelated league laid claim to the Major League Football brand, with intent to launch in October of that year. The new league claims it had a trademark on the name ''Major League Football'' dating back to 2001, and they plan sending a cease and desist letter for trademark infringement. On August 18, 2022 Murtha announced the league is moving forward with operations for a full season for 2023, and that MLFB has received from an institution an initial stock equity term sheet in the amount of $2,500,000, which it is reviewing. He also mentioned the league plans are paying all obligations previously incurred for player expenses, and other trade obligations.


Rules

The rules of MLFB are basically the same as the NFL with a few differences such as: * 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.


Teams

On March 18, 2022, MLFB launched a new website and revealed that there will be only four teams for the first season.


Staff

* Frank Murtha – President and CEO (terminated October 4, 2017, by then CEO Jerry Craig; returned to the position and as acting president on November 1 after Craig's departure) * Greg Campbell –
CFO The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
* John "JJ" Coyne – Executive Vice President * Bill Lyons – Chief Marketing Officer * Mike McCarthy – Senior Vice President of Football Operations * Steve Videtich -
COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...


Former staff

*
Wes Chandler Wesley Sandy Chandler (born August 22, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was selected to the Pro Bowl four t ...
– President (resigned July 20, 2017) * Michael Queen – Executive Vice President of Finance and CEO (resigned June 23, 2017) * Jerry C. Craig – President & CEO, Chairman (from June 23 to October 14, 2017) * Kristina E. Craig – Director of Marketing & Branding (resigned October 14, 2017) * Rick Smith – Chief Operating Officer (resigned July 21, 2017) * Ivory Sully – Vice President of Branding and Licensing (terminated July 20, 2017) * Rick Nichols – Vice President of Business Development * Rose Schindler – SEC Counsel *
Herm Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phil ...
– Major League Football Senior Advisor *
Marc Bulger Marc Robert Bulger (; born April 5, 1977) is a retired American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth r ...
– Quarterback Advisory Team


Media

On January 12, 2016, MLFB announced a two-year television deal with the
American Sports Network American Sports Network (ASN) was a sports brand owned by the U.S. television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group through its Sinclair Networks subsidiary. Formed in July 2014, the multicast network component of ASN produced broadcasts of sp ...
.MLFB Announces Two-Year Television Contract With American Sports Network
MLFB Staff, MLFB website, January 12, 2016


References


External links


Official website

Former Official website
* {{Professional gridiron football leagues in North America American football leagues in the United States Cooperatives in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States 2014 establishments in Florida Sports leagues established in 2014