The Freedom Football League (FFL) was a planned professional spring-summer

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

. The league was set to begin play in 2019 after the announcement of several teams, but as of 2024, there have been no further developments and the project is believed to have been abandoned.

History

The Freedom Football League was announced on December 6, 2018 by

Ricky Williams Errick Miron (born Errick Lynne Williams Jr.; May 21, 1977), known professionally as Ricky Williams, is an American former professional football running back who played for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's ''

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'' is an American sports news and analysis program that was broadcast by ESPN from 1990 to 2022. The series featured segments with discussions and investigative journalism surrounding prominent headlines and topics within spor ...

''. Williams indicated there were 100 initial stakeholders plus additional financing planned. He also announced the teams' locations and names. In 2019, the league was planning to make a series of private and public equity offerings. While ESPN reports that no set first season date, ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' indicated 2020 for the first season, but there have been no formal announcements from the league since. As of 2024, the league's website is shut down.

Premise and rules

At the time of the league's announcement, indications had been that it would not necessarily follow 11-on-11 standard outdoor rules and would more closely resemble a seven-on-seven format similar to the

A7FL The American 7s Football League (A7FL) is a sports league in the United States which plays a seven-man version of gridiron football called American 7s Football. Launched in 2015, its games are played without football helmets or other protective e ...

, a national semi-professional league. The FFL was overtly ideological. Its ownership structure is built around the premise that the current professional football landscape is dominated by billionaires; hence, its name is derived from the freedom it intended to give its players from the closely held structure of other professional leagues by offering equity stakes to players. The FFL claims it would not discourage its players from politics, such as kneeling during the national anthem. All teams except for last-placed team in the conference would qualify for the playoffs. The first round would've been the Conference Semifinals, consisting of the top-seed hosting the fourth seed, and the second hosting the third. The winners would've advanced to the Conference Finals, and the conference winners would've played for the League Championship.

Teams

The FFL had proposed eight teams to be split into two conferences.

Business

The FFL were financed by private funding and public offerings allowing fans to be part-owners of their respective team. When the FFL was announced, co-founder

stated that there are approximately 100 initial stakeholders, including 50 former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

players. Season ticket holders are planned to have equity stakes. The league would be owned by players, fans and the operators. However, those plans never came to fruition and the FFL was abandoned as of 2021.

Key people

Founders

Simeon Rice Simeon James Rice (; born February 24, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the ...

Jeff Garcia Jeffrey Jason Garcia (born February 24, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). After attending high school and junior college in ...

* Dexter Jackson *

Willie Harper Willie Miles Harper (born July 30, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, twi ...

Akili Smith Kabisa Akili Maradufu Smith (born August 21, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round (third overall) of th ...

* Andre Kirwan *

Bob Whitfield Bob Lectress Whitfield III (born October 18, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal. Early life Whitfield ...

* Greg Bell *

Jeff Blake Jeffrey Bertrand Coleman Blake (born December 4, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates. Bl ...

* Kenny Stills Sr. * Spencer Conley * Steven Zubkoff *

Todd Yoder Todd Matthew Yoder (born March 18, 1978) is an American former professional football tight end. Yoder was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2000. He played college football at Vanderbilt. He has also been a member ...

* Victor Butler * Michael Dotterer * Mike Jones *

Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), also known by his initials "T.O.", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the greatest wide rec ...

Byron Chamberlain Byron Daniel Chamberlain (born October 17, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wayne State Wildcats. He was selected in the seven ...

* Juli Jordan * Angela Abshier * Rice, Garcia and Jackson are all former players in the United Football League.

References

External links

* {{Professional gridiron football leagues in North America 2018 establishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 2018 American football leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States