The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

They said they will have at least 8 teams.  That along with the XFL will make next spring very interesting.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31559189/usfl-relaunching-spring-2022-least-eight-teams

Not enough talent for 2 spring leagues, or viewership and attendance. The two leagues should merge immediately, they can actual do decent business if they play it smart.

This I very much agree with.  While I can't think of a full business plan for them to actually thrive, I can think of a few basic details.  Especially if you're going to have 16 teams.  Look at what went well and what went wrong for the AAF in 2019 and the XFL in 2020 for guidelines.  One thing above all else.... stay out of NFL cities.  Go to secondary markets that don't have NFL teams if you want to draw fans.  Places like Portland, San Antonio, Orlando, Albuquerque, San Diego, Memphis, Birmingham, Charleston, Wichita, Colorado Springs, St. Louis, and Hartford are good options.

As usual, both leagues will fold by the middle of the season.  Countless alternative football leagues have formed through the years and none of them have survived.  That isn't going to change anytime soon. 

The new technology in both the AAF and XFL was starting to attract viewers and in person fans.  Do you think the AAF might still exist had it secured enough capital to operate for three years?   Do you think the XFL would still be around if not for COVID?

I've been meaning to mention that there is currently The Spring League playing, and I was wondering if anyone had been watching their games.  I think they play on Saturdays on NBC, I've watched parts of some games while flipping through the channels.  It's weird to watch because the stands are completely empty due to Covid, at least I think it's because of Covid. lol  They have two divisions, North and South, with four teams in each division.

Whoa!!!  I did some research on that league.  If you're in that league, you're way way down at the bottom rung and it's pretty much your last gasp before football is over for you.  Players actually have to pay $2000 to play in that league to cover their own room and board and they don't get health insurance either. These are guys that weren't drafted or signed as UDFAs.  No fans allowed because it's simply a showcase league and the guys in it are hoping to get that longshot chance.

These leagues never succeed 

The Arena Football League survived for over 20 years.  There's clearly a market.

Of course, the ultimate dream for any of these leagues is to become the next 1960's AFL or 1970's ABA: become popular enough to force a merger with the big boys.  That was explicitly what Donald Trump tried to force with the USFL (the 30 For 30 on the USFL is a good watch).  The next best option would be to become affiliated (or ideally: purchased) as a development league, but I'm not sure if a football equivalent of the G League could work.

I don't see the NFL merging with another league in my lifetime. How many teams can the NFL support and still have some semblance of parity? There are already teams that have been bad for decades. There just isn't enough talent.

Really? doesn't seem legal (labor laws) to not pay them.  I watched part of the game between the Generals and the Seawolves (I think it was the Seawolves) this past Saturday.  Ryan Mallet was the QB for the Generals, the game is so much slower at this level that he looked amazing.  When I read up about this league I believe they said it was for UFA's, and NFL 2nd stringers, as well as guys that had been on NFL practice squads.  Obviously a very very low percentage of these guys can actually make it to an NFL starting roster; but some of these guys looked extremely lazy on the field, and it was only the 1st quarter.

I don't think labor laws apply to me if you're the one paying me for the opportunity to play.

I know there are certain exemptions to labor laws for unionized employees, which I'm not sure is the case for Spring League players.  The payments by the players to the Teams could just be deemed reimbursement for housing/meal costs; BUT the players would still have to be paid.  Even cheerleaders have successfully sued teams for not paying minimum wage.

Well, maybe they all signed legal agreements that they are here voluntarily and this isn't a job.

I can't believe we are discussing labor laws. This isn't a job. This isn't any different than any adult league in any sport except these guys are in a concentrated area so the competition is better and they haven't given up their professional dreams yet. I couldn't believe this garbage was on tv when I found it.

I'm not sure why the NFL doesn't run a spring/summer league with all the teams so they can develop practice squad and undrafted/unknown players. They could run it just like the regular season but just a lower tier product. You could let all the spring league top tier players make the jump up to regular season, but not let regular season players move back down to the lower tier league.

It could also be used for a testing bed for proposed regular season rule changes. NFL/Dolphins football all year would be awesome. But then again, that shit would probably bring on liver failure, LMAO.

Not to mention you wouldn't be able to fit through the door unless you work in an industry like mine.

Very true.  But I don't consider that football.  Kidding.  Well, half kidding. 

BUMP

The first weekend of the USFL has been a complete disaster. Whoever the idiot is that thought of playing all the games in Birmingham is now seeing his failure come to fruition. With the exception of the Generals/Stallions, the games drew practically no one. And even that one game drew less than 12,000. And on top of that, they POSTPONE the Bandits/Maulers game because of inclement weather. Since when do you postpone a football game because of weather??

I honestly see this league going the way of the AAF.   It's gonna fold before the playoffs.  Meanwhile the XFL is doing it right, biding its time and setting up partnerships with the NFL.

There is a market but they overestimate how large it is. The NFL is very popular but a lot of that has to do with Gambling and Fantasy Football, two things the USFL or XFL won't really have. Some gamblers are complete degenerates and will bet on anything, but the casual gambler won't touch the XFL since they don't anything about it. Fantasy is obiously out the window too. For now, this leaves their core audience at the guys who will watch Missouri A&M vs. Nevada Poly Tech at 2 AM on ESPN 6.

So you're saying Stroke is their target audience. lol  I don't mind watching these games if I'm channel surfing and come across them, but I'm certainly not putting it into my schedule.

I represent that remark...   ;)

Funny thing is, when I was watching the XFL's first weekend of play a couple years ago, they started off with a funny commercial involving a doctor and his assistant.   The doctor was going on about how fans suffer football withdrawal syndrome after the Super Bowl and the only cure is more football. 

That's why the key for the success of either league is twofold:

1.  Have your season during the NFL's offseason

2.  Stay out of NFL cities if you can.

The only way I could ever see caring about another league was if it played in the months that the NFL didn't and it included played "on loan" from the NFL that were getting experience and exposure.

...like if the Dolphins drafted some guy they were developing and he was playing WR for some bobo team until he was seasoned enough.  Almost like a spring training/minor league for the NFL but I bet the injury risk is too high.

What you described is what the XFL is trying to do.   But at the same time, they are taking guys who spent time in NFL training camps but didn't survive final cuts.   I even see guys who played in the NFL for a few years in niche roles.  Tarik Cohen and TJ Logan are perfect examples