Major League Football

Major League Football (MLFB) is a proposed professional American football league consisting of teams that are all league-owned.[1] Major League Football, Inc., is a publicly traded company.

Major League Football
SportAmerican football
Founded2014
CountryUnited States
Official websitemlfb.com

The league "will operate at a level well under what the AAF, and XFL were".[2]

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 then current Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). The league looked to establish teams in unrecognized U.S. markets such as Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; Las Vegas, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; and San Antonio, Texas.[3] 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. The league named former NFL player Wes Chandler as its first president.[4][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 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.[8] However, by June 2016, the league would miss at least four months of rent payments on its headquarters in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, and eviction papers were served for non-payment of rent beginning in March 2016.[9]

In early 2017, the league registered websites for some of their teams that listed eight teams in the league: Alabama Airbourne,[10] Arkansas Attack,[11] Florida Fusion,[11] Ohio Union,[12] Oklahoma Nation,[11] Oregon Crash,[13] Texas Independence,[14] and Virginia Armada.[11]

In mid-2017, the league operations were taken over by Jerry C. Craig[15][16] and a new group of directors based out of Huntington Beach, California. 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.[17] Craig then went on to announce he was starting another league, with proposed start in spring 2018, called the Professional Football League.[18] His new league also stated they would start with eight cities and listed several of the general managers and coaches associated with the 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.

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.[19] However, the start date was postponed every time the company filed a quarterly financial report.[20][21] 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).[22] The AAF equipment had been bought by former Arena Football League commissioner Jerry Kurz in a bankruptcy auction earlier that month.[23]

In January 2020, CEO Frank Murtha stated that the MLFB is "a developmental showcase league, with games in May and June in six midsize cities - Little Rock, Arkansas; 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 is scheduled for April in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, where the league is headquartered.[24]

Rules differences

The rules of the MLFB are basically the same as the NFL with a few differences such as:[25]

  • 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

While currently unannounced, the MLFB has filed trademarks for ten regional teams and have held a territorial draft for eight teams in which coaches draft based on region. The reported names are:[26]

  • Alabama Airborne
  • Arkansas Attack
  • Florida Fusion
  • Northwest Empire
  • Ohio Union
  • Oklahoma Nation
  • Oregon Crash[27]
  • Texas Independence
  • Utah Stand
  • Virginia Armada[28]

Staff
  • Frank Murtha – Senior Executive Vice President (terminated October 4, 2017, by then CEO Jerry Craig; returned to the position and as acting president on November 1 after Craig's departure)[29][30][31]

Former staff
  • Wes Chandler – President[4] (resigned July 20, 2017)[32]
  • Michael Queen – Executive Vice President of Finance and CEO (resigned June 23, 2017)[15]
  • Jerry C. Craig – President & CEO, Chairman (from June 23 to October 14, 2017)[15][17]
  • Kristina E. Craig - Director of Marketing & Branding (resigned October 14, 2017)[17]
  • Rick Smith – Chief Operating Officer (resigned July 21, 2017)[32]
  • Ivory Sully – Vice President of Branding and Licensing (terminated July 20, 2017)[32]
  • Rick Nichols – Vice President of Business Development
  • Michael McCarthy - Director of Football Operations
  • Rose Schindler - SEC Counsel
  • John “JJ” Coyne – Vice President Project Management Officer
  • Herm Edwards – Major League Football Senior Advisor[19][33]
  • Marc Bulger – Quarterback Advisory Team[34]

General managers
  • Jerry Hardaway
  • Rodney Knox
  • Gerald Loper
  • Glenn Smith
  • Quintin Smith
  • Stephen Videtich
  • Martin Prince

Head coaches

Media

On January 12, 2016, MLFB announced a two-year television deal with the American Sports Network.[35]

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References
  1. "Ready for some football in the spring? MLFB thinks so". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  2. "XFL sale is imminent. But how long must we wait for spring football?". PigSkinNut Football. May 9, 2020.
  3. MLFB vs. Past Leagues, MLFB website, November 23, 2015
  4. "Why Major League Football thinks it can succeed this spring". ESPN. February 11, 2016.
  5. Company Overview, MFLB website, November 23, 2015
  6. League Overview, MLFB website, November 23, 2015
  7. "Football league runs after lost $20M". Florida Business Observer. February 11, 2016.
  8. "MLFB to Launch 2016 Development Season". MLFB. April 1, 2016.
  9. "Eviction papers served on Major League Football at Lakewood Ranch". Bradenton Herald. June 23, 2016.
  10. "Alabama Airbourne". MLFB Media. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  11. "MLFB Ticketing System". MLFB Media. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  12. "Ohio Union". MLFB Media. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  13. "Oregon Crash". MLFB Media. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  14. "Texas Independence". MLFB Media. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  15. "Major League Football, Inc. (OTCMKTS:MLFB) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers". Market Exclusive. July 3, 2017.
  16. "Jerry Craig takes over developmental football league". Sports Illustrated. September 9, 2017.
  17. "Major League Football Inc, Form 8-K, 10/17/2017". OTC Markets. October 17, 2017.
  18. "Newly Formed Professional Football League (PFL) Launching Spring 2018". PR Newswire. December 13, 2017.
  19. "Major League Football Inc. (Form: 10-K, Received 04/25/2018 06:09:01)". OTCMarkets. April 25, 2018.
  20. "MAJOR LEAGUE FOOTBALL INC FORM 10-Q: Filed 01/09/19 for the Period Ending 10/31/18". OTCMarkets.com. January 9, 2019.
  21. "MAJOR LEAGUE FOOTBALL INC FORM 10-Q: Filed 03/18/19 for the Period Ending 01/31/19". OTCMarkets.com. March 18, 2019.
  22. "MAJOR LEAGUE FOOTBALL INC FORM 10-K: Filed 07/29/19 for the Period Ending 04/30/19". OTCMarkets.com. July 29, 2019.
  23. "Former Arena League commissioner buys AAF equipment at auction". NBC Sports. July 8, 2019.
  24. "The dream that won't die: Will a new alternative football league ever last?". theScore. January 24, 2020.
  25. MLFB Rulebook, MFLB website, November 23, 2015
  26. "Major League Football, Inc. Trademarks". Justia Trademarks. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  27. A thankful Mark Mason, a battling Greg Ballard, and a football league on hold, Kerry Eggers, Portland Tribune, April 14, 2016
  28. "Major League Football Adds The Virginia Armada To List Of Potential Teams". Spor Repor. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  29. "Major League Football Inc, Form 8-K/A, 10/06/2017". OTC Markets. October 6, 2017.
  30. "Major League Football Inc, Form 8-K, 10/05/2017". OTC Markets. October 5, 2017.
  31. "Major League Football, Inc. (MLFB) FORM 8-K - Current report". Seeking Alpha. November 3, 2017.
  32. "Major League Football, Inc. (OTCMKTS:MLFB) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers". Market Exclusive. July 28, 2017.
  33. "Herm Edwards Joins Major League Football as Senior Advisor to the League and Management Team". Market Wired. October 28, 2015.
  34. "Marc Bulger Joins MLFB's Quarterback Advisory Team". City Biz List. January 7, 2016.
  35. MLFB Announces Two-Year Television Contract With American Sports Network, MLFB Staff, MLFB website, January 12, 2016
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