Starting next spring, pro football will have its own version of the NBA D-League. The Spring League, which isn’t affiliated with the NFL, will be run by the same people who ran the failed FXFL, according to Pro Football Talk.
The league will have four teams and six total games from April 5 to April 26, and practices will be open to NFL scouts, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio. Players signed to NFL rosters will not be eligible to play, so the league will be geared toward veteran free agents with the intent of NFL coaches and scouts to get a glimpse of potential talent.
To play in the Spring League, a player “must have been eligible during a previous year’s draft,” according to the official website. The website also states the Spring League hopes to create an official affiliation with the NFL in the future.
Before you get too excited about a chance to see Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow get one last hurrah, they probably won’t be there because scouts pretty much know all they need to know about them. And they’ll have to travel to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, where the league is located, to play.
Although there is no affiliation with the NFL, the NFL appears to support the endeavor as it sent memos to its teams alerting them of the new league, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora.
The NFL distributed a memo to member clubs today alerting them of the league but this is not connected to NFL in any way…
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 22, 2016
According to La Canfora, the NFL will continue discussing the possible creation of its own developmental league for young players under contract, something more similar to the NBA D-League.
The NFL is continuing to speak to GMs, coaches, players and Competition Comm about a possible developmental league as reported. Nothing new
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 22, 2016
If NFL had a spring league it would be for young players under contract to get more reps, etc, or an in-season academy for non NFL players
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 22, 2016
If the NFL does eventually institute its own minor league, it shouldn’t have much trouble competing with the Spring League. While the new league sounds exciting, it’s likely to be filled with washed up veterans who are on their last leg as opposed to what the NFL wants, which is a league with young talent getting extra reps to prepare for an NFL career.
