What if the NFL had a developmental league like the NBADL?
This week is the last week of the NFL pre-season. Now more then 600 players will be cut from all 32 teams and will be jobless, hoping for a team with injuries to call them. These players obviously all had the talent to compete in the NFL at some level and most excelled in college. If they get cut this week, what opportunities do they have? Not many, and a lot of these guys will have to go back home and work on their farms, family business, restaurants, etc. There is the CFL and UFL, but those rosters are pretty full as well. When the NBA cuts rosters, players can play in Europe, or they can continue on in the NBADL and keep their skills and legs fresh. If the NFL were to have a "minor league" of sorts, players could earn a paycheck and keep themselves in good shape and be ready for a possible call up to the NFL if need be. The NFL is very rich, it has to be to be able to give out such enormous rookie contracts and signing bonuses. What needs to happen, is each team should have a "sub" or "minor league" squad like in baseball, that competes against the other "minor league" teams. The NFL could offer real cheap tickets, like the MLB, and each city would be able to create jobs for people looking to break into pro sports on the management, marketing, sales, broadcasting or any other level that a major league team would offer a job in. A lot of coaches and journalists for example, begin their careers in the minor league baseball system, before getting a chance in the big leagues. It is amazing the NFL can't figure out how to do this without losing money. Instead of doing it in the off-season, the NFL should install the "minor league" system to run parallel to the big leagues and keep the money flow constant. So while teams are earning millions from their pro teams, start the football weekend off on Friday and showcase a "minor league" game to get fans fired up for Sunday. Players can compete on the pro fields and scouts and journalists can watch them during the same weekend they see the pro players compete in the same city. If fans are willing to pay full price to watch pre-season games, why wouldn't they pay 1/4 of that to see the same players go at it before Sunday's game? Maybe owners could offer a package deal that gives season tickets holders a discount on "minor league" games. And when the big league NFL players get hurt, each team can just pick someone out of their "farm system", who will already be in game time shape and can basically step right onto the field. There are obviously plenty of things to work out logistically and financially, but this is a good starting point Commissioner Goodell.
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