NFL Needs a Better Minor League System

Written by James Brown, Gatorsfirst.com Co-Founder

Why has the NFL never had a better minor league system?

I got to pondering this question a few weeks ago, and today decided to hack out how I think such a league could work.

I tried to think of 10 new cities that should get teams, with only a couple of requirements.

First, they should be geographically attachable, as much as possible, to the existing 32 NFL teams.

I imagined a case, sort of like the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), where an NFL team can place up to seven players on their 'minor league team'. Each minor league team, as in the NBDL, would have its own players, and be associated with several teams (in this case, three for each team, though two minor league teams need to be tied to four NFL teams).

In the NBDL, players sign contracts with the league (if they aren't stuck on the team by their NBA club) and are assigned geographically (players from California would stay out there), at least most of the time.

In choosing possible locations for minor league NFL teams, I avoided choosing L.A., despite their glaring lack of an NFL team, because the NFL is probably trying to think of ways to expand or to move a team out there. Also, L.A. fans are fickle with attendance as it is—a minor league team might not be the best sell.

Lastly, I know this is sort of what they tried with NFL Europe (Europa, but really, Deutschland at the end of its life). I think having a league where the players play during the NFL season, but on a different day (Wednesday night is what I thought of—get it far enough away from the other games, college and pro) would be beneficial to the league. Having minor league teams nearby allows the the NFL teams to keep some players in shape and have a good farm system from which to draw players in case of injuries or jail sentences, or the like, crop up.

As far as scheduling, a 10-team league, split into East and West, can do the usual schedule we frequently use in fantasy, where you play everyone in your division twice and everyone from the opposite division once.

Drawn out playoffs are probably in no one's best interest, so it'd be old school, World Series-style, where East meets West in one Minor League Super Bowl.

How do you ensure everyone gets a fair shake of home games with a 13-game schedule?

I think the NFL could continue it's initiative to spread the game around our continent, as well as Europe. Every team should play one of it's inter-divisional games at a neutral site. These games would happen after a bye week for each team, to ease travel concerns.

There would only need to be five of these games in cities like Montreal, Mexico City, Barcelona, London, and Dusseldorf.

Dusseldorf was the home of the Rhein Fire, probably the most successful NFL Europe team, and of all the Europeans, the Germans seemed to take to the game the most. Other cities in Germany, Paris, and Vancouver are other possible options.

If you're counting, our season starts week one of the NFL season and includes a bye week, so it takes us through week 14 of the NFL schedule.

NFL week 15 would be the Minor League Super Bowl.

Additionally, I thought it would be beneficial for the NFL teams to be allowed to expand their rosters for the final two weeks (NFL week 16,17) as is allowed by the MLB. This would give the teams a chance to get some guys game action, to help for the playoff push, or if they've already tanked the season.

The other cool thing about having a minor league would be the chance to see some college stars continue to play as they hope to earn a shot on an NFL 53-man roster. I'd expect most teams, when choosing the non-NFL players to fill out a team, would sign guys with local ties to generate more interest. This already happens to a large degree in the NFL—generally the teams with the most Gators end up being in Florida. The point is, training camp rosters are 80 guys deep, there are plenty of players with which to form a fall football league.

Here are the teams:

City Team Name (NFL affiliation)

East

1. Orlando Thunder (JAX, MIA, TB): This was actually an old team name for the World League of American Football (NFL Europe predecessor).

2. Hartford Whale (NE, NYJ, NYG): I really didn't want to stick the team here, but felt it was a better option than Montreal. I almost went with Boston, since the Patriots is technically shared between Boston and Providence. How could I resist bringing back memories of an NHL team that had a cult-like following?

3. Chesapeake Sailors (WAS, BAL, PHI): Virginia Beach is a highly populated area, but I went with a regional name.

4. Toronto Lumberjacks (BUF, DET, GB, MIN): The Canadians get a bowl game, and are trying to steal the Bills, why not try to appease them this way instead? This is the only international team I went with, though I actually tried to avoid it. Too many NFL teams are up north, where markets are shrinking. However, I don't think the Scranton Paper Salesmen is a better option.

5. Columbus Runners Up (CLE, CHI, PIT): Of course this name wouldn't fly, but it exhausts my knowledge of Columbus. A quick wikipedia read informed me they would have been much cooler to continue honoring Benjamin Franklin. At any rate, this team would be destined to finish behind a Florida team, or perhaps any team from the southeast.

West

1. Portland Hops (OAK, SEA, SF): This nickname would probably be rejected, but Milwaukee gets the Brewers, so I can dream. Portland, being the Rose City, doesn't lend itself to football players.

2. Salt Lake Skiers (DEN, SD, ARI): I thought about placing this team in Vegas, but I doubt that would happen.

3. San Antonio Jalapenos (DAL, HOU, NO): Another city that keeps trying for an NFL team, also the logical home for two Texas teams.

4. Louisville Thoroughbreds (KC, STL, CIN, IND): I know, not exactly west, but where else would you stick a team? Also, both Missouri NFL teams play in the western divisions of their respective conferences as it is.

5. Memphis Blues (ATL, CAR, TEN): Again, not really the west. The teams aren't in the West, either. At some point, due to the population moving west so much, more NFL teams will be out west, then there will be better homes for these minor league teams. However, I like this team name. I also like Memphis Ribs, but don't think they make a good team name. Just a delicious meal.

Any thoughts?

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