Fran
04-24-2008, 10:45 AM
Hoping to Be Feeder for N.F.L., a League Plans to Open in ’09
By Katie Thomas
New York Times
From the United States Football League to the XFL, alternatives to the N.F.L. have traditionally fizzled not long after the first kickoff.
But Marvin Tomlin, the founder and chief executive of the prospective United National Football League, says he can beat the odds with a league designed to complement the N.F.L., not compete with it.
“I tell everyone that there’s one professional football league, and that’s the National Football League,” Tomlin said. “But in the same place, the N.F.L. does not have a developmental system.”
The league, which plans to play its first game in January 2009, would serve as a “minor league” to the N.F.L., Tomlin said, offering a second chance to college players who show promise but are not selected by a team in the N.F.L. or the Canadian Football League. The new league’s season would run from January to April and would serve as a showcase for N.F.L. recruiters, said Tomlin, an entrepreneur based in New Haven. Games would be played in college stadiums, he said.
Tomlin said that the league had solidified deals with three owners and that he expected eight teams to be in place by the end of next month. He would not disclose which cities have teams. Buying a franchise costs $1.5 million, which includes salaries for 60 players. The league is expected to announce Thursday the selection of the retired N.F.L. player Joe Cribbs as its commissioner. Cribbs was an All-Pro running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1980 through 1983, when he joined the U.S.F.L., which folded in 1985.
Cribbs said the league would allow N.F.L. recruiters to evaluate players.
“We feel that our league will give them the opportunity to see players over a longer period of time,” he said.
A spokesman for the N.F.L. declined to comment on the emerging league. Tomlin said he was negotiating with the NFL Network about televising the games, but an N.F.L. spokesman would not confirm that.
The U.N.F.L. is one of three alternative football leagues in development.
The six-team All American Football League plans to play in spring and summer in college stadiums using recent college graduates who have not been selected for the N.F.L. That league announced last month that it was postponing its start until next year.
The eight-team United Football League, an N.F.L. competitor founded by William R. Hambrecht, the chief executive of the financial services firm WR Hambrecht & Company, is planning to make its debut in August.
By Katie Thomas
New York Times
From the United States Football League to the XFL, alternatives to the N.F.L. have traditionally fizzled not long after the first kickoff.
But Marvin Tomlin, the founder and chief executive of the prospective United National Football League, says he can beat the odds with a league designed to complement the N.F.L., not compete with it.
“I tell everyone that there’s one professional football league, and that’s the National Football League,” Tomlin said. “But in the same place, the N.F.L. does not have a developmental system.”
The league, which plans to play its first game in January 2009, would serve as a “minor league” to the N.F.L., Tomlin said, offering a second chance to college players who show promise but are not selected by a team in the N.F.L. or the Canadian Football League. The new league’s season would run from January to April and would serve as a showcase for N.F.L. recruiters, said Tomlin, an entrepreneur based in New Haven. Games would be played in college stadiums, he said.
Tomlin said that the league had solidified deals with three owners and that he expected eight teams to be in place by the end of next month. He would not disclose which cities have teams. Buying a franchise costs $1.5 million, which includes salaries for 60 players. The league is expected to announce Thursday the selection of the retired N.F.L. player Joe Cribbs as its commissioner. Cribbs was an All-Pro running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1980 through 1983, when he joined the U.S.F.L., which folded in 1985.
Cribbs said the league would allow N.F.L. recruiters to evaluate players.
“We feel that our league will give them the opportunity to see players over a longer period of time,” he said.
A spokesman for the N.F.L. declined to comment on the emerging league. Tomlin said he was negotiating with the NFL Network about televising the games, but an N.F.L. spokesman would not confirm that.
The U.N.F.L. is one of three alternative football leagues in development.
The six-team All American Football League plans to play in spring and summer in college stadiums using recent college graduates who have not been selected for the N.F.L. That league announced last month that it was postponing its start until next year.
The eight-team United Football League, an N.F.L. competitor founded by William R. Hambrecht, the chief executive of the financial services firm WR Hambrecht & Company, is planning to make its debut in August.