Creating the NFL D-League

The Base concepts of the D-League

Over the next few posts, I am going to lay out some of the basics for the league and why I feel the circumstances are right for this idea.

Affiliation to the Parent NFL teams is a must

The NFL tried the concept of a developmental league once before and it was a colossal failure; NFL Europe.  In my opinion, the biggest mistak with NFL Europe was not that it was in Europe trying to build fan base for a uniquely American sport but that there were no significant ties to the core NFL clubs.  While players were allocated from the NFL rosters to NFLE teams, there seemed to be no discernable correlation between specific NFL teams and the teams in Europe.  Cleveland Browns players could be on several tems as opposed to one team that would make it easy for Browns fan to watch and follow potential members and contributors of the NFL roster.  The big problem with this is the American fan base never built a relationship with any of the European teams.  It also didn't allow current NFL fans in Euripe to  build an allegiance to a specific team stemming from any underlying interest in an NFL team.  Also, fans in a specific European town such as Rhine, Germany would naturally gravitate the the parent club in the U.S. much in the same way that fans in double and triple A baseball cities gravitate to their respective MLB teams.  At a minimum, there should have been at least eight NFL Europe teams each representing a division from the NFL.  The AFC North could all send players to the Rhine Fire therefore giving the fans of the Browns, Bengals, Steelers and the Ravens a reason to watch the weekly games and follow not only their own players but the players of the rival teams in the division.  

Why Geography is important

For a developmental league to be successful for the NFL, the league needs to take a page from both the NHL and more speciically, Major League Baseball.  Some of the most successful minor league orgainizations within the MLB, certainly from an attendance standpoint, are teams with their minor league affiliate in towns with a base following for their major league club.  From personal experience, the Cleveland Indians have a single A team twenty miles east of downtown Cleveland, a double A club 35 miles south of Cleveland and their triple A club now 120 miles south of Cleveland in Columbus.  All of these locations build on the fact that people attending the games have a veste interest in watching the players on the field grow into players taht they hope will help the big league club some day.  There is a reason to go and watch a double A game when you know you are possibly watching a player who will contribute to the major league team you've been a fan of for 25 years.  The Akron double A attendance and interest would not be nearly at the level it is if the Aeros were the double A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs instead of the Cleveland Indians.  The allegiance to the big league club brings fans to the ball part, the play on the field keeps fans coming back.  Geographic location of the NFL Developmental teams must have an affiliation to an NFL team and must be favorably placed goegraphically close to the same NFL team.  A future post will discuss game day venues and potential D League team locations.

A Game for the Average Fan Family

Today, there are two ways to enjoy the NFL Game Day experience.  The first is the live experience.  This continues to move more and more to catering to the corporate clientele.  It remains very difficult for the typical family of four to attend more than one or two games a year due to the expense they would incur, especially in the current economic conditions.  Corporations eertainly remain the ultimate target for exclusive and premium seats and suite sales for the NFL.  As a result, the live experience is usually not within the realm of reality for the average fan.  The second way to enjoy the NFL Game Day experience is through the various networks that televise the games.  Whether you bring over your friends and enjoy the game in front of your big screen TV in your own home or head down to the local watering hole to watch the game out, television has become the mass venue for the NFL Game Day experience.

One of the reasons that the NFL fan base is so strong is the history that comes with the league in some form being around since the 1920s.  Fathers become fans and pass that on to their sons who in turn pass it on to their sons.  There is nothing like going to an NFL game live for the first time and soaking in the experience.  As the economics of the game change and accessability of the live experience along with it, the D-League provides a great opportuntiy for the NFL to target families and building fans at the most grass roots of levels.  Game times should be family friendly with ticket prices at a reasonable level not requiring a second mortgage to have a hot dog and soda and purchase a big foam "We're #1" finger.  Games should start at 2:00 on Saturdays with activities begining for the whole family at 11:00.  Kids Clubs, Family Sections and Meet and Greets by some of the players should be a part of every weekend game.

Why the networks would be on board

How many ESPN channels are there today?  How many regional and team owned networks are there today?  From the family of ESPN networks to Fox Sports to The NFL Network to The YES Network to TBS to Sportstime Ohio.  One thing all of these networks have in common is the need for relevant programming.  Good quality programming that advertisers are willing to pay for space to advertise is invaluable.  Versus tried to buy into being relevant by outbidding anyone else for the NHL coming off of a strike season.  Ask NBC executives how much it hurt a few years back to lose their AFC package when Fox dicided to go "all in" with the NFL.  NBC eventually entered back into the game but my guess is if they had it to do over again, they would have never let that package get away.  The NFL is a draw with a capital D.  There would be no shortage of competition from many of the networks looking to capture some of that audiance.  NFL fans are loyal and D-League games would provide access to that fan base.  Television revenue drives the NFL and television would financially drive the D-League.

 

 

 

An idea based on a simple concept: It's all about the fans

In the world of professional sports in the United States, the NFL is King.  However, it is the only major sport without a minor league system outside of the college game.  This site looks at how an NFL developmental league could work and why it would need to focus on the NFL fan and not necessarily the level of play on the field.

It's amazing to see the spectical that has become the NFL Draft.  Every year I am amazed at the energy and effort that fans put into tracking and following who their favorite NFL team may take in the two day event.  ESPN has committed loads of high priced talent to follow every minute that every team is on the clock and speculate on who the NFL team will take, why that person fits and why it is or isn't a good move.  All of this takes place before any of the draft prospects set foot on an NFL field to compete against established NFL competition.  Grades for the draft come out seeminly as soon as Mr. Irrelevant is picked.  While many experts and league insiders agree that it takes at least three years to really see who was successful and who missed on their teams picks, "experts" continue to rate each class without the benefit of watching a single snap of these players in NFL uniforms.  Every year there are busts.  Every year there are "surprise sleeper" undrafted players that make impacts on winning teams. 

So what?

The "so what" is that there is a disproportionate number of players coming out of college to the number of roster spots that may be available on the 32 NFL rosters.  With all the money and effort that is spent scouting the prospects, how can there still be busts and surprises?  Sometimes its the fact that good players go to wrong teams that are not good fits for their development.  Sometimes it's a miscalculation in how a player will transition from one position to a new position.  Sometimes it's just missing on the potential of what a player will do at the next level.  As you hear a number of times over the two day draft event, the draft is more art than science and certainly not an exact science.

So how does the draft relate to this blog?

There is a big hole in professional football today.  As it stands now, there is no viable place for a player to go if they want to continue to develop their skills once they have left the college game.  Sure, there have been success stories such as Kurt Warner stocking shelves and toiling in the Arena League to become Superbowl MVP but those are few and far between.  As it stands today, a mid level college player with raw talent better hope he finds the right situation where a team finds a way to place him on the practice squad for part or all of a season.  If he misses out on that opportunity, the chances of him ever developing further and getting another shot are extremely remote.  As Jerry Glanville once so famously stated during a clip for NFL Films, the NFL stands for "Not For Long".  Teams and front offices are under tremendous amounts of pressure to win today with today being a three year time frame at the longest.  There needs to be another avenue where players can develop in real NFL systems playing real NFL style football with 11 players on each side of the ball with 100 yard fields.

I've always had the feeling that the financial strength of the NFL is not the level of the play on the field but the dedication of the fans.  Don't get me wrong, the play on the field needs to be of a high quality and at a level equal with its ranking as the king of professional sports.  However, the true engine that drives the NFL is the fact that the number of fans that follow the game is huge and their dedication to their teams just as emence.  Games are played from September to the Super Bowl in February but the season for the fan is 12 months a year.  The regular season gives way to the Playoffs.  The playoffs give way to free agency.  Free Agency moves to the draft and the business of signing the drafted prospects.  Then on to OTAs and Minicamps followed by the beginning of Training Camp.  The season never ends for the fans.  Without the NFL fan, football is rugby being played in front of friends and family.

All of this brings me to the need for the NFL to create a developmental league focused on the fans and their loyalty.  Many of the upstart leagues such as the USFL, XFL and now the UFL have looked to start new leagues primarily based on the principle that there is like talent available that is not on NFL rosters that may be able to put a competetive product on the field.  The problem has always been that these leagues have focused on the fact that football is huge in the U.S. and assumed that if you put a quality product on the field, fans will follow.  The problem is compounded even greater when considering that these leagues have always felt the need to compete with the NFL either for players or fans.  In either case, it's a loosing battle.

The NFL D-League would be different in one significant area.  As opposed to competing with the NFL, it would be affiliated with the NFL much in the same manner that baseball and hockey has it's minor leagues.  The D-League would look to leverage the power that is the strength of the NFL; it's rabid fan base that never has an off season.  Where most start up leagues are trying to create a fan base, the D-League would simply look to piggyback off of the following that is already rich in history and tradition.

This site will look to outline the framework of an NFL developmental league.  I'll lay out the premise for the league, when it would be played, the divisions, teams, where they would play, how the players would be allocated and why it would be a win-win situation for the fans, the league, television and businesses.  I'll also look for comments from fans in other NFL towns that feel this would be a good idea and their thoughts on how the league could be tweeked to be better.  Ultimately, this becomes the outline for a league created by the fans, for the fans.  Who knows, from concept to reality?  Let's hope so.