The Pacific Football League was announced to start in the summer of 2018. Founded by Don Yee, Tom Brady’s agent, the league will focus on players that are non-eligible for the NFL Draft. The league will try to persuade players to skip college, but also become groomed to play well once they get into the league.
Players will be paid a base salary of $50,000. Four teams of 50 players will compete in eight games, the league stated. The rules will be styled after the NFL. Players will also be compensated for books and tuition at local community colleges in the Southern California area.
The XFL, AFL, and USFL are all alternative leagues that folded shortly after their inauguration. A common problem was the lack of ratings that the leagues got on a weekly basis. The PFL is different in that it is an alternative to the NCAA, not the NFL. Whereas the NFL owns channel space on national broadcast networks, alternative football leagues--most were set up by financial moguls--need that type of recognition if they want to stay around. For the PFL to work, they need to have their players drafted in the NFL Draft. College players may not jump ship to the PFL due to the fear of not being drafted.
“Most other leagues usually took players who were deemed not good enough for the NFL,” Yee told the New York Times, “We’re now trying to go to the head of the line at the buffet instead of getting the picked-over ones.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NCAA officials have not commented on the league opening. The NFL did announce a developmental league that will start in April 2017. The league will include veteran players who don’t currently have contracts.
In contrast to other professional sports leagues, the NFL is the only one who requires a year of college before joining a team. The NHL can draft players at 18 and have them on their rosters. The NBA allows players to be drafted at 19 while being a year removed from college. Players are eligible to be signed to the D-League at 18. MLB players can be signed right out of high school.
If the Pacific Football League can sign top prospects in the nation, it will change the face of college sports. The influence of being paid at the amateur level may make the NCAA consider paying players to keep them in the NCAA. The NCAA made $912.3 million in 2015. A large majority of that money was earned through football and basketball programs.
