Thoughts on the AAFL and NFL Minor Leagues

I wrote a post regarding the new AAFL and it's inaugural draft yesterday, and I somewhat ridiculed the new league for being an eventual bust. In all likelihood, it will probably not last very long. I'm not sure how the pay structure will be able to be maintained considering how difficult it is to enter the professional sports market and make a profit.

However, part of me hopes it does well. Or at least gives the NFL a hint that a farm system of sorts might be a good idea. Not just in Europe, where eventually the experiment was shut down, but here in the States. There are way too many players leaving the college ranks with hopes and dreams of playing in the NFL, only to fall short of their goal.

Many of these guys were recruited to college for the sole purpose of acting as quasi-professional athletes. They were bred to be professional football players. Once they fail in making an NFL team, they have limited opportunities at playing elsewhere and can have trouble finding regular jobs. Sure, they have the AFL teams, or the CFL up north. However, the exposure they receive in those leagues is minimal.

I would want an NFL minor league system primarily because there are so many positions to fill on an NFL roster. It becomes impossible for most teams in any given year to keep several talented players because they lack depth at another position. You could make the case that these unfortunate preseason cuts end up being picked up by another team that is weak at that position, but the fact remains that there is a large pool of players who are out of work unnecessarily throughout most of the year.

Eventually, midway through the year most teams are depleted at a specific position, and are forced to pick guys up off the street who haven't played in who knows how long. I think it would be best for everyone if there was that security blanket like we had in NFL Europe. We could have a nice 8-12 team minor leagues where teams can stash players at overstocked positions or where raw talents can be developed and brought up in a few years.

Frankly, I don't know why such a system hasn't already been established. MLB has a huge minor league system for developing talent. The NFL should too. I can understand the failure of NFL Europe (losing 30 million a season), but theres no reason that we can't have a similar system in the US, where it would surely succeed in cities where there are no NFL franchises.