The NBA has the D-Leagues, the MLB has their minor-league farm systems, and the NHL usually just picks off guys playing in Canada or overseas in places like Finland, Russia, Sweden, and most other countries in that general region.
However, the biggest sports juggernaut in the western hemisphere, the NFL, abandoned its one and only developmental league a few years back when they disbanded NFL Europe and have since gone back to simply using the college programs as their developmental league.
It’s understandable NFL Europe shut down once it came out most teams were losing a minimum of $1 million per season on a league that was never going to expand beyond a mediocre brand a football that was really probably doing more to hurt the NFL’s image than help it, but not trying something different is unforgivable.
If the NFL were to start a minor league, much in the same way the MLB has, it could be incredibly successful. And not only for developing players, but as another source of revenue for the NFL.
The MLB, for the most part, simply puts their farm teams in places that don’t have major league teams. They’re usually smaller places starved for the sport they love, so once they have a team to call their own they follow it as faithfully, and sometimes even more faithfully, than the MLB team running the show.
But where the MLB fails, the NFL could succeed.
Rather than having the minor league playing at the same time, they could play during the spring — perhaps in March until mid-to-late June. This way, the guys can still arrive in time for training camp and will have had three weeks to a month to let their bodies recover from the minor league season.
Naturally, the season would be much shorter than 16 games. Somewhere around 10-12 would be more than enough for teams to see what they have in their players. Or, they could cut it down to about six or eight games, start the season after the draft, and insert whatever rookies they’re willing to take a chance on.
First, second, and even third-round picks would likely not participate, but it could be a great opportunity for the guys taken in the later rounds to show they belong on the team come July for training camp. It gives them a much-needed leg up, evens the playing field, and creates a lot more drama for camp.
And, of course, the NFL would televise these games and make a pretty penny. It might not be a global sport yet, but Americans love football and would be willing to watch it were it played in the spring.
Minor league baseball teams see some incredible fanbases around the country, so it’s not out of the question to think an NFL farm team would have an even greater following. The farm system wouldn’t be quite as complex as it is in baseball, but I’d be willing to guarantee that, at least from a money-making stand-point, it’s far more successful.