Could the AFL and A7FL Partnership Effectively Replace a Need for the AF2?

During the heyday of the Arena Football League they had launched a secondary league used to develop coaches and players. This league, called the AF2 was for all intents and purposes, a standalone league, simply partnered with the AFL using similar rules to transition players over time. During recent interviews with the commissioner of the AFL, Lee Hutton, a desire was voiced to revisit this developmental league.

As the new AFL strives to place itself as the premier arena/indoor football league in the nation, the thought was at some point or another the AF2 would be a part of that plan. Speculation at one point was that the CIF teams would serve as a kind of de facto AF2. That assumption proved to be wrong when those teams ended up forming an entire division and a half in the AFL. 

Instead of creating a league from scratch to serve as the niche league in an already niche sport, the AFL found a much more sustainable and affordable solution that stands to elevate their league, and another league in the process. That solution came in the form of a partnership with a viral football league that has taken the sport by storm. The A7FL has bucked the trend of more pads, and rules to promote player safety, and instead looked outside the box removing pads altogether. 

This has created a safer environment as players are no longer heat seeking missiles set to pulverize an opponent with a suit of armor protecting them. Instead these players have adapted and the league has emphasized fundamentals of football such as leading with your shoulder, aiming for the chest or legs, not the head, and most of all teaching to wrap up when tackling. Make the play, not necessarily the highlight. In the A7FL, they have plenty of highlight reel plays without players knocking each other out. 

Distant Cousins in the Same Family Tree Share Similarities

While at first glance, this partnership can look a little odd, the more you dig into the facts of the situation for both leagues, the more this partnership makes sense. The biggest similarity that creates a very win-win situation for these two leagues is the fact that players often play both offense and defense, in both of these leagues. A rarity among the college and professional levels at this point, Iron Man football is a whole different beast when scouting and developing talent.

Players that have truly played significant time in both facets of the game, are simply few and far between at this point. With the NFL having grown to the level it has, it has influenced the way coaches think at the collegiate level, players specialize on one side of the ball now more than ever before. This fact alone made this partnership a worthwhile endeavor for both leagues. One thing the A7FL has not been able to hang its hat on to this point, has been the ability to elevate its players to the next level on a widespread manner, this partnership could change that and further entrench the A7FL as the go to destination in semi-professional football in 2024. 

The demand for players that play, both offense and defense, as well as the 7v7 style of play, and lack of pads have so far stood in the way of them garnering this reputation. Now that will no longer be the case. The A7FL has positioned itself as the premier development destination when it comes to playing arena football. This should only help attract a higher level of talent to their league going forward while continuing to grow the awareness of both leagues through mutually marketing each other. 

Going Beyond the Field of Play

This partnership isn’t just for player development. It’s designed to grow and develop each league as well. That’s a huge fact to remember about this announcement. It has been made public that they will be working together on joint event planning, collaboration on sponsorships, as well as marketing efforts. 

This is essentially a very similar look to how the AF2 and AFL operated during their decade long partnership from 1999 to 2010. Ironically it was the AF2 that actually spurred the second rebirth of the league in 2010. In 2009 when the AFL shut down, the AF2 still played a 2009 season. In 2010 several teams made the leap to the AFL with the AF2 ceasing to exist anymore. Part of this was due to the financial burdens of operating two separate leagues essentially as one group. This is something the AFL 3.0 won’t have to deal with, as the A7FL is a stand alone league with ten years of steady growth to the point where they now have become a nationally recognized brand. 

A7FL Business Model Promotes Growth, Protects the Brand

A7FL expansion strategy of selling divisions with multiple teams only makes their league more viable long term. Each division of 8 teams is sold to a new owner, and with each division sold the value of each has only climbed. In fact the cost of a division has risen 50% over the run of the A7FL showing the success and demand they have to continue to spread their product. 

So as the A7FL grows, even if one division falters, their financial model would allow for the league to step in, right the ship and find a new owner immediately or simply maintain control until the right group to purchase the division presents itself. This makes their league much more fiscally responsible from the top down than most models we have seen in the past. Another facet of this model is that Division owners can then sell off the rights to these teams, within the scope of their league affiliation agreements. This presents a motivation to grow the league and their brand. 

Now it remains to be seen if they would ever make the leap from semi-professional tournament style to the professional level. Perhaps some form of profit sharing model would make for a sustainable player pay model to transition into. This would also encourage players to treat the league like their own promoting it to their own followings in an effort to grow the pie they would get a piece of.  

This approach would go hand in hand with the franchising model of the league that also promotes each division owner to grow their foothold in their individual markets and the surrounding areas. This isn’t all that different from the model that has brought the NFL great success over the years and allowed them to grow into the 24/7 365 monster they have become. 

In a world where there are more aspiring athletes than there ever could be professional roster spots, developmental leagues like the A7FL become a necessity to get more game film, and continue to progress in your career. 

Without these opportunities some players would never see the field at all. There’s an age old adage about football that you have to play to get better, but in the pros, reps can be extremely limited. In semi pro, that’s not as likely of a scenario, as coaches and teams can afford to experiment with guys when needed, then microwave his development at a new position by force feeding him reps even if he isn’t the best player at that position yet. This is a good thing for players, and teams as they will ultimately get to see players fulfill their potential as two-way players which should ultimately create another source of players for an eventual AFL Draft in 2025. 

Recent Partnerships to Look At

There have been partnerships like this in the past although often it’s under one entity such as the NFL, and NFL Europe, or as mentioned before the AFL, and AF2. The most recent example is the IFL partnership with the XFL. This generated a whole separate combine/showcase event, and allowed IFL players to showcase their abilities in front of XFL reps. 

This partnership proved to be fruitful for both sides as we saw players make the jump to the XFL often over the past calendar year. Being able to call up a player from the IFL midseason ended up being a good thing for the league as they had a player pool in game shape to choose from at any given moment. This also helped the IFL attract bigger names, and we even saw some former NFL players sign with IFL teams to rehabilitate their image. 

Last season it was Anthony Russo who was an XFL cut who went and made a name for himself in the IFL. You also had Mister Harriel who was drafted by the Vegas Vipers after playing for the Vegas Knighthawks the year before. He wound up released at one point but wasted no time and returned to the Knighthawks. He then played his way onto the St. Louis Battlehawks as well. The UFL, and CFL are peppered with players that developed playing indoor/arena ball. Now there is another stepping stone for players to get into an arena league and hopefully play in front of CFL, UFL, ELF, and X-League scouts, with this A7FL, and AFL partnership. 

Are you new to the A7FL? Check out these highlights below to see what the pro’s are talking about. 

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