Introducing the AAL: American Arena League for 2026

In the indoor and arena football world it is all too often we see teams or leagues rush to put a product on the field making compromises along the way to fill out a league with teams. Oftentimes these leagues and teams run into issues. Sometimes these teams fold before even playing a game, some make it through a season but wade through accusations of non-payment, and less-than-ideal amenities.

AAL Stands Apart in 2026

In a world where often it’s a lack of planning, and a necessary build-up to kick off dooms many leagues, the AAL stands apart as the league that chose to wait 4 years before re-launching to find the right foundational teams to build a league on. With the return of the former AAL2 team the Wheeling Miners, and the addition of the Columbus Lions, the AAL re-launched not with expansion teams, but established teams headed into year 3 and year 20 respectively.

Mississippi Wolfpack From 2025 AAL2 Champions, to Third Team Announced for AAL in 2026

The latest announcement of the elevation of the Mississippi Wolfpack only solidifies that foundation. Mississippi had previously made attempts to join a professional league for their first season in 2025, even purchasing the turf, and walls from the Harrisburg Stampede a team that would have been a perfect fit for the AAL had they not folded before 2025.

Mississippi joined the AAL2 after realizing they needed more time to prepare for their first professional season. During the 2025 AAL2 season on the strength of a tough running game, the Wolfpack quickly became a playoff contender, and ultimately the 2025 AAL2 Champions. Now with Mississippi moving up, everyone is wondering if the AAL is done adding teams over if they still have some aces up their sleeves.

Jersey Bearcats Announce as 4th AAL Team for 2026

The Bearcats have been methodically improving upon their foundation year after year since their formation in 2018. Playing just one season in the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Football League in 2019 before jumping to the American Arena League for 2021 and operating in the AAL until the 2023 launch of AAL2. Jersey plays in a full arena, albeit it is slightly dated. Warinanco Park was originally built in 1920, with the Ice Rink added in 1961. A renovation was done after 55 years modernizing the facility in 2017.

While Head Coach Aj Roque has said if he could make some changes to the venue, the first thing he would do is remove the glass around the rink during games. However, given the very early construction of this ice rink, much of the mounting for the glass is embedded in concrete and would make for a very difficult process to make the glass sections removable, and safe for players and fans.

While the glass around the field gives this arena a very unique feel to indoor football, there are some added bonuses of this, such as player and fan safety. It is nearly impossible for a player to go over the wall and into the crowd in this arena, preventing what can sometimes be dangerous collisions when players fly over a wall at full speed. With the move to the AAL, the Bearcats have essentially made the AAL a league of champions.

AAL2 Championship Could be a Way for AAL to Expand Long term

Looking at the four AAL teams for the 2026 season, three of them spent time in the AAL2, and all four have won at least one championship since 2023. Columbus is the outlier having never played in the AAL or AAL2, they have however won championships in the AIFA, and AIF in 2023 and 2024. The Bearcats last won the AAL2 Championship in 2023. Wheeling won it in 2024, and Mississippi of course won it in 2025.

Could this eventually be the way the AAL grows it’s membership teams? Elevating the AAL2 Champion each season could make for an interesting way of expanding in future seasons. After all, each champion of the AAL2 since it’s formation in 2023 now resides in the AAL.

Looking across the AAL2 for teams that could make some sense in the AAL, there were two teams that stood out from the 2025 teams; the Carolina Predators and Tri-City River Gators would appear to be the next teams that could eventually look to make the jump from the outside looking in. Looking at some of the 2026 AAL2 Expansion teams two of them stand out as potential professional teams at some point; Virginia Legion, and Peach State Cats considering a move into the AAL in the future.

Could Carolina Return to the AAL in the Future?

The Carolina Predators have been around for years participating in multiple leagues throughout their history. This includes stops in professional leagues like the American Indoor Football Alliance, and the original version of the American Arena League. The Predators have seen some changes to the staff and ownership group this past season that led some to believe a move to the AAL could be coming in 2026. We spoke directly with Owner/Head Coach Ralph Byrd about this, and he said he did not anticipate a move to the AAL in 2026, but did not rule out a move in the future.

This offseason saw a restructuring of the team. Previously despite Coach Byrd owning the team he operated as the Offensive Coordinator, while Shawn Wood was the Head Coach. Following the 2025 season Coach Wood announced he was resigning as the Head Coach. Coach Byrd seemed determined to keep him involved in the team in any capacity possible after the announcement but no official word as to if or how Coach Wood will assist the team in 2026.

Coach Byrd is now serving as the Head Coach, hiring former Carolina Cobras Wide Receiver Julius Gregory as his Offensive Coordinator for 2026. The Predators also added a few new members to the ownership group in an effort to improve the funding of the team and continue to build the team. Could these moves be the precursors to a move back into the professional ranks in 2027 or beyond?

Tri-City River Gators Tried to go Pro in 2024, Could we see them try again?

The River Gators previously had announced as playing a professional season in 2024 with the American Indoor Football League against teams like; the Columbus Lions, and the aforementioned Harrisburg Stampede. However at the time they were called the Flint River Gators, ultimately they backed out of the 2024 season opting to instead evaluate their team for the future. This led them to wait a year before launching as a member of the AAL2 in 2025. Perhaps they are ready to make the jump to the pros in a league that offers much more manageable travel.

Could 2026 AAL2 Expansion Teams Be the Future Expansion of the AAL?

As mentioned above, there are two teams that could make some sense as future AAL expansion teams. The Peach State Cats, and the Virginia Legion. The Cats have previously played in the AAL before bouncing around in different leagues for the last few seasons. Finally returning to the AAL2 for the 2026 season, could we see the Cats eventually jump back into the AAL? The main question for the Cats when it comes to this move is funding, can they stomach paying players, and paying for travel, housing etc.?

The Virginia Legion joined the AAL2 after previously joining the United Indoor Football Association: UIFA. A league that operates later than most leagues kicking off in September, could open up the chance of the Legion playing in both leagues. Something we have seen other members of the AAL2 as recently as the 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Outlaws and members of the New Jersey Roughnecks participating in the Winter Indoor Football League: WIF. The UIFA operates as a professional football league, and with that, it would make sense if the Legion decided to instead jump into the AAL in the future.

Operating in both the UIFA, and the AAL2 would make sense for the Legion. Operating as a developmental squad during the offseason from your professional league, could be a way of helping fund your professional seasons. Typically players at this level are paying some sort of fees to join their team and help cover some of the costs of operation. Now add in ticket sales, merchandise sales, and even the potential of adding sponsors looking to capitalize on the team playing in two leagues and being in full scale operation for 6 months or more out of the year, and all of a sudden this could become a way of helping to fund season in the UIFA.

Can AAL Provide What Other Leagues Have Lacked?

Many fans will wonder why the American Arena League was brought back during a time when leagues are coming and going on a yearly basis? Couldn’t these teams opted to group together and joined a larger league? Well the truth is yes they absolutely could have, but let’s look back at recent years for leagues not named the IFL or TAL.

Looking back just three short seasons ago, the indoor and arena football world had just three main leagues that stood apart from the group of “tier 3” or lower leagues. The Indoor Football League, National Arena League and the Champions Indoor Football League. At this point in time, the original AAL had gone dormant in an effort to rebuild the league and find more stability. During that 2023 season several teams and ultimately two leagues came to a fork in the road, where decisions had to be made.

For the National Arena League, the league that had previously held the largest Eastern presence of any of the big 3, the 2023 season had ended in disappointing fashion. The Albany Empire had been sold and eventually were removed from the league mid-season due to non-payment after Antonio Brown ran out every other owner. The Fayetteville Mustangs did not make it through their first season ultimately ceasing operations before the end of 2023. This left the Orlando Predators, Jacksonville Sharks, Carolina Cobras, San Antonio Gunslingers, and West Texas Warbirds to determine what they would do next.

Meanwhile the CIF was going through a divorce of what ended up two parties. The Billings Outlaws, Rapid City Marshals, Southwest Kansas Storm, Salina Liberty, and newly added Wichita Regulators all opted to stick together, while the Omaha Beef, Sioux City Bandits, and Topeka Tropics opted to stick together. The first group became some of the first teams to announce they would join the newly reformed AFL mainly due to big dreams, and big promises by the league front office, while the second group chose to join the National Arena League seeing an opportunity to regrow their vision of what the CIF could have been.

2024 is what marked the beginning of the end of several teams listed above, and so many more we have not listed as of yet. Over the next two seasons we would watch as the AFL essentially spelled the end of multiple teams, and the NAL was dealing with much of the same. Teams being announced and folding before playing a full season put more strain on teams that had counted on regional playing partners, and cheaper travel that came with that.

We watched as the Rapid City Marshals, Wichita Regulators, Topeka Tropics, Orlando Predators, West Texas Warbirds, and Carolina Cobras all wind up closing up shop in this span, and this is not even considering the loss of new expansion teams that had been announced for these leagues.

Quickly you begin to realize bigger leagues may not always be better, and keeping your league somewhat regionally based, and focusing on the eastern side of the country can provide an opportunity to bring together teams that had previously been separated by which league they played for. Bringing together teams that had operated in leagues like the AAL2, NAL, or AIF in recent seasons not only gives you a solid foundation, but you are adding teams with ties to other leagues and teams that could eventually see the logic in what the AAL, and by design for 2026 the NAL are doing by focusing on more regionally based play.

Limiting One of the Largest Costs

If leagues began to segment themselves based more on logistics and less on egos, leagues like this would flourish. Could you imagine a league formed from your 3 current AAL teams, and supplemented by the rest of the teams east of the Mississippi River that have been floating between leagues over the years; Albany Firebirds, Massachusetts Pirates, Jacksonville Sharks, Pennsylvania Union, Kentucky Barrels, Nashville Kats, Michigan AF1, and the North Michigan Muskies.

Suddenly you would have much more tolerable travel, and leagues built on logistics with the IFL, and NAL being more mid-west and west based. This would cut travel costs for teams dramatically, and this is exactly the vision we see being played out in real time with the AAL, and as mentioned the NAL which now, due to the movement of Wheeling, Columbus, and Idaho suddenly have a much more compact foot print.

Ultimately we are probably well into the pipe dream realm when looking at the bigger picture, but the thought to keep the AAL condensed, and not simply add anyone trying to join is a big reason why the AAL was formed, that does not mean they can’t work with other leagues to play inter league games.

Striving for Perfection is a Process

With the leauge being out there let’s introduce you to the franchise making the step up from developmental to professional, the Mississippi Wolfpack

The Wolfpack, as mentioned before, was a planned professional team leading up to the 2025 season but needed a runway, very similar to how AAL foe Wheeling transitioned from AAL2 to NAL from 2024 to 2025. Don’t let the 2024 lower-level league fool you; this is an organization that wants nothing more than to build a program that lasts. The last attempt in the 2024 AIF to bring pro football to the region was marred by issues, and I don’t see this going out the same way! But what’s different? Several things:

Stability

The run in the AAL2 gave the organization the ability to go step by step in twice the time we usually see a team build. And intern you’re seeing a more polished product on a Proper field, in a solid venue. Not only that the players coming in have earned their stripes in the lower levels and cherish the opportunity to play at a pro level, the only thing really needed at this point is a push for more on field and overall team sponsorship.

Fans

This will be the only pro football team in the entire state of Mississippi, while all the states surrounding have a list of football teams to cheer for, Mississippi and Batesville can latch on and really throw support behind them, but don’t take my word for it, check their socials, plenty of folks have this team on their radar. The AAL2 title definitely doesn’t hurt, who doesn’t want to root for winners?

Roster Expectations

While many things the AAL are doing stand apart, their roster construction is not expected to reinvent the wheel. We expect to see a 25 man roster with 21 players active each week. The salary cap will likely fall in somewhere just below the $6,500 weekly number the NAL utilizes.

Housing is not required but is expected to be provided by multiple teams, however it may not be every team. It is expected some of these teams will continue to lean heavily on local players to keep costs down and avoid a need for housing. There is a caveat that a team is expected to provide meals if they are housing players. I thought this was an interesting nugget as it essentially incentivizes teams to lean on local talent even more than other leagues might due to the extra added cost of out of state players.

Indirectly promoting teams to build locally based teams is not the worst idea when you consider the added draw an arena team can garner if fans have any sort of previous knowledge of the players. I would also expect a heavy emphasis on utilizing AAL2 players.

Perhaps working out some sort of gameday call-up similar to the NFL practice squads where they can activate players a certain number of times before having to offer them a full-on contract. Each time a player was called up there would have to be a contract in place, but in this case the team could determine the duration say between one and three weeks. This would only further intrigue players who are hesitant to play in the AAL2, maximizing the chances they get a chance to earn a paycheck and get film in the pro ranks.

Preparation

It’s October, the season is well over half a year away and this coaching staff is already making major strides. Just look at the recent signings, it’s the best of the bunch from the AAL2 Championship, patched with AAL2 South All-Stars. Not to mention they are working with an NAL and AAL2 franchise to host a “pro day” for talent scouting in December. PRO Roster? Check. Good Arena? Check. Franchise Stability? Check!

We at Shady Sports think this Eddie Strong-run AAL franchise will be a cornerstone of the league, especially with the AAL’s mission to have play regionally, with the longest possible trip being Wheeling, WV, and just a bus ride to Columbus, and a long list of AAL2 teams that can help fill out a home schedule. With an 8,000-seat Arena and a little promotion by outlets like Shady sports(and local media)year one as a completely pro franchise should be promising.

Check out their Facebook profile for recent signings and news on the 2026 season:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1FohukKkzq/?mibextid=wwXIfr

This article was co-written by Matt Ryzir, and Sam Shady. If you would like to check out other articles written by either writer please look at the lists below.

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