Welp, never mind.
This is not an NFL spring league. It's being put together by the same person who ran the FXFL and has no connection to the NFL. https://t.co/DQc4XRCIpT
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 22, 2016
The NFL has to re-dip its toe into spring football. Years removed from the end of NFL Europe, the league is taking a veteran approach to the idea. The NFL is launching a four-team league next spring that will focus on veteran free agents. The league will not include players currently on NFL rosters. It will feature practices and six games between April 5 and April 26. The 2017 NFL Draft kicks off shortly after that, so this would seemingly give teams a chance to see if someone might fill a need before they get into the later rounds of the NFL Draft.
This is still a small deal, and we don’t know a lot of the details. Where will teams play? Will games be televised? Will the league own teams or will they look outside of that for people? My guess is more the former since this is not exactly a profitable option right out of the gate.
Ideally this one day leads to a developmental league outside of college football. But in the meantime, it’s a cool start.
And before anybody says anything, no, these teams would not beat the 2016 San Francisco 49ers.
BREAKING: The NFL will have a spring league starting in the spring of 2017, structured around four squads of veteran free agent players
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
Breaking (Cont) Players that are currently on NFL rosters will not be eligible to play in the Spring League
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
The Spring League will conduct practices and six games from April 5 through April 26, 2017
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016