Set to start in a week, NFL Spring League still shrouded in mystery

Every spring, as the weather warms, football comes out of its brief hibernation in the United States. At that same time, players are warming themselves up for the gauntlet that is the NFL Scouting Combine, a burst of free agent transactions, moves from one team to another, retirement announcements, the NFL Draft and then upcoming OTAs. It can be a time of high energy and stress as individuals also work on contracts and wait for a possible ‘pink slip’, but in 2017 the league announced there may be a new option when it comes to redemption for some in the form of the Spring League. It sounds wonderful, a possible boon for free agents, but there may be a dark underbelly to this seeming opportunity that may quickly turn boondoggle.

Run by investors independent from the NFL, this developmental league reportedly will give pro-level players (applicants) a formal evaluation from former NFL scouts who assign them an individual grade; those with the top grades at each position will be given an invite to stick around and participate. Per the league’s website, four teams will then train and play at Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, between April 5 and 26. During that time, there will be six total games played.

That is the how, but most who have heard rumblings about this somewhat mysterious league want to know who is going to be putting in the work on and off the field.

Every year, thousands of guys who could be the next name on the back of your favorite team’s jersey are cut, and many of them never take another snap of the football. Other players, guys that came out of the draft looking like sure bets, stumble due to injuries or personal issues and can’t find their way back onto a roster. Still, others see themselves, year after year, traveling to training camp with a different team, the perpetual journeymen, only to be in street clothes or on a scout team the rest of the season.

The Spring League reports, per its website and early media, that it doesn’t just want to develop young players. It wants to showcase players – veteran free agents – to teams. There is no apparent age restriction. By their own admission, these investors want to give players a shot regardless of what happened last season or five seasons ago – in the NFL, CFL, or arena leagues – if the individual can garner that evaluation grade that moves them on to the next step.

The idea of offering redemption to lost football players sounds almost like a heartfelt modern-day fairy tale when you consider the sheer number of players who could be considered as candidates for this type of development (or even re-development) scenario. Scouts from the major professional football leagues are able to attend.  All 32 NFL teams are able to receive information, stats and progress reports on individuals participating. Big names like Johnny Manziel, Ben Tate, and Tim Tebow have been hinted at, but nothing has been publicly verified.

One thing that is certain is that NFL teams are not allowed to allocate players to the development league.

Due to the veil of secrecy that shrouds this development, too little is known about the league that NFL executive Troy Vincent reportedly told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports would help create “long-term sustainability” in the football community. Requests for further information from the league itself were not returned. A report by The Washington Post that quoted Brian Woods, the investor of this new league has since been removed from the internet. Woods is the sports attorney that was the executive director of the Medal of Honor Bowl and who put together the future football development league known as the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL; developed in part due to talk from Troy Vincent in April 2014).

The FXFL debuted in Omaha (Nebraska) on October 8, 2014, and lasted through Week 3 when Nivea (the beauty brand) became an official sponsor and a reality show was spun off on the web. Silenced after the November 7 contest, with one season game and a championship yet to be determined, Woods pulled the plug. In a report from the Associated Press, Woods said, “We are very pleased at the response from the public. This model has proven itself.” Brooklyn (Bolts) and Omaha (Mammoths) were the only two franchises to draw decent crowds, with Boston (Brawlers) and Miami (Blacktips) not seeing much support and Miami a road-only team for the duration.

The FXFL was a failure, by most accounts, folding after an anticipated build-up of possible expansion cities/teams early in 2015. The Miami franchise stated that the FXFL demanded a large sum of money in order for the team to be a part of the 2015 season, the same season that ended with the league office canceling the last regular season game just days before it was to be played. No official statements were made by the league regarding a champion in either year and the lone team to hold out hope for 2016 was Brooklyn. Woods allegedly later expressed interest in using the brand of the league for an indoor or arena league.

With the start date looming and no official word from Woods or The Spring League, it is unclear if the program will develop at all, let alone give players – free agents all – an opportunity to showcase what they are still capable of. Guys that have put in years of practice to get a shot may be getting ready for yet another disappointment. And big name players that fans were hoping to see on a field in West Virginia may be looking at other options altogether. Patiently waiting for a ‘maybe’ is never easy – for the guys in the pads and cleats or the fans who want to cheer them on.