NFL Competition?

In the United States we have seen several sports leagues come and go trying to compete with the big four. It is extremely difficult for something new and different to come into play to beat something that has been popular for 75+years. In the world of baseball we have seen Independent Leagues fail over and over again, eventually to find their own niche in local towns. The same cannot be said for the other sports leagues. The NHL has never had real competition, the NBA had the ABA which was a money pit until they were finally bought out. But, one league that has always had competition has been the NFL.

The NFL's original competition was the AFL which as we all know was eventually merged with the NFL This would bring about increased popularity in the world of football, which at the time was competing with College Football. This would bring about the extreme popularity of Pro Football in the USA. However, after this merge and the explosion of popularity we would see more leagues form and more competition come about, especially in recent years. 

The most famous competition for the NFL was known as the USFL, a league that brought many superstars to the NFL. What made the USFL successful was that it was played not during the same time as the NFL, it was after the season was complete and it offered strong competition. It was a step above college football but, still below NFL standards. However, this would all change when spectacular players like Doug Flutie, Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker and many more. The USFL got these stars through the process of paying much higher rates causing players to want to come play in the league. These superstar players took the USFL to the next level and allowed for even more growth. However, the death of this league would come when they tried to breakout of their niche and compete directly with the NFL. This was their major mistake, the league was not ready yet, and they did not have strong popularity to compete with the NFL and College Football. This caused the death of the USFL.

We have seen several leagues come and go over the years, some finding niches like the Arena Football League, others failing like the XFL for over promising. We are now seeing a brand new league form of The Alliance of American Football, and the reformation of the XFL. Both leagues are promising to be competitive, popular, and unique. The Alliance of American Football is the league that we will see first. Founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian have plans to start their league after the Super Bowl ends. The league will be only 10 weeks with their championship occurring on April 28. 

The Alliance of American Football may survive, though it does not have the hotshot players like the USFL, it does have some above average guys like Trent Richardson, Trevor Knight and others. It will be interesting to see if the AAF decides to go after some big name players, overpaying them to bring in the media attention it wants. This league can survive. If Arena Football has made it this can as well. I foresee this league making it and eventually  merging with the XFL to combine for a larger spring time league. The potential is there and we are in for a very interesting future for football.