SFL Football (hybrid college football / pro league)

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

How do you create a successful developmental league for the NFL?
1) Familiarity - create teams by using a large percentage of local "known" players for each state team. This is the MOST important factor for the success of any minor league system, but it is always overlooked or dismissed. Fans need to care about watching the games, which is why high school and college football are still successful even though the product is not as good as any minor league team. To help accomplish this goal, each state team needs to partner with local colleges to help them market the new minor league team to their fan base and to contact former players who might be interested in playing in the new league (read “Team Structure” section below)
2) Ownership - sell partial ownership to the fans by using www.startengine.com which makes fans more connected, more loyal, and ultimately more interested in following the team (read “Financing Structure” section below)
3) Team Access - allowing unparalleled access to players, teams, and coaches through message boards, radio shows, and a sports gaming app (read “Team Access” section below)
4) Reality TV - helps football and non football fans will get to know each of the players stories and struggles, which builds more fan interest for any NFL team if they add one of these players to their team (fan following). This also has the potential of converting non-sports fans to sports fans (read “Team Access” section below)
5) Timing - not competing with college football or the NFL (use the spring & summer months like XFL and NFL Europe), but start the regular season after the NCAA basketball tournament because most of the fans will probably be college sports fans (read “League Structure” and “Season Structure” sections below)

The first 4 points on the list above are interconnected because they help connect fans to the team, which ultimately makes them care more about watching games. In addition, the unique game structure will feature higher scoring and more exciting games

League Structure
- NFL development league called "Showtime Football League" (SFL) so it is not looked down upon by fans with names like "Minor Leagues," "D League," or "Development League"
- the "Showtime Football League" is where players and coaches are given opportunities to showcase their talents and abilities
- the league slogan is "My Time. Showtime."
- NFL teams can send practice players and coaches to help work with the position coach for their player, but for the NFL player to be eligible they must have played in less than half of the games during the regular season (however the preseason and postseason do not count) and those NFL practice players must play for the developmental team in the same state as the NFL team or the state where they went to college or for the same conference they played in college
- get NFL draft moved to late February (one round per day with only 4 rounds with teams getting 10 minutes per team and starting at 7:00pm EST on Thursday & Friday and 3pm on Saturday & Sunday) and all undrafted players cannot be contacted until after Showtime season is over (so teams don't have to worry about evaluating fringe players)
- those drafted in NFL in rounds 1, 2, 3, or 4 get 20-30% of money guaranteed upfront and 1-4 year contracts with cap amounts per round
- NFL draft restarts after the developmental league season ends (the draft resumes in mid July with rounds 5, 6, 7) and players can sign 1-3 year deals with 5-15% of money guaranteed upfront (with cap amounts per round)
- changes can be made to the Showtime league rules if two thirds of the teams agree and it must be accepted (ratified) by a majority vote from the shareholders after the season

Game Structure
- no kickoff or punt returns. This would put a greater emphasis on player safety and put the games in the hands of the players we actually paid to see and not a kicker or punter
- the field would be 80 yards (the 40 yard line is midfield) with 20 yard end zones (to help with scoring)
- if an 80 yard field is used with no kickers, each team gets to pick where their offense starts as long as it is beyond midfield (40 yard line). Based on where a team starts is how many points that drive is worth. For example, if they start on the:
40 (midfield) = 4 points for a TD
own 35 (45 yard drive) = 5 points
own 30 (50 yard drive) = 6 points
own 25 (55 yard drive) = 7 points
own 20 (60 yard drive) = 8 points
own 15 (65 yard drive) = 9 points
own 10 (70 yard drive) = 10 points
- a regular 100 yard field could still be used and so could kickers, but some modifications to the rules above would be needed. For example, teams could start anywhere beyond the 50 yard line, which would be worth 5 points for a TD. A field goal could still be kicked anywhere for 3 points and after a TD teams could still go for a 1 or 2 point conversion. However, a team could even start on their own 10 yard line and drive 90 yards for a TD worth 9 points plus the extra point conversion
- when there's a turnover or turnover-on-downs the other team would have the choice of where they want to place the ball to start their drive OR they can try to score from the spot of the ball where their opponent turned the ball over (for the same amount of points their opponent was trying to score)
- there will be 4 divisions (north, south, east, and west) with 6 teams per division for a total of 24 teams and 12 games per week for 10 weeks (no bye weeks)
- for fan convenience games are only played on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday
- two games picked for Friday night at 7:00pm CST (two games total)
- one game from each division is played on Saturday at 11am, 2:30pm, 6pm, 9:30pm CST (four games total)
- two games played on Sunday at 3:30pm and two games on Sunday at 7:00pm CST (four games total)
- the Saturday 11am games are only west coast teams and the Saturday 9:30pm games are only east coast teams
- for overtime games (1st, 2nd, and 3rd overtimes) each team takes turns by starting at their choice of field position. If a team scores from that starting position they can receive the following points:
10 yard line = 1 point
20 yard line = 2 points
30 yard line = 3 points
- if there is a 4th overtime each team only gets one play to score and they can select where the ball starts:
1 yard line = 1 point
2 yard line = 2 points
3 yard line = 3 points

Season Structure
- first two preseason games will be non divisional games (1 away + 1 home) against another division (east versus north & south + west versus north & south)
- power polls come out after second game is played
- after the two preseason games teams will only play teams from same division during regular season (until playoffs), which means each team plays every team in their division at home and away (creating incredible rivalry games like the NFL and similar to the state rivalry games witnessed at college football games)
- season 13 weeks long including training camp or possible 15 with playoffs
- tryouts and training camp starts in March (lasts 3 weeks)
- season April-June (10 games) + 2 postseason playoff games (mid June)
- top 4 teams in playoffs (top teams from each division)
- all playoff games are held at neutral sites that rotate from year-to-year like the Super Bowl

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

Financing Structure
- each team must sell partial ownership to the fans by using www.startengine.com which makes fans more connected, more interested, and more loyal
- shares can only be purchased by people living in the state (teams need to be owned by community)
- in year 1 offer 10,000,000 shares starting at $10 per share for individuals and $20 per share to businesses (but league commissioner keeps 100,000 shares per team and each team can sell up to another 1,000,000 for partnerships)
- for a month in year 1 there will be a limit to the number of shares one household can buy (ex weeks 1-2 max 500 shares only offered to season ticket holders for each seat purchased up to 8 seats, week 3 max 2,500 shares per Oklahoma address for state residents only and they don't need to be season ticket holders, week 4 max 5,000 shares for season ticket holders out of state for each seat purchased up to 8 seats, but after week 4 all share restrictions will be lifted)
- each player and coach receives the lesser of 100 shares if they are on team for season opener (additional 200 more if they finish the season on active roster) or a certain maximum dollar amount of shares
- shareholders get to see where all expenses are going (to help determine how the GM is doing), but league determines overall budgets for team food, housing, travel, etc
- will be private stocks for first 2 years and in year 3 stocks will be traded publicly
- shareholders will receive any profits in year 3 going forward
- for people to be able to buy shares in year 2 after weeks 1, 2, 3 a person must be a season ticket holder and 2 year ticket holders get first chance at stocks
- the league is a separate entity and each team gives them 500,000 shares and $2.5 million dollars x 24 teams =$60,000,000 (75% goes to retirement for players who play +5 years in league)

Team Access
- only subscription paying message board fans and shareholders will vote on weekly team uniforms. All teams can rotate between red, white, or blue (USA flag colors) with grey or black options. The home team will get to pick their uniform combinations first (by Tuesday @5pm) and the away team will get to pick their jersey combination (by Wednesday @5pm). The away team cannot match any colors to the home team uniforms including their jersey and pants
- one of the most important rules will require players wear their college helmets (like Blue Grey game). This will help fans remember and recognize where the players played college football (to help fans recognize players so they care about watching the games) and help build brand awareness for the colleges (a.k.a. goodwill)
- fans can listen to radio play-by-play of any game on website or phone app (this is free) with instant replay capabilities on the app
- create reality TV show like NBA D-League "Summer Dreams" or "Undrafted" for the NFL
- the TV show gets a list of possible players from the coaches and player bios and then follows them along for tryouts in training camp (filmmaker also gets to interview those players before they actually go film so they can pick the best stories)
- players and coaches must agree to sign contracts to give full access to their lives (cars get cameras + GPS + houses get cameras). If players or coaches go out at night they must notify TV crew. If players or coaches break their contracts there will be consequences. The first time they break their contract they will only receive half of their bonus (1x broken), the 2nd time they break their contract they receive no bonuses (2x broken), and if they break their contract a 3rd time they will not receive any league stock (3x broken). All of these bonuses and stock are given out at Christmas time (Dec 15) to make sure everyone behaves properly
- each week local TV gets to air the state team's football game + other team facing that week and next (reality TV + game + end of year movie in theaters and season release with more footage not seen)
- people can sign up for a streaming services league app to watch ALL games for ANY team
- add fantasy football where people win prizes per week (marketing material like hats, t-shirts, license plates, etc. with the end of year prize a mission trip with any team at end of year, plus 8 free season tickets, stock, the car of their favorite player, and $20,000 cash)

Finding Players
- players must create bios with their information (name, phone, email, born, personal story, accomplishments, high school, college attended, coaches name and contact info, upload videos, strengths & weaknesses to be filled out by player and coach and fans, height and weight and 40 time filled out at tryouts by league person)
- everyone has access to view their profiles, but personal contact information is only accessible to the GM and coaches
- player page is linked to Showtime site and team sites and contains (bio, measurements, playing videos from high school and college and pro, evaluations from media and fans, game video from this league, donation page, message board to interact with player, links to Twitter and Facebook pages)
- players are encouraged to upload game tape on themselves before tryouts to increase their chance of being noticed
- fans and media get to rate players and list players strengths and weaknesses on player profile (these valuations will be looked at again after the season and years down the road to see if any fans could become scouts)
- players are tested by running electronic timed 40's three ways (normal on track + on grass with cleats + on grass with cleats, helmet, and shoulder pads)
- players must be drug tested on first day of tryouts and background checks must be done
- all teams have first dibs at players who played college football in their state (to build upon fan interest and brand awareness WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT AND A MAJOR REASON MOST SEMI-PRO LEAGUES FAIL TO DRAW IN FANS)
- hold open tryouts as follows (1 day break in between each 2 day tryout for coaches to regroup):
2 days = tryouts for state college players
2 days = tryouts for people who played college football in a surrounding state or played college football in the same league as one of the teams in the state
2 days = tryouts for people who played high school football in the state or in a surrounding state along with all other available players
2 days = to invite any players back to make final assessments
- teams must submit their finalized training camp rosters of 85 (this allows those players not selected to still have a chance to go elsewhere and make an impression with another team
- teams can view any available player profiles and can email individuals or all available players at a specific position to let them know of their need and interest

Team Structure
- 6 teams per division (24 teams total) or 5 teams per division (20 teams total by eliminating the states highlighted in red)
- four divisions for the league include:
North Division (IL, IN, MI, OH, PA, NY)
South Division (TX, OK, AR, TN, LA, MO)
East Division (FL, GA, AL, SC, NC, VA)
West Division (WA, OR, CA, AZ, UT, CO)
- other possible states to include IA, KY, WI, MS (replacing states like IL, NY, and CO)
- at least half of the 50 players on a roster need to have played at colleges in the teams state (25, 30, 35, 40, 45 are the minimums depending on the state team). These breakdowns are based on where high school players come from, the strength of colleges in that state, and where NFL players come from. Below is the minimum number of players who must be on the team and MUST have played college football in that state
- tier 5 = 25 (OR, AZ, UT, CO)
- tier 4 = 30 (IN, WA, OK, AR, MO, VA, TN)
- tier 3 = 35 (MI, NY, SC, NC, IL)
- tier 2 = 40 (OH, PA, GA, AL, LA)
- tier 1 = 45 (TX, FL, CA)
- the max number of players a team can have who played college football in the same league as one of the teams in the state is a max of 15 (this doesn't include players coming from teams touching their state)
- the max number of players a team can have who played college football in states touching their state is a max of 12
- the max number of players a team can have who played high school football in that state or a surrounding state is a max of 10
- the max number of players a team can get from free agent states where no team is in that state is a max of 8
- the max number of players a team can have that do not fall into one of the above categories is a max of 6 (must be after a player is cut or not invited to a training camp)
- only during the first week of training camp rosters are allowed to swell to (tier teams 1 = 85, tier 2 = 90, tier 3 = 95, tier 4 = 100, tier 5 = 105)
- teams are allowed to protect up to 85 players from their state, but can protect less so they can take on more players from other states
- all cuts can start on Sunday at 2pm and last until the Wednesday before the next game at midnight
- 80 man rosters during training camp (first 2.5 weeks)
- 70 man rosters after 1st preseason game [3.0 weeks] and last day for cuts are [3.5 weeks]
- 60 man rosters after 2nd preseason game [4.0 weeks] and last day for cuts are [4.5 weeks]
- 50 man rosters before 1st regular season game [5.0 weeks] and last day for cuts are [5.5 weeks]
- all practices can be watched online (live or in podcast), but the sound is muted (with commentary from online media guys watching practice)
- all game film for players are loaded to each profile and this can be used by fans, NFL, other teams to evaluate other players, and for players or teams to study film on each other

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

Player Rules
- players cannot play in league unless they finished their junior year of college, or at least 21 years old, and must have a college degree or must be willing to be working towards finishing degree with no more than 45 hours needed (league does not want to poach players from college and will want a good relationship with colleges)
- players must pass at least 12 credit hours towards degree per year to be eligible to play the following season (reimbursement up to $10,000 available if player has 2.5 or above GPA) unless a player joins an NFL team which gives that player an exemption
- players or coaches cannot have any felonies
- any arrests result in immediate 1 game suspension and could be extended up to rest of season (during this time player will not receive any pay)
- players and coaches stay suspended until sentencing (if no wrong doing is found player is reinstated and back pay is given)
- for alcohol, if player or coach decides NOT to blow or blows above legal limit that player is suspended for 1 year and must go through AA and counseling (paid by teams)
- weekly random drug tests for players and coaches and if caught 1st time automatic 1 year ban with no salary but league pays for drug treatment and counseling (must finish program to be reinstated)
- 2nd time offenders are banned for 2 years
- 3rd time offenders are permanently banned for life from league
- if a player or coach comes to the team before testing and admits addiction and seeks treatment will be allowed to participate that season, but must stay in treatment, be in counseling, and be tested weekly (a second positive test will result in that person being banned for the remainder of season - with no pay but must finish treatment to return the following season)
- league plays for all drug & alcohol testing, treatment, and counseling
- a player targeting another player to intentionally hurt them can be review by instant replay or even after game (1 game suspension if no injury, but can be up to the same amount of time as injured player)
- players and coaches cannot form unions or have agents and there is no player draft
- players who make the 50 man training camp roster will receive health insurance for the year (or $500 month), be allowed to invest in teams 401k (unless they break team rules/contract and are therefore kicked off the team), and be given a $1MM insurance policy in case they have a major injury that keeps them from going to the NFL
- players who are on a roster at least 2 seasons will start receiving matching 401k funds up to 20% of base income (does not include year end bonuses), 3 years up to 30% of income, 4 years 40%, +5 years 50%
- players must maintain a minimum of 10 hours of community service a month in 5 out of 6 months in offseason (from July to December) to play in league the following season to receive their Christmas bonus. The league will determine which charities and non profits the players can serve at but requests can be made to add places (only exceptions are those players who play in NFL)
- to prove their work players must upload their videos and pictures of community service within 3 days of doing service (on their profile)
- all players must take Dave Ramsey's money mgt classes after season to be eligible to play following season and to be eligible for Christmas bonus (teams must offer class the week after last game but players can take it with other teams if they have a good excuse for missing - at players own expense)
- players and coaches who finish finance class and community service by December 10 will receive a Christmas bonus which is the greater of $5000 or TV bonuses (but must not have broken their contract + must pass monthly offseason drug tests including one right before they get their bonus)
- every year the players and coaches must do a mandatory 10-14 day trip with a humanitarian organization or with Adventures in Missions organization (paid for and filmed with reality TV show). It happens after season and must be done to be eligible to play following season (only applies to those not playing in NFL)

Player Perks
- partner with car dealerships to give each player a car $25,000 dollars and under. Players & coaches get for free for a year (actually 12 months) and after the 12 months are over the automobile dealerships get to sell the cars and use the car in any kind of promotion (player signs authentic paperwork, signed team football, framed signed picture with car, framed signed worn jersey from important win with date and picture of scoreboard and picture of stadium, and can be asked to do up to 3 commercials within the 12 months)
- cars are given after rosters are finalized and 11-15 participating dealerships draft players or coaches until all are gone (4-6 people per dealership)
- players and coaches must sign contact that explains how the vehicle can be taken away (missed free maintenance and cleaning, no insurance, getting suspended or kicked off the team, if a player is cut the player taking their place gets the car)
- FREE health insurance for 1 year
- FREE room and board during the season
- stock options and share of league profits
- win bonuses and yearly bonuses
- retirement for players playing 5 years or more (5 years = 25% vested, 6 years = 50% vested, 7 years = 75% vested, 8 years = 100% vested)
- work less than 6 months per year

Coaching Setup
- coaches must create bios with their coaching information (personal story, accomplishments, high school attended, college attended, schools coached, years coached, stats from those teams, upload any videos of them coaching players, coaching philosophy)
- coaches work 6 months (from January to June)
- coaches work 3 weeks before tryouts (work on playbook, watch film, find and call players and invite players to tryouts), 4 weeks of tryouts + 1 week to finalize rosters, 3 weeks training camp, 2 weeks of preseason, 10 weeks regular season, and possibly 3 playoff games, 1 week to wrap up after championship game (total 27 weeks)
- each team gets 13 coaches (1 head coach, 1 offensive coordinator, 1 defensive coordinator, and 10 assistants) which allows more hands-on coaching and allows the coordinators to go in-and-out of position groups during practices and allows the coordinators to completely focus on calling plays and making adjustments during games
- these coaches MUST come from certain levels to help give coaches new opportunities and chances for exposure (i.e. to help them "Show" what they can do) and to help gain more fans for the team (who follow those coaches)
- teams need to consider using retired coaches not just active coaches:
+ division 1 coaches or former NFL coaches (min 1, max 3)
+ high school coaches (min 1, max 6) and these high school coaches must be from state
+ no coaching experience (min 2, max 6) former NFL players can be from anywhere or college players and at least 1 of these former college players must have played in the state (to help these players gain exposure and give them coaching opportunities)
+ lower division coaches (min 2, max 6) and at least 1 of these college coaches must have coached in state
- any high school coach, college coach, former college or NFL player, or NFL coaches can submit resumes for coaching openings by creating an online profile for teams and fans to read
- shareholders vote for GM from applications and videos answering certain questions
- all head coach finalists are interviewed by the GM on Skype and recorded for any shareholders to watch or other teams
- all teams, shareholders across the league, and message board fans have access to these recorded head coach interviews
- the head coach is voted on by the shareholders (1 vote per 50 shares) and fans who are annual paying subscribers to the message boards verified by credit card (1 vote). The GM must decide between the top 3 candidates
- the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinators are voted on by the shareholders (1 vote per 50 shares) and message board fans who are annual paying subscribers to the message boards verified by credit card (1 vote). The head coach must decide between the top 3 shareholder / fan candidates
- the interviews can be watched by the fans and shareholders
- shareholders can turn their voting rights over to GM or head coach
- the position coaches are filled by unanimous agreement between head coach, coordinator, and GM
- anyone associated with team (player, coach, mgr, etc) cannot have voting privileges until they are no longer employed with team
- only people (not organizations, companies, or trusts) have voting privileges
- paying message board fans and shareholders vote on team name
- paying message board fans and shareholders get to call plays for 1 defensive series at the beginning of the 2nd quarter
- paying message board fans and shareholders get to call plays for 1 offensive series at the beginning of the 3rd quarter
- to keep costs down teams are bused to games
- during the season teams stay in campus dorms or campus hotels (all food & lodging paid by team and FREE for players & coaches) or can elect to receive $750, $1000, or $1250 per month to do their own lodging and food (but that amount could be taxable and varies based on the cost of living in the region)

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

Season Ticket Pricing
- 6 home games (preseason tickets $25 each, regular or post season tickets $50 each, or season tickets $199)
- any season ticket purchase or online subscription purchase a person receives 5 free shares
- 3 home games (half season) for $119 (3 regular) or $99 (1 preseason + 2 regular)
- 2 home games $90 (2 regular)
- to sit between the 20 yard lines a ticket holder must pay an additional donation per seat ($50 minimum and in increments of $50) and higher donation better seat priority (on first come first serve basis which is determined before the start of training camp and a second time after training camp concludes with no max donation just minimum donation)
- automatic seating done by computers but person puts in preferences (list sections best to worst, pick three row sections together, inside row or near isles, and rate whether row height or isle is more important). After seats are allocated a person has the choice to move themselves to other open seats
- or automatic seating can be done by picking exact seats in every section of donation and rating them from best to worst and computer will try to keep a person within 3 rows up or down of selected spot and within 10 seats to the right or left of choice (the tolerance can be changed to include more or less rows and more or less seats to the right and left)
- must also select if side of stadium matters or if okay for either side (because seat choices can be mirrored on opposite side of stadium)
- family fun zone tickets (endzones) are $600 for 4 people or $800 for 6 people or $1000 for 8 people
- rotate games at major colleges or pro stadiums around the state to get more fans interested and involved (cannot use more than 2 stadiums or play less than 2 regular season games in any stadium - games in the preseason and post season do not count)
- which of the stadiums used for the playoff games are voted on by season ticket holders (50%), half season ticket holders (25%), and paying message board fans (25%)
- colleges provide team docs, trainers, etc. because of free publicity for sports program & university + they receive a percentage of stadium ticket sales + any money teams pay for food & lodging for their players + 100% of concession revenue (these things are new revenue for athletic department and university during the off season)

League Profits
- all concession sales go to college or stadium owner + 10% of ticket sales + all suite sales + all club seat sales (college or stadium owner must pay and take care of cleaning + staffing event + staffing concessions)
- equipment guy and staff is from the colleges and we use their equipment (gets Christmas bonus for helping)
- use local TV stations to cover games on "off" channel for free and for advertising (split profits 50/50 not revenue)
- have cable & satellite companies bid on covering games nationally (or go under NFL network or a new SFL network)
- games filmed and produced by broadcast teams from state colleges (students paid $100 per game and professors paid $200 per game) with mix of local TV station
- premium online annual subscription includes message board access, online magazine, practices live and on podcast - fans can get access to all of this for a team ($99), for division ($149), or for league ($199) and these message boards can be run by college team sites for a percentage of the revenue
- season ticket holders get a discount of $50 on any online subscription above
- if a person buys season tickets (half or full), if they add an online subscription or merchandise those amounts are applied towards their donation amount to help them get better seating
- any season tickets or online annual subscriptions a person will receive 5 free shares
- teams keep 80% of ticket sales (12% goes to college or stadium owner + 5% to teams for playoffs and league for championship game + 2% to league + 1% to GM )
- local broadcasts (TV station keeps 50% and team keeps 50%)
- national broadcasts (TV station keeps 50% and league keeps 50%)
- reality TV show (TV keeps 50% and league keeps 50%)
- website & app (online game subscriptions where team keeps 100%)
- merchandise (vendor keeps 50% and player keeps 50%)
- message board (team keeps 25% and league keeps 25% and board operators keep 50%)
- league weekly printed magazine (writers keep 50%, teams keep 25%, league keeps 25%)
- a limited run of the weekly printed magazine will be sold at each stadium for $10 (only 2,500 available and numbered with all signed by a player with 25 containing coupon prizes for free merchandise) and contain depth charts and rosters for each team, weekly updated breakdown by positions, ratings by positions, key game matchups, some articles from online magazine for each team
- league revenue sharing is paid after league office expenses are paid (staff + referees + outside drug testers + other expenses) and league must be transparent with these expenses
- film a reality TV show for each team where a crew follows them around from tryouts thru the end of the season and gets each players story and stories that unfold during season
- have different TV contacts for games and reality show (local TV local team, nationwide all teams)
- coaches & managers all share 5% in league profits and players share 25% (to be divided up by all and given at end of year as a bonus players and coaches must earn based on # of games the person was on active roster and people get this amount around Christmas if they do not break contracts), another 10% goes to player retirement, another 25% is used to pay shareholders or reinvest in team, another 5% goes to league office, another 10% to state or national or overseas nonprofits, another 10% goes to high school sports and tutoring and after school programs, another 1% goes to founder, another 1% goes to league commissioner, and the last 8% goes to universities general scholarship fund of those institutions where we play games
- the formula for 8% distribution to universities is based on games played in stadium (40%), game attendance (30%), practices held on campus (20%), number of players living and eating on campus (10%)
- the Christmas bonus is prorated based on how many games a coach or player was on the active roster
- the formula for how the above TV pay is distributed to teams is a formula based on game attendance (50%), TV sets watching reality TV show (25%), then TV sets watching games (15%), and team wins (10%)
- each player and coach gets a support account that allows anyone to donate to them and contact the player (but players can lose this money to the league for testing positive on drugs or arrests). The forfeited money is then used to help pay for these treatment programs for players and coaches. If a player does everything right, this bonus money is paid after the season is over on December 15th
- any money donated to support account after season is over stays in account until following year (player only receives this support account money if he rejoins the league the next season, otherwise the money is used to help fund the treatment programs)

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

Payment Structure
- 10 referees paid $500 a game using NFL rules except use similar college overtime rule (8 on field + 2 instant replay)
- players paid $1,000 a week during training camp and preseason
- if a player makes the team regular season
- playoffs paid by league revenues
- the players who make the team are paid a base salary of $1,000 week (over 47 weeks once the season starts which is a total of 52 weeks for $52,000)
- active roster healthy players (who suit up & play) are paid $3,000 extra for regular season wins (but playoff wins paid by league revenues)
- active roster players and coaches paid $5,000 extra a week for playoff games whether they win or lose (this bonus paid by league revenues not team revenues) and half is paid after season and other half at Christmas
- playoff wins are worth $10,000 for any active roster healthy players (who suit up & play)
- the defensive MVP, offensive MVP, and head coach of the year receive a $2 million bonus (only eligible if they play the full season). Any runner-up in these categories will receive $500,000
- the leading rusher, receiver, passer, tackler, interceptions, and sacks all receive a bonus of $250,000 at the end of the season (only eligible if they play the full season). Any runner-up will receive $100,000 and anyone in the top 5 get $25,000
- any player voted to the All-Star/Pro Bowl receives a $150,000 bonus (no game is played), which is voted on by the fans (20%), media (30%), coaches (30%), and players (20%). The coaches and players cannot vote for anyone on their team
- championship game revenues for losing team 10% (no less than $25,000) and winning team 90% (players and coaches share no less than $250,000 per person for championship win)
- TV revenues shared (TV stations 50%, 20% owners, 5% coaches & managers, 5% league office, 20% players which 1/2 is paid out at end of year for fulfilling contracts and other 1/2 is paid to championship winning team after season is over)
- playoff team travel (by plane), food, and hotels will be paid by league revenues when teams are in the playoffs
- to start league every team will give $1,000,000 to league from share sale to help start league office
- every team will have to hold back 5% of season ticket sales to be distributed among the players, coaches, and GM of each winning playoff team and the winning team in the championship game
- coaches are taped teaching drills and fundamentals (which can be download using .edu email address from coaches page for one-time fee of $10 for one coach, $50 all coaches at that position, $100 access to all coaches - if non .edu email costs are $50, $100, $200)
- coaches receive 50% from sales and video crew for these videos and who also breakdown game and player film get 50% to split (people can rate videos)
- video students paid $250 week + get experience for resume (16 students)
- video people paid $1,500 per week (8 people - at least one for each position) and job lasts from March to June + money from coaching videos
- coaches get paid (see below) but also receive bonuses based on home attendance ($1,000 more for attendance over 40,000 or $2,000 for 50,000 or $4,000 for 60,000 or $8,000 for 70,000 and keeps doubling for every 10,000 fans in attendance) which is done to encourage coaches to be involved in community, sports talk shows, and other speaking engagements because there is no player recruiting element, it is fan recruiting (and coaches only receive a certain percentage each week for meeting their weekly media responsibilities)
- position coaches paid $80,000 (must post on premium message boards a minimum of twice a week)
- coordinators paid $120,000 (must talk on radio a minimum of twice a week)
- head coach paid $200,000 (must do weekly coaches show and weekly press conference)
- GM paid $300,000 + 1% team ticket sales (works all year long)
- league commissioner gets paid $500,000 base + 1% of league profits (this will be the creator of this idea for the first 2 years then owners can elect next commissioner)

Positives of NFL
- better play than high school and college

Negatives of NFL
- overpaid
- free agency (favorite players leave town)
- players holding out
- players on strike
- drugs & arrests

Positives of colleges
- know the players for 4 years and fans are invested in them
- state and school pride

Negatives of college
- only around for 4 years if they don't make it in NFL
- don't get their degrees
- players or schools cheating/scandals
- drugs & arrests

Positives of SFL (new hybrid football league)
- better play than high school and college
- fans already know the players for 3+ years and fans are invested in them
- state and school pride
- fan ownership (decision making and profit capabilities)
- unparalleled fan access and interaction with players and coaches
- no overpaid athletes
- no free agency
- no hold outs
- no strikes
- no school cheating or pay scandals
- players have college degrees or are working towards degrees to better their lives
- stronger stance on alcohol, drugs, and arrests with FREE treatment for players to get the help they desperately need to get their life back on track

Negatives of SFL
- players may move on to NFL (but could be seen as positive)

Player Benefits
- FREE health, life, and dental insurance for year (13 months)
- FREE car for a year (13 months)
- FREE food & lodging during season
- better pay than average person
- access to 401K and elevated matching after year 1
- partial player retirement after 4 years and fully vested after 7 years
- player profile page
- opportunity to be noticed by NFL
- celebrity status (as a player and as a reality TV star)
- drug treatment & counseling (up to a year after being suspended or kicked out of the league)
- financial classes (to help players learn to save, spend wisely, and create budgets)
- help others and make a difference in lives of others (through community service and yearly trip)

Performance Bonuses
- weekly merchandise bonus (players)
- weekly attendance bonus (coaches)
- weekly bonuses for wins (players & coaches)
- playoff bonuses (players & coaches)
- championship bonus (players & coaches)
- support account (players & coaches)
- shares of stock (players & coaches)
- year end Christmas bonus from league (players & coaches)

 

[OSU_Sports_Nut]

Really need the NFL on board to make this a developmental league. The NFL would benefit by getting players who are better and more developed. Additionally, they will cash in on these players being more well-known. Plus, they can cut their own payrolls by trimming their active rosters down to 50 players (48 + 2 practice players) instead of 53 and making practice squads 24 players who are paid between $75,000 & $150,000 a year. And each game, 2 practice players are allowed to suit up in addition to the maximum of 48. If a practice player actually plays in a game, he gets a $7,500 bonus in the regular season and $15,000 bonus in the postseason. If a practice player starts during the regular season or post season, they get a $25,000 bonus per game. Teams also get to protect up to 12 of these practice squad players who cannot be taken by other teams during the season. However, those players that can be taken a player has the right to refuse, players must be kept on the new team for the remainder of the year, and players must be offered a guaranteed bonus of no less than $25,000 from the new team.