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'''The Spring League''' is an [[American football]] developmental (pro showcase) league and scouting event that began play in 2017 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at [[professional football (gridiron)|professional]] athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's goal is to "serve as an instructional league and showcase for professional football talent."
'''The Spring League''' is an [[American football]] developmental (pro showcase) league and scouting event that began play in 2017 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at [[professional football (gridiron)|professional]] athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's goal is to "serve as an instructional league and showcase for professional football talent."


The Spring League was the second football property to be established by Woods, following the [[Fall Experimental Football League]] (FXFL) from 2014 to 2015. The league consists of four to six teams and plays an abbreviated four game "season" in April. There is an additional exhibition games during the year called '''Spring League Showcases''', that was first played in July 2017.
The Spring League was the second football property to be established by Woods, following the [[Fall Experimental Football League]] (FXFL) from 2014 to 2015. The league consists of four to six teams and plays an abbreviated four game "season" in April. There is an additional exhibition games during the year called '''Spring League Showcases''', that were first played in July 2017.


==Background==
==Background==

Revision as of 18:17, 12 March 2021

For a similar but unrelated undertaking in Spring 2000, see Spring Football League.
The Spring League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2020 The Spring League Fall season
ClassificationDevelopmental (Pro showcase)
SportAmerican football
Founded2016
First season2017
CEOBrian Woods
No. of teams6
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)		Las Vegas Hughes
TV partner(s)Fox Sports 1
Related
competitions		Fall Experimental Football League
Official websitewww.thespringleague.com

The Spring League is an American football developmental (pro showcase) league and scouting event that began play in 2017 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's goal is to "serve as an instructional league and showcase for professional football talent."

The Spring League was the second football property to be established by Woods, following the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) from 2014 to 2015. The league consists of four to six teams and plays an abbreviated four game "season" in April. There is an additional exhibition games during the year called Spring League Showcases, that were first played in July 2017.

Background

The National Football League (NFL) has not had an official developmental league since 2007 with NFL Europe.[1] Several other developmental leagues unaffiliated with the NFL have popped up, the FXFL, Gridiron Developmental Football League and the Rivals Professional Football League.[2] On September 2, 2016, the FXFL, after two abbreviated seasons of operation, announced it had suspended operations in hopes of finding a more effective business model.[3] A developmental league continued to be an internal NFL discussion as of December 2016 with a decision deadline of February 2017.[4]

Business plan

Like the FXFL, The Spring League is built upon the concept of serving as a second opportunity to allow players to advance to more established professional leagues,[5] yet The Spring League has some prominent differences from the FXFL. While The Spring League's core player is around 24 years old, it also took in experienced professionals, which the FXFL discouraged. All four teams are brought to one location, and at first not have distinctive identities or home cities/franchises (this began to change beginning in 2019). Rather, the games are more showcases for the NFL and Canadian Football League (CFL) scouts in the spring and summer months.[5] Also unlike the FXFL, which paid a per-game stipend for its players, The Spring League paid only for room and board. Woods said that the lack of payment is out of financial necessity.[2] To be eligible to participate in the league, a player may not be under contract with a pro league nor be eligible for the current year's draft. Players must also pay a $350 application fee.[6] (By 2019, the application fee had jumped to $2000, as players now also had to cover room and board as part of the fee.) The league also assists in developing NFL referees.[4] Players must also cover their own health insurance.[7] The Spring League earns revenue from a subsidy that the state of Texas provides to hold its events there, as well as from organizations seeking to test equipment and rules changes. In 2019, the XFL served as The Spring League's largest revenue source, paying the league "six figures" to test-run its rulebook.[7]

History

2017 season

CEO Woods founded The Spring League in early 2016.[8] On December 22, 2016, SiriusXM NFL Radio initially reported the league as being owned by the NFL, but retracted that by the end of the day.[9] The NFL informed its teams of the league's existence and its plans to operate from April 5 through April 26, 2017.[4] The Spring League's 2017 season consisted of a four-team, three-week single round-robin tournament in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia at The Greenbrier resort in April,[5] and a two-team "Showcase" game in Napa, California in July. The teams in each tournament were only identified with vague geographic names such as North, South, East, West and California. A game streamed on Facebook received 60,000 views while a practice received 30,000 views.[5]

Coaches with long NFL or College experience included quarterback coach Terry Shea, Steve Fairchild, Donnie Henderson, Dennis Creehan and Art Valero (offensive line).[10][5][11] For the April games, the league had four teams and 105 players.[5] Its players included NFL veterans Fred Jackson, Anthony "Boobie" Dixon,[12] Ben Tate, Greg Hardy, Ricky Stanzi, McLeod Bethel-Thompson[5] and Ahmad Bradshaw.[2] The players ranged from two to 10 years out from college.[13][14][15][16]

The league indicated two CFL and 10 NFL teams had their scouts visit the league while another 20 made requests for video footage. Following the April games, roughly two dozen players were invited to NFL rookie mini-camps. The Carolina Panthers picked up six for their rookie mini-camp.[5]

After the first season, NFL scouts seemed to like the league structure but otherwise gave mixed responses. Value was perceived by scouts as they got updated information on forgotten players or saw a player with a conditioned arm, but otherwise the talent level was below what NFL teams expected for an established developmental league. Some scouts expected younger players that had been to a couple NFL training camp but in the wrong system. Woods indicated that the older and big names brought attention to the league, which has a secondary purpose of providing a veteran annual showcase.[5]

Games

Date Team score opponent score Notes Ref
April 15 East 6 West 10 [17]
April 16 North 14 South 10 [18]
April 22 South - East - Cancelled [19]
April 23 North - West - Cancelled [20]
April 25 Orange 34 Black 7 Championship Game [21]

The following players signed with NFL or CFL teams following their involvement with The Spring League in 2017:

  • McLeod Bethel-Thompson, a quarterback, signed with the Toronto Argonauts on May 23. During his first year with the team, Bethel-Thompson served as a backup quarterback, and also played as a defensive back and on special teams during the CFL preseason.[22][1] Bethel-Thompson won the 105th Grey Cup with the Argonauts later in the year.[23] Beginning in week 8 of the 2018 season, Bethel-Thompson was named the Argos starting quarterback.
  • Zeek Bigger, a linebacker, signed with the Carolina Panthers on May 30, after participating in OTAs on a tryout basis.[1][24] Bigger was released at the end of the preseason, but spent two weeks on Carolina's practice squad.[25]
  • Manasseh Garner, a tight end, signed with the Washington Redskins on May 15 following their rookie mini-camp.[1][26] Garner was cut following the preseason, but was signed to the practice squad, and was later promoted to the active roster for the final game of the season.[27]
  • Cornerback Tyquwan Glass was signed to the Los Angeles Rams on August 22.[28] Glass was released as part of final cuts.
  • Tight end David Grinnage was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars just prior to the preseason on August 14.[29] Grinnage did not make the team, but was given a spot on Jacksonville's practice squad.[30][unreliable source?]
  • Defensive lineman Calvin Heurtelou was signed by the Green Bay Packers on August 21.[1][31] Heurtelou was waived after the preseason.
  • Daje Johnson, wide receiver, signed with the Ottawa Redblacks.[32] After playing the first three weeks of the regular season on the practice roster, Johnson was promoted to be the starting returner for Week 4.[1][33] After playing two games, Johnson was placed on the injured list, and was later released on August 9.[34]
  • Wide receiver Jalen Saunders signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on May 23. After two weeks on the practice roster, Saunders made his CFL debut in Week 3.[1][35] Saunders finished the 2017 CFL season with over 1,000 yards receiving.
  • Quarterback Ricky Stanzi signed with the Calgary Stampeders on May 16 as a backup quarterback.[5][36]
  • Tani Tupou, a fullback/defensive tackle, signed with the Atlanta Falcons on May 14 following their mini-camp. Tupou was the first Spring League player to be signed by a professional team.[1][37] Tupou was released after the preseason, but was signed to Atlanta's practice squad.[38][unreliable source?] He spent time on the active roster as well this year.
  • Wide receiver Griff Whalen was signed by the Baltimore Ravens on July 21, following his participation in the Summer Showcase game.[39] Whalen was released following the preseason, but later spent two games with the Ravens before being cut again. Whalen then signed with the Oakland Raiders during the offseason.[40]
  • Running back Josh Robinson received a workout with the Detroit Lions in August 2017,[41] but went unsigned until he agreed to terms with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in January 2018.[42]

Spring League Showcase

On July 15, 2017, the Spring League Showcase was held at Napa Memorial Stadium in California between Spring League California, coached by Terry Shea and Spring League East, coached by Donnie Henderson.[43] Flofootball.com's FloPRO subscription service streamed the game.[44] David Ash started the game for the California roster and lead several scoring drives. He had 96 passing yards and 9-of-13 passing, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Dixon with an interception and 3 runs for a total of 10 yards with his longest for 9 yards. For the East, two quarterbacks, Casey Pachall and Trenton Norvell, made touchdown passes. Pachall completed 4-of-6 passes for 84 yards and a 67-yard touchdown. The game's top rusher was Paul Harris of the East team, who rushed twice for 74 yards and a 6-yard touchdown. East defeated California 23–19.[45][46]

Notable players:[8][47]

2018 season

The league had try-outs in various cities in October and November 2017 and February 2018.[51] On December 7, 2017, The Spring League announced it would play its second season in Austin, Texas beginning in late March 2018. The league was also to have a football-specific tech forum and a joint internship program with the University of Texas’ Center for Sports Leadership & Innovation.[32] Turner Sports announced in mid-January 2018, while the league games would be on its new streaming service B/R Live, the league was also finalizing a deal to practice and play games at Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas.[52] On February 14, the league announced the signing of Heisman Trophy winner and former Cleveland Browns first round pick Johnny Manziel to the league playing on the South team. Games to be played on April 7 and 14.[53] Other former NFL commitments to the league were former Cleveland Browns first round pick Kellen Winslow Jr. and former Baltimore Ravens running back Lorenzo Taliaferro.[54] On March 3, the league did not execute on the contract to play the 2018 season at the Circuit of the Americas and instead announced events to take place at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Round Rock, Texas.[55]

Games[56]

Date Team score opponent score Ref
April 7 North 13 West 30 [57]
South 7 East 11 [58]
April 12 South 17 West 34 [59][60]
North 27 East 10
Spring League 2018
Team W L PCT PF PA
West[61] 2 0 1.000 64 30
North[62] 1 1 .500 40 40
East[63] 1 1 .500 21 34
South[64] 0 2 .000 24 45

The following players signed with NFL, CFL or AAF teams following their involvement with The Spring League in 2018:

Spring League Showcases

Following the April games another "Summer Showcase" was announced for July 2018.[97][98]

The Spring League announced a "Fall Showcase" for Miami, Florida to take place November 6–9, 2018, which the league intends to prepare players for the AAF and XFL, which play winter/spring seasons.[99]

2019 season

File:XFL kickoff formation test in the Spring League.jpg
For 2019, The Spring League tested rules for the XFL. Seen here is the later implemented XFL kickoff formation.

For the 2019 season, The Spring League partnered with the XFL to test rule changes the new league hoped to implement for its own 2020 season. One rule change, originally proposed by Pro Football Talk in 2017, was replacing overtime with a two-point conversion shootout occurring simultaneously at both end zones with five rounds in the TSL.[100] Also tested was the tap rule, which allows a referee to send a player to the sideline for less than a penalty level offense.[101] Both rules and the kickoff formation were later implemented in the XFL.

2019 season practice began March 31, 2019 with double headers on April 6 and 11, 2019. Each of the four teams played two games.[102] For the first time, one of the teams had a brand name; the Austin Generals (formerly South) was named after its host city of Austin, Texas, and used the logo and colors of the former New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League.[102][103] The remaining three teams retained their generic North, East and West brandings.

Games

Date Team score opponent score Notes Ref
April 6 North 6 West 36 [104][105][106]
April 7 Generals 13 East 6 Overtime Test Game [107][108][109]
April 13 North 31 East 24 [110]
April 15 Generals 32 West 13 [111]
Spring League 2019
Team W L PCT PF PA
Austin Generals[112] 2 0 1.000 45 19
West[113] 1 1 .500 49 38
North[114] 1 1 .500 37 60
East[115] 0 2 .000 30 44

The Spring League was hired by the XFL to hold three mini-camp style tryouts. With this revenue source, the league's revenue exceeded one million dollars and would have its first profitable year. The two leagues are in preliminary discussions of the Spring League becoming the XFL's official development league.[7]

Spring League Showcases

The league held its two "Summer Showcases" in partnership with the XFL[116] - the first on June in Mission Viejo, California[117][118] and the second on July 30 in Long Beach, California, 2019 with 100 pay to play players in a four-day camp and a six quarter scrimmage.[119] XFL executives and coaches and ESPN and Fox staff were on had to view rule tests and in-game technologies with the broadcaster giving feedback on how it would effect broadcast coverage.[7]

A "Fall Showcase" was held on September in Marietta, Georgia,[120][121][122] and on November they held another showcase in Miami, Florida.[123][124]

2020 Spring season

For 2020, TSL played a showcase game against the Japan national American football team at the Ford Center at The Star March 1,[125][126] and the main competition March 7 and 11 at Sam Boyd Stadium.[127] The designated home team (formerly West) was dubbed the Las Vegas Hughes, named after Howard Hughes, who spent much of the end of his life as a recluse in Las Vegas.[128] Mettenberger agreed to return as a quarterback.[129] The league was able to get most of its abbreviated 2020 season completed just before social distancing mandates tied to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States took effect, shutting down effectively all in-person sports in the United States.

Games

Rosters[130]

Date Team score opponent score Notes Ref
March 7 Las Vegas 14 North 7 [131]
North 14 East 7 [132]
Las Vegas 3 East 0 [133]
March 11 Las Vegas 17 East 6 [134]
Las Vegas 0 North 7 [135]
North - East - Cancelled
Spring League 2020
Team W L PCT PF PA
Las Vegas Hughes 3 1 .750 34 20
North 2 1 .666 28 21
East 0 3 .000 13 34

Summer Showcase

The league held its annual Summer Showcase on July in Glendale, Colorado with a total of 85 players[136] and another 25 staff members and medical personnel participated. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic all players had to go through 14-day self-quarantine before camp and all meetings were conducted in a video conference.[137]

2020 Fall season

Main article: 2020 The Spring League Fall season

In October 2020 FS1 reached a multi-year agreement to televise The Spring League along with the option to acquire a minority stake in the league, with initial agreement to play a 6-team fall-season in late October and November 2020.[138] The league began its fall season on Oct. 27 with six teams competing in a 12-game format over four weeks in a bubble environment,[139] based out of the San Antonio Alamodome. Fox Sports 1 aired games on Tuesday and Wednesday. The league stated that this time the players did not pay to attend,[140] but Woods later explained that some players did pay, while select others did not.[141]

All six teams will have brands and names, including the returning Generals[142][143] (originally from Austin), Aviators[144][145] (re-branded from Las Vegas Hughes), and four new teams the Blues[146][147] (modified from the FXFL Blacktips), Alphas[148][149] (a wolf motif), Conquerors[150][151] and Jousters.[152][153][154]

In November 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, TSL announced that the league would be cancelling the final week of the season. The top two teams met in the final on December 15, at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Generals finished as the first TSL champions, after beating the Aviators 37-14 in the final.[155][156][157]

2021 season

In March 2021, TSL announced that they reached a partnership agreement with Stephen Austin's American National Combines,[158] and will hold tryouts for the first time in league history.[159] They also declared that players who were on an active roster during TSL's fall 2020 season are not required to participate in the tryouts.[160][161]

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  109. ^ "Stats pt2".
  110. ^ "The Spring League 2019: North Vs East Game Highlights".
  111. ^ "The Spring League 2019: West Vs Generals Game Highlights".
  112. ^ "2019 Austin Generals Roster".
  113. ^ "2019 WEST Roster".
  114. ^ "2019 NORTH Roster".
  115. ^ "2019 EAST Roster".
  116. ^ "#TheSpringLeague and the XFL are teaming up again for not one but TWO SoCal Showcases this summer".
  117. ^ "2019 June Showcase roster pt1".
  118. ^ "2019 June Showcase roster pt2".
  119. ^ "Rosters revealed for the Spring League July Showcase".
  120. ^ "The Spring League September Showcase Roster pt1".
  121. ^ "The Spring League September Showcase Roster pt2".
  122. ^ "The Spring League September Showcase Roster pt3".
  123. ^ "The Spring League Showcase in Miami, Florida: Offence".
  124. ^ "The Spring League Showcase in Miami, Florida: Defense".
  125. ^ "Here is #TheSpringLeague's official roster that will be taking on 🇯🇵".
  126. ^ "2020Japan vs The Spring League".
  127. ^ Simmons, Myles (February 14, 2020). "Spring League coming to Las Vegas in March". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  128. ^ The Spring League Las Vegas @ Sam Boyd Stadium: Tickets ON SALE NOW! - The Spring League
  129. ^ Froyd, Crissy (February 21, 2020). "Former LSU QB Zach Mettenberger looking forward to getting back to football for The Spring League". LSU Wire. USA Today Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  130. ^ "TSL 2020 Las Vegas rosters".
  131. ^ The Spring League 🏈 [@TheSpringLeague] (March 7, 2020). "Game 1 ends with a final score of: Las Vegas Hughes: 14 TSL North: 7 📸: @EvasiveSLA https://t.co/WoRzvh2Kvz" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  132. ^ The Spring League 🏈 [@TheSpringLeague] (March 7, 2020). "Game 2 has gone final! TSL North: 14 TSL East: 7 TSL North finishes the day 1-1. 📸: @EvasiveSLA https://t.co/vqLk90yJTJ" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  133. ^ The Spring League 🏈 [@TheSpringLeague] (March 7, 2020). "The Las Vegas Hughes defense pitches a shutout over TSL East to stay undefeated on the day with a 3-0 win" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  134. ^ The Spring League 🏈 [@TheSpringLeague] (March 11, 2020). "DB @BRANDONBRICE_1 seals the game for Las Vegas capping off the final play with a pick-6. Las Vegas Hughes: 17 TSL East: 6 https://t.co/koWn8K1vij" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  135. ^ The Spring League 🏈 [@TheSpringLeague] (March 11, 2020). "The TSL North Defense showed up in their second game against the Las Vegas Hughes! TSL North: 7 Las Vegas Hughes: 0 https://t.co/YMRvWer4zm" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  136. ^ "TSL Denver Showcase: Game Day Roster".
  137. ^ "Spring League completed four-day showcase last week".
  138. ^ Fox Sports will televise The Spring League football games this fall
  139. ^ "The Spring League will be first to use bubble concept in football for October tournament in Las Vegas".
  140. ^ The Spring League 🏈 [@TheSpringLeague] (November 11, 2020). "@JustinAaronUH91 Players are not paying to attend #TSL2020" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  141. ^ Davis, Josh (November 13, 2020). "The Spring League Week 3: Coaching Changes, COVID, Rumors Addressed". XFL News Hub.
  142. ^ "Generals 2020 Roster". Archived from the original on 2020-11-01.
  143. ^ "The Generals Roster Breakdown".
  144. ^ "Aviators 2020 Roster". Archived from the original on 2020-10-31.
  145. ^ "Aviators Soaring High With Expectations".
  146. ^ "Blues 2020 Roster". Archived from the original on 2020-11-01.
  147. ^ "The Blues Roster Breakdown".
  148. ^ "Alphas 2020 Roster". Archived from the original on 2020-11-01.
  149. ^ "The Spring League 2020: The Alphas Roster Breakdown".
  150. ^ "Conquerors 2020 Roster". Archived from the original on 2020-11-01.
  151. ^ "The Conquerors' Roster Breakdown".
  152. ^ "Jousters 2020 Roster". Archived from the original on 2020-11-01.
  153. ^ "Jousters Depth Chart Projections".
  154. ^ "Finding Diamonds in the Dark: TSL Jousters".
  155. ^ "The Spring League's Generals Win the 2020 Championship".
  156. ^ "Generals Roll Past Aviators In Dominating TSL Championship".
  157. ^ "2020 champions".
  158. ^ "American National Combines Official Site".
  159. ^ "The Spring League To Hold Tryouts For First Time".
  160. ^ "TSL Combines".
  161. ^ https://twitter.com/TheSpringLeague/status/1369088599787008006
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