College model moving to 48 farm teams

[FrancoPizza]

In this model would the players drafted out of high school be given 3 year contracts with the farm team? Would NFL teams favor a farm team with geographical ties? Think Syracuse and the Bills. Penn St and the Eagles. Pitt and Steelers. Miami and the Dolphins. Florida and Jacksonville. FSU and Tampa.

Or forgo the farm team relationship and just set up a 48 school introductory pro league where players sign multi year contracts, teams have salary caps, and athletes can’t transfer at will. This could help to restore fan interest because the biggest thing threatening the college game right now is the unlimited free agency.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Do you think Fran will be happy to be stuck with a bunch of Bills rookies who don't buy into D.A.R.T.?

Do you think SU will allow in kids who aren't academically eligible?

 

[bnoro]

In this model would the players drafted out of high school be given 3 year contracts with the farm team? Would NFL teams favor a farm team with geographical ties? Think Syracuse and the Bills. Penn St and the Eagles. Pitt and Steelers. Miami and the Dolphins. Florida and Jacksonville. FSU and Tampa.

Or forgo the farm team relationship and just set up a 48 school introductory pro league where players sign multi year contracts, teams have salary caps, and athletes can’t transfer at will. This could help to restore fan interest because the biggest thing threatening the college game right now is the unlimited free agency.

Why do they need colleges to do this?

Why wouldn't the NFL just do this and take all the money and profits from it?

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Well since there are only 32 NFL teams, how exactly do you have an affiliation with 48 schools? So that right there is out the window.

Also IMO 48 schools is too few. How exactly will a league with 5-6 teams combined in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, half the teams in the Southeast, and no teams in the Northeast/Boston-DC area be successful? With 48 schools you get the best brands but you leave out most of the country.

Unless you have promotion/relegation, IMO you need to have pretty much the entire P4 minus cutting off a little fat (like Wake).

Plus what happens with BBall?

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Why do they need colleges to do this?

Why wouldn't the NFL just do this and take all the money and profits from it?

Colleges have built in fanbases. How many Eagles fans are going to take the time to watch the minor league team on Saturday when they already give up their free time for the Eagles on Sunday? Or over watching the Penn State game?

Unless, the NFL had an Spring league. That I think could work as there isn't as much competition for fan commitment. Start the season the first day of Spring and end the first last day. Which still leaves 2 months off for rest before the NFL season should a player be called up.

But in both cases this completely kills one of the NFL's biggest days, the Draft. Can't have a Draft if the players are being signed out of High School.

 

[orangeinjersey]

Why do they need colleges to do this?

Why wouldn't the NFL just do this and take all the money and profits from it?

Because I watch because of Syracuse. I have zero desire to watch the Philly Soul

 

[All4SU]

Why would this model require colleges to be involved?

 

[All4SU]

Why do they need colleges to do this?

Why wouldn't the NFL just do this and take all the money and profits from it?

Exactly. That should have been the process 30 years ago.

 

[upperdeck]

Well since there are only 32 NFL teams, how exactly do you have an affiliation with 48 schools? So that right there is out the window.

Also IMO 48 schools is too few. How exactly will a league with 5-6 teams combined in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, half the teams in the Southeast, and no teams in the Northeast/Boston-DC area be successful? With 48 schools you get the best brands but you leave out most of the country.

Unless you have promotion/relegation, IMO you need to have pretty much the entire P4 minus cutting off a little fat (like Wake).

Plus what happens with BBall?

Baseball had a time when multiple teams supported single teams in the minors, Some teams are still independent. Hockey still does it that way I think.

And the same thing happened for many years.. Teams had AAA,AA,A,B,C,D teams and so on and others didnt.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Why would this model require colleges to be involved?

Because colleges have built-in fanbases. Let the colleges fight over the recruits but impose a salary cap and contractual requirements to keep players from moving around. From the fan perspective, it should help the branding knowing your QB will be there for 3 years.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Baseball had a time when multiple teams supported single teams in the minors, Some teams are still independent. Hockey still does it that way I think.

And the same thing happened for many years.. Teams had AAA,AA,A,B,C,D teams and so on and others didnt.

I think the NFL minor leagues can fill up an MLS stadium but they will be far from College or NFL attendance. Is that going to draw away from College Football?

Also when Baseball was more popular, those minor league teams for the most part where in places the major league teams were not. Now there are a lot more MLB teams capturing missing markets from the past. On top of that it is a lot easier to watch MLB teams on TV. You choices are not minors or nothing.

Back in the day the Columbus Clippers could work. Having the Columbus Little Giants will not. Someone in Columbus has the Ohio State, the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals that they can follow.

If you have the New Jersey Giants you are back to point #1. It won't take away from College FB and you are looking at a crowd of 16k at 82k Metlife Stadium.

Would the NFL lite be the most popular minor league? Yes. Will it have a big dent into College FB? No. Will it be a big money maker? No.

 

[All4SU]

Because colleges have built-in fanbases. Let the colleges fight over the recruits but impose a salary cap and contractual requirements to keep players from moving around. From the fan perspective, it should help the branding knowing your QB will be there for 3 years.

I’m “built-in” because these teams play COLLEGE football for my alma mater. When it is just minor league professional football, I’m not watching.

 

[bnoro]

Because I watch because of Syracuse. I have zero desire to watch the Philly Soul

Okay. I'm a Patriots fan. I don't want to root for the Bills farm team.

 

[sufandu]

Why do they need colleges to do this?

Why wouldn't the NFL just do this and take all the money and profits from it?

Would there be profits without connection to the colleges? Do farm teams in other sports make money? I always assumed they were an accepted expense for the major team.

 

[rmtsu]

Would there be profits without connection to the colleges? Do farm teams in other sports make money? I always assumed they were an accepted expense for the major team.

You would be surprised about baseball, many of the minor league baseball teams do make money and most are not owned by the Major League club only a few are owned by the parent club. Large expenses, player salaries, bonuses and scouting are paid by the parent club. And it doesn't always depend on the level either, some very profitable and valuable teams are at the A level. I was in Fort Wayne, Indiana (Single A) and went to a couple of games there, nice Stadium and large crowds, in 2023 they averaged over 5000 fans a game. Baseball though is different, minor league baseball is much more affordable, easier to get to and offers good value for the product on the field and draws on the appeal to the local community, minor league baseball has been a popular entertainment option for a long time. Not sure other sports can do the same without significant financial support, not just player salaries.

I do agree with many I won't watch a minor league football team, do or did most here watch any of the other pro football leagues that have been started and played? I haven't had much interest. Most watch their college team, either because they went there, live near or in the state or follow the team for other reasons. But college football I think would suffer if it became more of a minor league, I think it would suffer if or when some super league(s) form and many teams are left out.

 

[Stern]

In this model would the players drafted out of high school be given 3 year contracts with the farm team? Would NFL teams favor a farm team with geographical ties? Think Syracuse and the Bills. Penn St and the Eagles. Pitt and Steelers. Miami and the Dolphins. Florida and Jacksonville. FSU and Tampa.

Or forgo the farm team relationship and just set up a 48 school introductory pro league where players sign multi year contracts, teams have salary caps, and athletes can’t transfer at will. This could help to restore fan interest because the biggest thing threatening the college game right now is the unlimited free agency.

Jets and Giants arm wrestling...loser forced to take Rutgers! (sorry it was too easy)

Robert Kraft would donate a billion dollars to make Boston College the Alabama of the north and give his minor league team start of the art everything...lol

And Stephen Ross owner of the Dolphins bank rolls the entire Michigan football program and has for years and has it set up to do so after he dies. He would want that tie-in and not the one in his backyard.

 

[sufandu]

You would be surprised about baseball, many of the minor league baseball teams do make money and most are not owned by the Major League club only a few are owned by the parent club. Large expenses, player salaries, bonuses and scouting are paid by the parent club. And it doesn't always depend on the level either, some very profitable and valuable teams are at the A level. I was in Fort Wayne, Indiana (Single A) and went to a couple of games there, nice Stadium and large crowds, in 2023 they averaged over 5000 fans a game. Baseball though is different, minor league baseball is much more affordable, easier to get to and offers good value for the product on the field and draws on the appeal to the local community, minor league baseball has been a popular entertainment option for a long time. Not sure other sports can do the same without significant financial support, not just player salaries.

I do agree with many I won't watch a minor league football team, do or did most here watch any of the other pro football leagues that have been started and played? I haven't had much interest. Most watch their college team, either because they went there, live near or in the state or follow the team for other reasons. But college football I think would suffer if it became more of a minor league, I think it would suffer if or when some super league(s) form and many teams are left out.

So it sounds like the parent clubs subsidize the farm clubs quite a bit and just see it as a necessary expense of doing business. I wonder if the minor league baseball teams would be profitable if they had to be independent financially.

The popularity of college teams/athletes are definitely positively impacted by the built in connection universities have with the communities and alumni, especially state schools, that minor league teams could never duplicate.

 

[Chip]

Okay. I'm a Patriots fan. I don't want to root for the Bills farm team.

Maybe we could be the SkyChiefs again.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Isn't the current state of college football very much a semi-pro climate? Just make the teams a for-profit subsidiary of each college or university so the players can be treated as employees with contracts that require they stay in-place for 3+ years. The salary cap is also a biggie, not sure how that gets applied in a fair manner. But otherwise keep everything else the same.

 

[721Comstock]

Okay. I'm a Patriots fan. I don't want to root for the Bills farm team.

You kinda did watch the Pats farm team this past NFL season.

 

[OCESIP]

Isn't the current state of college football very much a semi-pro climate? Just make the teams a for-profit subsidiary of each college or university so the players can be treated as employees with contracts that require they stay in-place for 3+ years. The salary cap is also a biggie, not sure how that gets applied in a fair manner. But otherwise keep everything else the same.

It'll be interesting to see where Dartmouth basketball's employees take
the whole concept. Creating a union is next on the table.

My son is a lawyer who just rolls his eyes at all the potential issues that
can/will come up. It will be a sideshow that will be entertaining if nothing
else.

 

[OrangeAl]

It'll be interesting to see where Dartmouth basketball's employees take
the whole concept. Creating a union is next on the table.

My son is a lawyer who just rolls his eyes at all the potential issues that
can/will come up. It will be a sideshow that will be entertaining if nothing
else.

What if you formed a union and discovered there's little demand for your product - thus no pot of gold for your services?

 

[rmtsu]

So it sounds like the parent clubs subsidize the farm clubs quite a bit and just see it as a necessary expense of doing business. I wonder if the minor league baseball teams would be profitable if they had to be independent financially.

The popularity of college teams/athletes are definitely positively impacted by the built in connection universities have with the communities and alumni, especially state schools, that minor league teams could never duplicate.

The Major League clubs basically only fund the players which they should at a minimum, they signed and want the players to develop so they can have them play for them eventually, the largest part of the player salaries below the AAA level are the bonuses paid when the players are signed. AAA players make a bit more depending on the whether they were former Major leaguers or have been signed to the 40 man roster. Stadiums and other expenses are mostly the responsibility of the minor league club owners, but they also reap the profits if they run the franchise well. In the case of the Syracuse Mets the New York Mets own the team and as such take on a larger financial burden.

A while back (2016-2017) the Padres signed 3 Cuban players to bonuses of 11, 7 and 3 million dollars. Their total bonus amount for foreign players during that period was $38 million, so there is your large expense. Salaries of lower level players especially were pretty low historically, and they were only paid during the months they played but just got a boost and doubled and they will get paid for the full year.

My fear with all this restructuring on the football side will eventually doom college football, the amount of money paid by the networks cannot be sustained with more teams and mouths to feed if we get these super leagues which we are already on our way to.

 

[bnoro]

The Major League clubs basically only fund the players which they should at a minimum, they signed and want the players to develop so they can have them play for them eventually, the largest part of the player salaries below the AAA level are the bonuses paid when the players are signed. AAA players make a bit more depending on the whether they were former Major leaguers or have been signed to the 40 man roster. Stadiums and other expenses are mostly the responsibility of the minor league club owners, but they also reap the profits if they run the franchise well. In the case of the Syracuse Mets the New York Mets own the team and as such take on a larger financial burden.

A while back (2016-2017) the Padres signed 3 Cuban players to bonuses of 11, 7 and 3 million dollars. Their total bonus amount for foreign players during that period was $38 million, so there is your large expense. Salaries of lower level players especially were pretty low historically, and they were only paid during the months they played but just got a boost and doubled and they will get paid for the full year.

My fear with all this restructuring on the football side will eventually doom college football, the amount of money paid by the networks cannot be sustained with more teams and mouths to feed if we get these super leagues which we are already on our way to.

AHL, ECHL, and the other levels of hockey still do pretty well for themselves too. Honestly probably a much more stable situation/example than Minor League Baseball at the moment.

But I would GUARANTEE if there was a ME/CT Patriots farm team, they could build a 30,000k stadium and easily sell it out. There's such a demand for the NFL that it would sell itself. If the USFL/XFL teams actually operated in a farm team method, with guys on rookie contracts (first 2-3 years) and practice squad in the offseason, they'd sell out too.

The tradition and industry that is college football is the ONLY reason an NFL minor league would never happen.

 

[WoadBlue]

Well since there are only 32 NFL teams, how exactly do you have an affiliation with 48 schools? So that right there is out the window.

Also IMO 48 schools is too few. How exactly will a league with 5-6 teams combined in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, half the teams in the Southeast, and no teams in the Northeast/Boston-DC area be successful? With 48 schools you get the best brands but you leave out most of the country.

Unless you have promotion/relegation, IMO you need to have pretty much the entire P4 minus cutting off a little fat (like Wake).

Plus what happens with BBall?

The fools doing all this behind the scenes clearly haven't thought through very well. But that is par for fools who intend to rule the entire world. Even separating the P5 from the rest of D1 would have been a mess, but least that would have satisfied every large region that it had schools being represented.