AF1 Terminates Orlando Predators Membership Days Before Opening Weekend

Image via X @Predators_AF1

Mere days before Arena Football One's opening weekend, the league terminated one of their team’s memberships.

On Tuesday night, the league announced that the Orlando Predators’ membership with them had been terminated due to team owner John Cheney informing the league they won’t participate this season. The league stated that the team is selling to another ownership group, which is the reason for the departure of the season. As part of their statement, the league made their passionate thoughts known about their feelings.

“When we started this endeavor months ago, all of our teams sat together and committed to being honest and diligent partners to build a successful league for our fans and communities,” the league said in their statement Tuesday night. “That required a commitment of trust and commitment to each other.”

“This about-face and betrayal of the fans of Orlando and fans of Arena Football is shocking and unexpected. The Predators have long been one of the best-known brands in Arena Football, and the fans of Central Florida deserve better than being betrayed for self-serving reasons.”

The Predators’ ownership group will face fines as the league works to recoup the losses from the team's non-playing this season. Reporter Anthony Carter received a short statement from the Predators Wednesday morning refuting what the league had stated.

“We know there are a lot of questions, and we understand the confusion. The AF1 released information that does not fully reflect everything that’s happening. Rest assured, we are working behind the scenes and will be making an official announcement to our fans soon.”

This is the second team to have its membership terminated in the past month, with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Mavericks departing last month. The league will now have nine teams participating in the inaugural season.

Week 0 was changed to the Nashville Cats going on the road to play the Southwest Kansas Storm on Saturday night. The Corpus Christi Tritons were scheduled to play this weekend, but they will be moved out of the week as the league works to rebalance the schedule later in the season.

Average sports fans will look down on this moment as another reminder of how many teams have folded in the arena football world, but this shouldn’t reflect poorly on AF1. This was out of their control, and their concise statement made a strong statement that they are serious about building a strong reputation as the premier indoor football league in America. The hope is that all the Predator players, coaches, and staff members affected by this can land on their feet quickly.

Kickoff for Saturday’s Cats-Storm game is 5:00 p.m. MST. The game can be viewed on the streaming site EvergreenNow.