How AF1 Has Worked Out Kinks from Disbanded AFL

Image via X @af1football

AF1 looks to become the premier indoor football league in its first year.

Last year, the Arena Football League showed ambition with 16 teams entering the season with the vision of competing with the Indoor Football League and using name brand recognition to draw fans to watch the games. Financial problems and leadership failures resulted in AFL commissioner Lee Hutton being voted out by the owners and eight teams failing to finish the season by folding or expelled.

A new era of indoor football has begun with Arena Football One or AF1 as they kick off their season on March 7. There are plenty of changes the league made to the structure of it as well as brought in prominent names to ensure nothing like 2024 happens again.

Jeff Fisher, Jerry Kurz Gives League Proven Leadership

The league bringing in a former NFL head coach and an arena football commissioner makes for the pairing of Fisher and Kurz as dynamic of a duo as fans will see in the indoor football space.

Fisher was the savior of the AFL as he took over for Hutton and ensured the former AFL finished the season using glue. It made it easy for owners to push for Fisher to take over as commissioner full-time and help guide AF1 league into the 2025 season.

Kurz has been a monumental figure in the arena space for over three decades from his time running the AF2 and AFL. He was originally brought in as a general counsel and senior advisor of player operations for the new AFL last year before moving up to CEO.

Between the two of them, that should help AF1 get off their feet for 2025 and get the right foundation in place for the league. Fisher and Kurz know what success looks like on a team and league level so it’s the perfect pairing.

11 Teams Lessen Chances of Foldings

The cardinal sin of the new sports league came to fruition with the AFL last year as 16 teams was way too much for a league to be successful. Fans have seen it all too often from the old USFL to the CFL where expanding past eight teams leads to teams folding and leagues ceasing operation.

While 11 teams are still ambitious for AF1, the league is left in a better spot with new teams in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton getting a franchise starting this year. The rest of the 10 markets have track records of success with teams established there for years.

This model isn’t proven to be 100 percent effective or means none of the teams will fold, but it’s a step in the right direction. Unfortunately for fans, they have seen teams even in established leagues like the IFL with teams folding so it isn’t uncommon in arena football. The hope is to keep it at a minimum or have no fold during the year.

Changes Leading to More Financial Stability

One aspect that isn’t being talked about might be a hit for players but something good for the league is the reduction in base salary. Last year, players in the AFL were getting $1,000 a game, but now that has decreased to $400 a game.

This is bad news for players as they would have enjoyed that kind of salary, but half the teams folded so that kind of salary was too much for teams to handle. The good news is each franchise could leave options open for players to make extra cash by doing other events for team/league-like signings.

Everyone would love players to make as much money as possible, especially knowing arena football players don’t nearly get paid the salaries the NFL, CFL or UFL players get. The reduction does give each franchise more financial flexibility and still can pay players more than other arena leagues which will still attract top talent.