The National Arena League (NAL) has all eyes on them after the Richmond Roughriders decided to “pack their things”, so to speak, and move to the American Arena League (AAL). Something that people may be wondering is how will the league survive off of an odd number of teams (seven)? Here, we will break down what the NAL’s near future will hold.
The NAL’s Near Future
The first thing that comes to mind is how the league will run consistently with just seven teams. Will one less team team than last year affect the NAL that much?
With the league having an odd number of teams, the league will have to create a schedule that has at least a team with a bye-week every week.
This could go in either direction with being good and bad.
Good
With at least one team having a bye week every week, that would average out to be each team having two bye weeks. Teams would maybe even a third one if their schedule allows a third one.
With each team having an automatic two bye weeks in the upcoming season, that would help the players by reducing injuries.
Bad
With the league having one team with a bye week per week, that automatically reduces the league and only three games can be played, whereas four games per week was normal if every team played.
This may not seem like a big deal, which it really isn’t, but the only bad thing about this is that the league won’t get as much money because there is one less game being played. From a fans perspective, it is also one less game of football, which nobody wants to miss a game because of an odd number of teams.
Another negative sign is that bad things have happened to other leagues. The Arena Football League (AFL) was down to five teams last season and it really hurt them. The league had two dominant teams and three struggling ones. Speaking as a fan, it really takes the fun out of the league when there are only one or two teams that run the entire league like the Philadelphia Soul and Tampa Bay Storm did last year.
The NAL doesn’t have to worry about that as much because there are the Columbus Lions, Monterrey Steel, Jacksonville Sharks, and the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks.
The other league that is likely going have an odd number of teams is the Indoor Football League (IFL). They were down to five teams just like the AFL. They recently acquired two teams to help them out and stay afloat, bumping them to seven teams.
League Expansion
It is very unclear as to what the NAL is going to do once the month of September ends. The league has to create the schedules on October 1, unless they have a delay. It is also unclear as to who all is joining because in July, the league announced that they intend on bringing Orlando, Richmond, Providence, and Boston to the league, helping the league go up to 11 teams.
Richmond is officially gone, so that would bring the league down to 10 teams if Orlando, Providence, and Boston joined. The teams nor the league has mentioned anything on the other three teams. Nobody knows for sure if there will be an expansion.
The only last true hope from what it’s sounding like is the New York Dragons. They recently came out and said that they filled out the application to join the league. Nothing has been official yet.
With the addition of New York, Orlando, Providence, and Boston, that could still put the league at 11 teams. The only issue here would be the pesky odd number of teams.
At worst, if none of these teams join the league, then the NAL will consist of seven teams. Jacksonville Sharks, Columbus Lions, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Monterrey Steel, High Country Grizzlies, Georgia Firebirds, and the New Jersey Flight.
In other words, the league can have anywhere from seven teams to 11 teams in the upcoming season.
As more information comes out, Last Word on Sports will keep everybody updated. Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on Arena and Indoor football news that is happening.
