About
CEO & Chairman of the MFL and the Washington Chiefs
The Minor Football League (MFL) a 501-c3 organization, that seeks young men, aged 18 or over, in junior college or recent graduates for all positions.
The MFL consists of 12 teams covering the Mid-Atlantic region with each team playing a total of 10 games during the season. The league plays a summer schedule with the season to commence in June and ending in August. The MFL is not affiliated with the National Football League or its organizations.
Many people relate Minor League Football with the term ‘Semi-pro’. Semi-pro is a term, that an athlete, one who is paid to play football and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional athlete. Players in this category may not eligible to play in any NCAA program or lose year(s) of NCAA eligibility.
The most recent casualty of this being Oklahoma University linebacker Mike Balogun, who started against Florida in the national championship game a year ago. Balogun was stripped of his NCAA eligibility in August for competing in semi-pro football games in 2005 and 2006. NCAA rules mandate that any year of playing organized football after a player turns 21 counts as a year of NCAA eligibility.
Only about 5.7 percent, or approximately one in 17, of all high school senior boys playing interscholastic football will go on to play football at a NCAA member institution, and about 1.8 percent, or approximately one in 50, of NCAA senior football players will be drafted by a National Football League (NFL) team.
Minor League Football is a developmental league; where former prep stars who for whatever reason, could not get into college or college players not drafted by the NFL have a second chance to suit up to earn a look from college recruiters or NFL scouts. Also within the minor league teams, there are programs to help high school standouts to improve their scholastic scores getting them into junior college or major college programs, while improving on their athletic ability to play football at a higher level.
There are in the neighborhood of 25 Minor League Football leagues in the United States, with anywhere from 10-80 teams in each league, most being 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Standards are high in most leagues using the NFL rules, code of conduct and playing conditions. Game are played in stadiums, playing on grass or Astroturf, having bands, having cheerleaders, having dance teams, with a professional look and a professional attitude.
Instead of getting paid, Minor League Football players pay a fee of anywhere between $50 to $300 to play on a team in a league. Most players look at this as investment to advance their football career.
In the past years, the Minor League Football teams have advanced many players to the NCAA, NFL and Arena Football levels.
For more information about the MFL, please contact us.
