More Arena Football is Coming and It Will Probably Fail

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The latest incarnation of the Arena Football League has been a dumpster fire. It’s been pretty well covered at this point, so there is no need to go over it again, but I think the takeaway for most people is something along the lines of: We’re good on new arena football leagues for the time being.
The Indoor Football League does a very good job of keeping the sport alive. The NAL is trying to make it work in different markets. But outside of the top level of indoor/arena football, American Indoor Football is doing its best AFL impression.
After seven years of being defunct, someone thought it was a good idea to restart the AIF, and, well, it has been a disaster. It lost teams before the season began, lost teams in a season, had to undergo an in-season schedule restructuring, and has basically been playing games in front of no one.
Despite all this, for some reason, another arena football league will be launching in 2024. The Arena League, or stylized as The AL, kicks off in June with four teams spanning from Minnesota down to Arkansas. A further two more expansion sides scheduled to join in 2025, if the league gets to that point in time.
The AL is led by Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown, whose track record in business is spotty, to say the least. Between that and what the league is planning to do, this entire thing screams failure waiting to happen.
Let’s start with the latter. The AL's tagline is pushing the boundaries of football, and they carry on and on about being different and opportunities. It is just soulless marketing speak that is code for cutting corners. The AL will be six-on-six play with 15-man rosters. There is no kicking because the league doesn’t want to pay kickers.
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