Does the NFL need a minor league system like the MLB?

With the reemergence of the Arena Football League, and the continued existence of the United Football League, and of course the Canadian Football league, one has to wonder if the NFL couldn’t use an official minor league system of its own. I know most of you are going to say that College Football is the minor league system of the NFL, but with so many college teams running a spread option offense that does not teach the skills a NFL QB needs, it seems that the NFL could use a place to help develop new talent.

More of you will say what about the Canadian league; well do most of you know that the CFL plays under different rules that in the CFL the Offensive and defensive lines are required to stay a yard apart before the snap. That means this league doesn’t need the same kind of lineman that teams in the NFL does. That means this league is not helping to develop NFL line talent. In fact the closest thing, we have to NFL football is UFL football.

The value of having a minor league system is that players are playing the game, while their parent clubs are playing and in the case of injuries teams often have to turn to players who have not been playing but sitting on the sideline. In baseball when someone gets hurt they are replaced by a minor league talent who has been actively playing.

On top of the development of new talent, the NFL could use some minor league football games to air on the NFL network. That network recently struck a deal with the reformed Arena League to air their games in the spring and summer, and it could very well use more live football to draw in more viewers.

Related Links:

•The Business of the NFL
•The Business of the UFL
•The Business of Arena Football