New pro spring league for veteran free agents announced
Former SEC players without an NFL contract, but not ready to give up on professional football, will have a new opportunity to stay active and get the attention of team executives. A new spring league to start up in 2017 was announced Thursday.
BREAKING: The NFL will have a spring league starting in the spring of 2017, structured around four squads of veteran free agent players
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
Breaking (Cont) Players that are currently on NFL rosters will not be eligible to play in the Spring League
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
The Spring League will conduct practices and six games from April 5 through April 26, 2017
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
NFL scouts are permitted to attend all practices and games but not connected with the NFL hence players on rosters are ineligible https://t.co/PVJYpSPKQu
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
When veteran players are cut, their hope is that another team is actively looking for their services. If not, it can often be a difficult path for a player to go a season without being on an active roster and try to make a comeback the following offseason.
Update:
Pro Football Talk reports that the league is not run by the NFL, contradicting the SiriusXM NFL Radio Twitter account’s announcement:
This is not an NFL spring league. It's being put together by the same person who ran the FXFL and has no connection to the NFL. https://t.co/DQc4XRCIpT
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 22, 2016
The source account later acknowledged the same:
The new Spring League has no affiliation with the NFL but is open to NFL scouts and personnel.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 22, 2016
