Arena Football League (fictional)


 * Note: This is a combination of the real-life Arena Football League, Indoor Football League, and Fan Controlled Football, existing in the ArgosyMTM AU. There are also elements from the attempted revivals of XFL and USFL (said revivals never existed in AMTM AU, but the original leagues with these names did).

The Arena Football League (AFL) is a professional indoor American football league in the United States, with some teams located in Canada. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL). The AFL plays a formerly proprietary code known as arena football, a form of indoor American football played on a 66-by-28 yard field (about a quarter of the surface area of an NFL field), with rules encouraging offensive performance, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Jim Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League (USFL) and the NFL. Each of the league's seasons have culminated in the ArenaBowl, with the winner being crowned the league's champion for that season.

From 2000 to 2009, the AFL had its own developmental league, the af2. The AFL played 22 seasons from 1987 to 2008; internal issues caused the league to cancel its 2009 season, though the af2 did play. Later that year, after the acquisition of the AFL and af2 by NASCAR/WWE Entertainment, both the AFL and af2 were dissolved and reorganized as a new corporation comprising teams from both leagues, and the AFL returned in 2010. In 2012, after NASCAR/WWE merged with Argosy Communications to form ArgosyMTM Group, the AFL merged with rival IFL (Indoor Football League), which was a major step in returning the AFL to relevancy.

The league historically had a nationwide footprint, and was recognized as the most prominent professional indoor football league in North America, offering higher payment, more widespread media exposure, and a longer history than competing leagues. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams among indoor football leagues. The league has operated continuously under the same name and corporate structure longer than any other current indoor football league.

Players are paid weekly minimum of $400 to $750 plus room and board, while coaches get paid $3,500 per month with housing and meal plan. $25 bonus is given to players on the winning team each week. Additionally, the teams provide housing for its players during the season.