There will be no NFL franchises trying to circumvent the salary cap by paying out huge bonuses. The XFL will stock its teams with faceless players who all make the same amount of money. This spring, the Chicago Rush joins the AFL to boost the league's attendance, which has already grown from 135,000 in 1987 to more than one million last year. In the AFL, teams make money because of strict rules on salaries and competitive balance. The genius of the Arena League is that its game actually is exciting.
Players are constantly in motion.
Teams are in scoring position from almost anywhere on the short field. Receivers and DBs literally bounce off the boards like pinballs and dive into the stands. And let's not forget that Arena football is played in arenas. The Arena league has struggled for exposure. The league is entering its fifteenth year, but it has not yet developed a powerful television presence.