Arena Football League The Arena Football League ( AFL ) is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States . It is the second longest running professional football league in the United States ever , after the National Football League . It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster . It is played indoors on a smaller field than American football , resulting in a faster - paced and higher - scoring game . The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Foster , a former executive of the United States Football League and the National Football League . The league currently consists of eighteen teams from the United States . The AFL is divided into two conferences - the American Conference and National Conference . Each conference has two divisions . The East Division and West Division consist of four teams , while the Central and South each have five teams . The regular - season is a twenty - week schedule during which each team plays eighteen games and has two bye weeks . The season currently starts during the second week of March and runs weekly to late July . At the end of each regular season , four teams from each conference ( the division winners and two Wild Card teams ) play in the AFL Playoffs , an eight - team single - elimination tournament that culminates with the championship game , know as the ArenaBowl . From 1987 to 2004 , the game was played at the site of the highest seed . From 2005 to 2008 , the game was at a neutral site , Las Vegas and New Orleans . Beginning again in 2010 , the ArenaBowl is now played at the home arena of the highest seeded team . From 2000 to 2009 , the AFL had its own developmental league , the af2 . Average league attendance has averaged between 10 , 000 and 13 , 000 fans per game . The AFL played 22 seasons from 1987 to 2008 , and in 2009 , only fielded the af2 , as AFL owners looked to restructure the league ' s finances , the AFL returned in 2010 . The Arena Football League Office has its headquarters in Tulsa , Oklahoma . History . Jim Foster , a promotions manager with the National Football League , conceived the idea of indoor football while watching an indoor soccer match at Madison Square Garden in 1981 . While at the game , he wrote his idea on a 9x12 envelope from his briefcase with sketches of the field and notes on gameplay . His presented the idea to a few friends at the NFL offices , where he received praise and encouragement for his concept . After solidifying the rules and business plan , supplemented with sketches by a professional artist , Foster presented his idea to various television networks . He reached an agreement with NBC for a " test game " . Plans for arena football were put on hold in 1982 as the United States Football League was launched . Foster left the NFL to accept a position in the USFL . He eventually became executive vice - president with the Chicago Blitz , where he returned to his concept of arena football . In 1983 , he began organizing the test game in his spare time around his job with the Blitz . By 1985 , the USFL had ceased football operations and he devoted all his time to arena football , and on April 26 , 1986 , his concept was realized when finally staged the test game . " Test game " . The test game was played in Rockford , Illinois at the Rockford MetroCentre . Sponsors were secured , and players and coaches from local colleges were recruited to volunteer to play for the teams , the Chicago Politicians and Rockford Metros , with the guarantee of a tryout should the league take off . Interest was high enough following the initial test game that Foster decided to put on a second " showcase " game . The second game was held on February 26 , 1987 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago with a budget of $ 20 , 000 , up from $ 4 , 000 in the original test game . Foster also invited ESPN to send a film crew to the game ; a highlights package aired on SportsCenter . Inaugural season . Following the successes of his trial - run games , Foster moved ahead with his idea for arena football . He founded the Arena Football League with four teams : the Pittsburgh Gladiators , Denver Dynamite , Washington Commandos , and Chicago Bruisers . The first game in Arena Football League history was played between the Gladiators and Commandos at Pittsburgh Civic Arena in front of 12 , 117 fans . The game was deliberately not televised so that it could be analyzed and any follies and failures would not be subject to national public scrutiny . Following the inaugural game , tweaks and adjustments were made , and the first season continued . Each team played six games , two against each other team . The top two teams , Denver and Pittsburgh , then competed in the first - ever AFL championship game , ArenaBowl I . Patenting the game . On September 30 , 1987 , Foster filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to patent his invented sport . The patent application covered the rules of the game , specifically detailing the goalposts and rebound netting and their impact on gameplay . Foster ' s application was granted on March 27 , 1990 . During the term of the patent , 20 years from the date of filing the application , any other league that formed to play indoor football would be forced to use rules and equipment that did not fall under Foster ' s patent ; no indoor football league would be able to use the goalposts and rebound netting found in Foster ' s arena football . The patent expired on September 30 , 2007 , allowing indoor football leagues the chance to use some of arena football ' s innovations . Early years . From its inception , the AFL operated in a state of semi - obscurity ; many Americans had heard the term " arena football " but knew little to nothing about the league itself . From the 1987 season until the late 1990s , the most exposure the league would receive was on ESPN , which aired tape - delayed games , often well after midnight . The league received its first taste of wide exposure in 1998 , when Arena Bowl XII was televised nationally as part of ABC ' s " Wide World of Sports " . One of the league ' s early success stories was the Detroit Drive . A primary team for some of the AFL ' s most highly regarded players , including George LaFrance , Gary and Alvin Rettig , as well as being a second career chance for quarterback Art Schlichter , the Drive regularly played before sold out crowds at Joe Louis Arena , and went to the ArenaBowl every year of their existence ( 1988 – 1993 ) . The AFL ' s first dynasty came to an end when their owner , Mike Ilitch ( who also owned Little Caesar ' s Pizza and the Detroit Red Wings ) bought the Detroit Tigers baseball team and sold the AFL team . Although the Drive left the league , the AFL had a number of other teams which it considered " dynasties " , including the Tampa Bay Storm ( the only team that has existed in some form for all twenty seasons ) , their arch - rival the Orlando Predators , the San Jose SaberCats of the present decade , and their rivals the Arizona Rattlers . In 1993 , the league staged its only All - Star Game in Des Moines , Iowa , the future home of the Iowa Barnstormers , as a fundraiser for flood victims in the area . The National Conference defeated the American Conference 64 - 40 in front of a crowd of 7 , 189 . While the aforementioned teams have enjoyed success , many teams in the history of the league have enjoyed little to no success . There are also a number of franchises which existed in the form of a number of unrelated teams under numerous management groups until they folded ( an example is the New York CityHawks whose owners transferred the team from New York to Hartford to become the New England Sea Wolves after two seasons , then after another two seasons were sold and became the Toronto Phantoms , who lasted another two seasons until folding ) . There are a number of reasons why these teams failed , including lack of financial support from owners , lack of media exposure , or the city ' s plain lack of interest in the team . The new millennium . The year 2000 brought a heightened interest in the AFL . Then - St . Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner , who was MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV , was first noticed because he played quarterback for the AFL ' s Iowa Barnstormers . While many sports commentators and fans continued to ridicule the league , Warner ' s story gave the league positive exposure , and it brought the league a new television deal with TNN , who , unlike ESPN , would televise regular season games live . While it was not financially lucrative , it helped set the stage for what the league would become in the new millennium . Also , the year also brought a spin - off league , the af2 , intended to be a developmental league , comparable to the National Football League ' s NFL Europe . There was a lot of expansion in the 2000s . Expansion teams include the Austin Wranglers , Carolina Cobras , Los Angeles Avengers , Chicago Rush , Detroit Fury , Dallas Desperados , Colorado Crush , New Orleans VooDoo , Philadelphia Soul , Nashville Kats , Kansas City Brigade , and Utah Blaze . The Wranglers , Cobras , Fury , Kats , Dragons and Avengers no longer compete in the AFL , however . There were also several rule changes . In 2003 , the season expanded to 16 games . In 2005 , players were no longer allowed to run out of bounds . The only way for a player to go out of bounds is if a player is tackled into the side boards . 2005 also marked the first year the ArenaBowl was played at a neutral site . In 2007 , free substitution was allowed . And in 2008 , the Jack Linebacker was allowed to go sideboard to sideboard . Decline . After 12 years as commissioner of the AFL , David Baker resigned unexpectedly on July 25 , 2008 , just two days before ArenaBowl XXII ; deputy commissioner Ed Policy was named interim commissioner until Baker ' s replacement was found . Baker explained , " When I took over as commissioner , I thought it would be for one year . It turned into 12 . But now it ' s time . " Three months later , " based on circumstances currently affecting the league and the team " , Tom Benson startlingly announced that the New Orleans VooDoo were ceasing operations and folding . Shortly thereafter , an article in Sports Business Journal announced that the AFL had a tentative agreement to sell a $ 100 million stake in the league to Platinum Equity ; in exchange , Platinum Equity would create a centralized , single - entity business model that would streamline league and team operations and allow the league to be more profitable . Benson ' s move to shut down the VooDoo came during the Platinum Equity conference call , leading to speculation that he had folded because of the deal . Because of the sudden loss of the New Orleans franchise , the league announced in October that the beginning of the free agency period would be delayed in order to accommodate a dispersal draft . Dates were eventually announced as December 2 for the dispersal draft and December 4 for free agency , but shortly before the draft the league issued a press release announcing the draft had been postponed one day to December 3 . Shortly thereafter , another press release announced that the draft would be held on December 9 and free agency would commence on December 11 . However , the draft still never took place , and instead another press release was issued stating that both the draft and free agency had been postponed indefinitely . Rumors began circulating that the league was in trouble and on the verge of folding , but owners were quick to deny those claims . It was soon revealed the players ' union had agreed to cut the salary cap for the 2009 season in order to prevent a cessation of operations . Cancelling the 2009 season . A conference call in December 2008 resulted in enough votes from owners and cooperation from the AFLPA to suspend the 2009 season in order to create " a long - term plan to improve its economic model " . In doing so , the AFL became the second sports league to cancel an entire season , after the National Hockey League cancelled the 2004 - 05 season because of a lockout . Efforts to reformat the league ' s business model were placed under the leadership of Columbus Destroyers owner Jim Renacci and interim commissioner Policy . High hopes for the AFL waned when interim commissioner Ed Policy announced his resignation , citing the obsolescence of his position in the reformatted league . Two weeks later , the Los Angeles Avengers announced that they were formally folding the franchise . One month later , the league missed the deadline to formally ratify the new CBA and announced that it was eliminating health insurance for the players . Progress on the return stalled , and no announcements were made regarding the future of the league . On July 20 , 2009 , " Sports Business Journal " reported that the AFL owed approximately $ 14 million to its creditors and were considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . In early August 2009 , numerous media outlets began reporting that the AFL was folding permanently and would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy . The league released a statement on August 4 announcing that while the league is not folding , it is suspending league operations indefinitely . Despite this , several of the league ' s creditors filed papers to force a Chapter 7 liquidation if the league did not do so voluntarily . This request was granted on August 7 , though converted to a Chapter 11 reorganization on August 26 . Relaunch . Following the suspension of the AFL ' s 2009 season , league officials and owners of af2 ( which played their season ) began discussing the future of arena football and the two leagues . With 50 . 1 percent ownership of af2 , the AFL ' s bankruptcy and dissolution prompted the dissolution of af2 . That league was formally considered disbanded on September 8 , 2009 , when no owner committed his or her team to the league ' s eleventh season by that deadline . For legal reasons , af2 league officials and owners agreed to form a new legal entity , " Arena Football 1 " , with former AFL teams the Arizona Rattlers and Orlando Predators joining the former af2 . All assets of the Arena Football League were put up for auction . On November 11 , 2009 , the new league announced its intention to purchase the entire assets of the former AFL ; the assets included the team names and logos of all but one of the former AFL and af2 teams . The auction occurred on November 25 , 2009 . The assets were awarded to Arena Football 1 on December 7 , 2009 , with a winning bid of $ 6 . 1 million . On February 17 , 2010 , AF1 announced it would use the " Arena Football League " name . The league announced plans for the upcoming season and details of its contract with NFL Network to broadcast AFL games in 2010 . AF1 teams were given the option of restoring historical names to their teams . In addition to the historical teams , the league added two new expansion franchises , the Dallas Vigilantes and the Jacksonville Sharks . 2011 expansion . In a conference call in late February 2010 , commissioner Jerry Kurz announced that at that time , four markets had been in serious negotiations for 2011 season expansion teams , including Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , Denver and Southern California . On June 18 , 2010 , the league announced that the Philadelphia Soul , the San Jose SaberCats , and the Kansas City Brigade ( renamed the Kansas City Command ) would return to the Arena Football League for the 2011 season . The Pittsburgh Power was announced as an expansion team for the 2011 season on August 20 , 2010 . The Alabama Vipers relocated to Gwinnett County , Georgia , in suburban Atlanta , and took the name of the Georgia Force . On September 14 , 2010 , WWL Radio reported that the New Orleans Voodoo will be returning to the Arena Football League . However , this time the team will not have Saints owner Tom Benson as part of the ownership group . The new divisional alignment was announced on October 21 , 2010 , which included several teams moving divisions . The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were not named in the new divisional alignment ; on October 25 , 2010 it was confirmed that the Yard Dawgz would not compete in the AFL in 2011 . Postseason . From the league ' s inception through ArenaBowl XVIII , the championship game was played at the home of the highest - seeded remaining team . The AFL then switched to a neutral - site championship , with ArenaBowls XIX and XX in Las Vegas . New Orleans Arena , home of the New Orleans VooDoo , served as the site of ArenaBowl XXI on July 29 , 2007 . This was the first professional sports championship to be staged in the city since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005 . The San Jose SaberCats earned their third championship in six years by defeating the Columbus Destroyers 55 - 33 . Arena Bowl XXI in New Orleans was deemed a success , and the city was chosen to host Arena Bowl XXII , in which the Philadelphia Soul defeated the defending champs San Jose Sabercats . In 2010 , the location returned to being decided by which of the two participated teams was seeded higher . In ArenaBowl XXIII , the Spokane Shock defeated the Tampa Bay Storm at their home arena , Spokane Arena , in Spokane , Washington . Growth of the league . Average attendance for AFL games were around 10 , 000 - 11 , 000 per game in the 1990s , though during the recession connected to the dot - com bubble and the September 11 , 2001 attacks average attendance dropped below 10 , 000 for several years . Since the start of the 2004 season , average attendance has been above 12 , 000 , with 12 , 392 in 2007 . Eleven of the seventeen teams in operation in 2007 had average attendance figures over 13 , 000 . In 2008 , the overall attendance average increased to 12 , 957 , with eight teams exceeding 13 , 000 per game . In 2010 , the overall attendance average decreased to 8 , 135 , with only one team ( Tampa Bay ) exceeding 13 , 000 per game . Expanding the season . The practice of playing one or two preseason exhibition game s by each team before the start of the regular season was discontinued when the NBC contract was initiated , and the regular season was extended from 14 games , the length that it had been since 1996 , to 16 . For 2011 , the regular season league expanded to 18 games , with each team having two bye weeks and the option of two preseason games . Media . Television . Beginning with the 2003 season , the AFL made a deal with NBC to televise league games , which was renewed for another two years in 2005 . In conjunction with this , the league moved the beginning of the season from May to February ( the week after the NFL ' s Super Bowl ) and scheduled most of its games on Sunday instead of Friday or Saturday as it had in the past . In 2006 , because of the XX Winter Olympic Games , the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Daytona 500 , NBC scaled back from weekly coverage to scattered coverage during the regular season , but committed to a full playoff schedule ending with the 20th ArenaBowl . NBC and the Arena Football League officially severed ties on June 30 , 2006 , having failed to reach a new broadcast deal . Las Vegas owner Jim Ferraro stated during a radio interview that the reason why a deal failed is because ESPN refused to show highlights or even mention a product being broadcast on NBC . For the 2006 season only , the AFL added a national cable deal with OLN ( now Versus ) for eleven regular - season games and one playoff game . On December 19 , 2006 , ESPN announced the purchase of a minority stake in the AFL . This deal includes television rights for the ESPN family of networks . ESPN would televise a minimum of 17 regular season games , most on Monday Nights , and nine playoff games , including ArenaBowl XXI on ABC . The deal resulted in added exposure on ESPN ' s " SportsCenter " . The AFL also had a regional - cable deal with FSN , where FSN regional affiliates in AFL markets carried local team games . The AFL currently has its national television deal with the NFL Network , carrying a weekly Friday night package . The deal began in 2010 . The announcers are Ari Wolfe , Anthony Herron , Paul Burmeister , Charles Davis , Tom Waddle , and Michael Lombardi . All AFL games not on the NFL Network can be seen for free online , provided by a NiFTy TV application . For the 2011 season , local markets included regional broadcast contracts with teams respectively : Video games . The first video game based on the AFL was " Arena Football " for the C - 64 released in 1988 . On May 18 , 2000 , " Kurt Warner ' s Arena Football Unleashed " was released by Midway Games for the PlayStation game console . On February 7 , 2006 EA Sports released " Arena Football " for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox . EA Sports released another AFL video game , titled " " , on February 21 , 2007 , for the PlayStation 2 . Literature . In 2001 , Jeff Foley published " War on the Floor : An Average Guy Plays in the Arena Football League and Lives to Write About It " . The book details a journalist ' s two preseasons ( 1999 and 2000 ) as an offensive specialist / writer with the now - defunct Albany Firebirds . The 5 - foot - 6 ( 170 cm ) , self - described " unathletic writer " played in three preseason games and had one catch for - 2 yards . Teams . Expansions and contractions . The Arena Football League had expanded and contracted many times throughout its history . Every year in the AFL there has been at least one team which did not play the previous season with the same name . The league last expanded in 2011 , when it went from 15 teams to 18 teams . League finances . The AFL runs a single - entity model with the league owning the rights to the teams , players , and coaches . The single - entity model was adopted in 2010 . Prior to that , each team essentially operated as its own business outside of the league . A pool of money is allotted to teams to aid in travel costs .