Other attempts to start rival leagues since the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970 have been far less successful, as professional football salaries and the NFL's television contracts began to escalate out of the reach of competitors and the NFL covered more of the larger cities. The World Football League (WFL) played for two seasons, in 1974 and 1975, but faced such severe monetary issues it could not pay its players. In its second and final season the WFL attempted to establish a stable credit rating, but the league disbanded before the season could be completed. The United States Football League (USFL) operated for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. Originally not intended as a rival league, the entry of owners who sought marquee talent and to challenge the NFL led to an escalation in salaries and ensuing financial losses. A subsequent US$1.5 billion antitrust lawsuit against the NFL was successful in court, but the league was awarded only $1 in damages, which was automatically tripled to $3 under antitrust law. Complementary national leagues The original XFL was created in 2001 by Vince McMahon and lasted for only one season. Despite television contracts with NBC and UPN, and high expectations, the XFL suffered from low quality of play and poor reception for its use of tawdry professional wrestling gimmicks, which caused initially high ratings and attendance to collapse. (The current XFL, also owned by McMahon, does not include those gimmicks.) The United Football League (UFL) began in 2009 but folded after suspending its 2012 season amid declining interest and lack of major television coverage. The Alliance of American Football lasted less than one season, unable to keep investors. International play upright=1.15|alt=Photograph of a Mexican youth division football team | Players with one of the youth divisions of the Borregos Salvajes football program of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City American football leagues exist throughout the world, but the game has yet to achieve the international success and popularity of baseball and basketball.Nelson 1993, p. 15. It is not an Olympic sport, but it was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics. At the international level, Canada, Mexico, and Japan are considered to be second-tier, while Austria, Germany, and France would rank among a third tier. These countries rank far below the United States, which is dominant at the international level. NFL Europa, the developmental league of the NFL, operated from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 2007. At the time of its closure, NFL Europa had five teams based in Germany and one in the Netherlands. In Germany, the German Football League (GFL) has 16 teams and has operated for over 40 seasons, with the league's championship game, the German Bowl, closing out each season. The league operates in a promotion and relegation structure with German Football League 2 (GFL2), which also has 16 teams. The BIG6 European Football League functions as a continental championship for Europe. The competition is contested between the top six European teams. The United Kingdom also operated several teams within NFL Europe during the League's tenure, the resulting rise in popularity of the sport brought the NFL back to the country in 2007 where they now hold the NFL International Series in London, currently consisting of four regular season games. The continuing interest and growth in both the sport and the series has led to the possible formation of a potential NFL franchise in London An American football league system already exists within the UK, the BAFANL, which has ran under various guises since 1983. It currently has 70 teams operating across the tiers of contact football in which teams aim to earn promotion to the Division above, with the Premier Division teams competing to win the Britbowl, the annual British Football Bowl game that has been played since 1985. In 2007 the British Universities American Football League was formed. From 2008, the BUAFL was officially associated with the National Football League (NFL), through its partner organisation NFL UK. In 2012, BUAFL's league and teams were absorbed into BUCS after American football became an official BUCS sport. Over the period 2007 to 2014, the BUAFL grew from 42 teams and 2,460 participants to 75 teams and over 4,100 people involved. American football federations are present in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania; a total of 64 national football federations exist as of July 2012. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF), an international governing body composed of continental federations, runs tournaments such as the IFAF World Championship, the IFAF Women's World Championship, the IFAF U-19 World Championship and the Flag Football World Championship. The IFAF also organizes the annual International Bowl game. The IFAF has received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Several major obstacles hinder the IFAF goal of achieving status as an Olympic sport. These include the predominant participation of men in international play and the short three-week Olympic schedule. Large team sizes are an additional difficulty, due to the Olympics' set limit of 10,500 athletes and coaches. American football also has an issue with a lack of global visibility. Nigel Melville, the CEO of USA Rugby, noted that "American football is recognized globally as a sport, but it's not played globally." To solve these concerns, major effort has been put into promoting flag football, a modified version of American football, at the international level. Popularity and cultural impact United States "Baseball is still called the national pastime, but football is by far the more popular sport in American society", according to ESPN.com's Sean McAdam. In a 2014 poll conducted by Harris Interactive, professional football ranked as the most popular sport, and college football ranked third behind only professional football and baseball; 46\% of participants ranked some form of the game as their favorite sport. Professional football has ranked as the most popular sport in the poll since 1985, when it surpassed baseball for the first time. Professional football is most popular among those who live in the eastern United States and rural areas, while college football is most popular in the southern United States and among people with graduate and post-graduate degrees. Football is also the most-played sport by high school and college athletes in the United States. In a 2012 study, the NCAA estimated there were around 1.1 million high school football players and nearly 70,000 college football players in the United States; in comparison, the second-most played sport, basketball, had around 1 million participants in high school and 34,000 in college. The Super Bowl is the most popular single-day sporting event in the United States, and is among the biggest club sporting events in the world in terms of TV viewership. The NFL makes approximately $ 10 billion annually. Super Bowl games account for seven of the top eight most-watched broadcasts in American history; Super Bowl XLIX, played on February 1, 2015, was watched by a record 114.4 million Americans. The Boise State Broncos are the first football team to design a blue field in 1986
Other attempts to start rival leagues since the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970 have been far less successful, as professional football salaries and the NFL's television contracts began to escalate out of the reach of competitors and the NFL covered more of the larger cities. The World Football League (WFL) played for two seasons, in 1974 and 1975, but faced such severe monetary issues it could not pay its players. In its second and final season the WFL attempted to establish a stable credit rating, but the league disbanded before the season could be completed. The United States Football League (USFL) operated for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. Originally not intended as a rival league, the entry of owners who sought marquee talent and to challenge the NFL led to an escalation in salaries and ensuing financial losses. A subsequent US$1.5 billion antitrust lawsuit against the NFL was successful in court, but the league was awarded only $1 in damages, which was automatically tripled to $3 under antitrust law. Complementary national leagues The original XFL was created in 2001 by Vince McMahon and lasted for only one season. Despite television contracts with NBC and UPN, and high expectations, the XFL suffered from low quality of play and poor reception for its use of tawdry professional wrestling gimmicks, which caused initially high ratings and attendance to collapse. The XFL was rebooted in 2020. However after only five weeks of play, the league's operations slowly came to a close due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and filed for bankruptcy on April 13. The United Football League (UFL) began in 2009 but folded after suspending its 2012 season amid declining interest and lack of major television coverage. The Alliance of American Football lasted less than one season, unable to keep investors. International play upright=1.15|alt=Photograph of a Mexican youth division football team | Players with one of the youth divisions of the Borregos Salvajes football program of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City American football leagues exist throughout the world, but the game has yet to achieve the international success and popularity of baseball and basketball.Nelson 1993, p. 15. It is not an Olympic sport, but it was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics. At the international level, Canada, Mexico, and Japan are considered to be second-tier, while Austria, Germany, and France would rank among a third tier. These countries rank far below the United States, which is dominant at the international level. NFL Europa, the developmental league of the NFL, operated from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 2007. At the time of its closure, NFL Europa had five teams based in Germany and one in the Netherlands. In Germany, the German Football League (GFL) has 16 teams and has operated for over 40 seasons, with the league's championship game, the German Bowl, closing out each season. The league operates in a promotion and relegation structure with German Football League 2 (GFL2), which also has 16 teams. The BIG6 European Football League functions as a continental championship for Europe. The competition is contested between the top six European teams. The United Kingdom also operated several teams within NFL Europe during the League's tenure, the resulting rise in popularity of the sport brought the NFL back to the country in 2007 where they now hold the NFL International Series in London, currently consisting of four regular season games. The continuing interest and growth in both the sport and the series has led to the possible formation of a potential NFL franchise in London An American football league system already exists within the UK, the BAFANL, which has ran under various guises since 1983. It currently has 70 teams operating across the tiers of contact football in which teams aim to earn promotion to the Division above, with the Premier Division teams competing to win the Britbowl, the annual British Football Bowl game that has been played since 1985. In 2007 the British Universities American Football League was formed. From 2008, the BUAFL was officially associated with the National Football League (NFL), through its partner organisation NFL UK. In 2012, BUAFL's league and teams were absorbed into BUCS after American football became an official BUCS sport. Over the period 2007 to 2014, the BUAFL grew from 42 teams and 2,460 participants to 75 teams and over 4,100 people involved. American football federations are present in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania; a total of 64 national football federations exist as of July 2012. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF), an international governing body composed of continental federations, runs tournaments such as the IFAF World Championship, the IFAF Women's World Championship, the IFAF U-19 World Championship and the Flag Football World Championship. The IFAF also organizes the annual International Bowl game. The IFAF has received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Several major obstacles hinder the IFAF goal of achieving status as an Olympic sport. These include the predominant participation of men in international play and the short three-week Olympic schedule. Large team sizes are an additional difficulty, due to the Olympics' set limit of 10,500 athletes and coaches. American football also has an issue with a lack of global visibility. Nigel Melville, the CEO of USA Rugby, noted that "American football is recognized globally as a sport, but it's not played globally." To solve these concerns, major effort has been put into promoting flag football, a modified version of American football, at the international level. Popularity and cultural impact United States "Baseball is still called the national pastime, but football is by far the more popular sport in American society", according to ESPN.com's Sean McAdam. In a 2014 poll conducted by Harris Interactive, professional football ranked as the most popular sport, and college football ranked third behind only professional football and baseball; 46\% of participants ranked some form of the game as their favorite sport. Professional football has ranked as the most popular sport in the poll since 1985, when it surpassed baseball for the first time. Professional football is most popular among those who live in the eastern United States and rural areas, while college football is most popular in the southern United States and among people with graduate and post-graduate degrees. Football is also the most-played sport by high school and college athletes in the United States. In a 2012 study, the NCAA estimated there were around 1.1 million high school football players and nearly 70,000 college football players in the United States; in comparison, the second-most played sport, basketball, had around 1 million participants in high school and 34,000 in college. The Super Bowl is the most popular single-day sporting event in the United States, and is among the biggest club sporting events in the world in terms of TV viewership. The NFL makes approximately $ 10 billion annually. Super Bowl games account for seven of the top eight most-watched broadcasts in American history; Super Bowl XLIX, played on February 1, 2015, was watched by a record 114.4 million Americans. The Boise State Broncos are the first football team to design a blue field in 1986
R
$3 under antitrust law. Complementary national leagues The original XFL was created in 2001 by Vince McMahon and lasted for only one season. Despite television contracts with NBC and UPN, and high expectations, the XFL suffered from low quality of play and poor reception for its use of tawdry professional wrestling gimmicks, which caused initially high ratings and attendance to collapse. (The current XFL, also owned by McMahon, does not include those gimmicks.) The United Football League (UFL) began in 2009 but folded after suspending its 2012 season amid declining interest and lack of major television coverage. The Alliance of American Football lasted less than one season, unable to keep investors. International play upright=1.15|alt=Photograph of a Mexican youth division football team | Players with one of the youth divisions of the Borregos Salvajes football program of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City American football leagues exist throughout the world, but the game has yet to achieve the international success and popularity of baseball and basketball.Nelson 1993, p. 15. It is not an Olympic sport, but it was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics. At the international level, Canada, Mexico, and Japan are considered to be second-tier, while Austria, Germany, and France would rank among a third tier. These countries rank far below the United States, which is dominant at the international level. NFL Europa, the developmental league of the NFL, operated from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 2007. At the time of its closure, NFL Europa had five teams based in Germany and one in the Netherlands. In Germany, the German Football League (GFL) has 16 teams and has operated for over 40 seasons, with the league's championship game, the German Bowl, closing out each season. The league operates in a promotion and relegation structure with German Football League 2 (GFL2), which also has 16 teams. The BIG6 European Football League functions as a continental championship for Europe. The competition is contested between the top six European teams. The United Kingdom also operated several teams within NFL Europe during the League's tenure, the resulting rise in popularity of the sport brought the NFL back to the country in 2007 where they now hold the NFL International Series in London, currently consisting of four regular season games. The continuing interest and growth in both the sport and the series has led to the possible formation of a potential NFL franchise in London An American football league system already exists within the UK, the BAFANL, which has ran under various guises since 1983. It currently has 70 teams operating across the tiers of contact football in which teams aim to earn promotion to the Division above, with the Premier Division teams competing to win the Britbowl, the annual British Football Bowl game that has been played since 1985. In 2007 the British Universities American Football League was formed. From 2008, the BUAFL was officially associated with the National Football League (NFL), through its partner organisation NFL UK. In 2012, BUAFL's league and teams were absorbed into BUCS after American football became an official BUCS sport. Over the period 2007 to 2014, the BUAFL grew from 42 teams and 2,460 participants to 75 teams and over 4,100 people involved. American football federations are present in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania; a total of 64 national football federations exist as of July 2012. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF), an international governing body composed of continental federations, runs tournaments such as the IFAF World Championship, the IFAF Women's World Championship, the IFAF U-19 World Championship and the Flag Football World Championship. The IFAF also organizes the annual International Bowl game. The IFAF has received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Several major obstacles hinder the IFAF goal of achieving status as an Olympic sport. These include the predominant participation of men in international play and the short three-week Olympic schedule. Large team sizes are an additional difficulty, due to the Olympics' set limit of 10,500 athletes and coaches. American football also has an issue with a lack of global visibility. Nigel Melville, the CEO of USA Rugby, noted that "American football is recognized globally as a sport, but it's not played globally." To solve these concerns, major effort has been put into promoting flag football, a modified version of American football, at the international level. Popularity and cultural impact United States "Baseball is still called the national pastime, but football is by far the more popular sport in American society", according to ESPN.com's Sean McAdam. In a 2014 poll conducted by Harris Interactive, professional football ranked as the most popular sport, and college football ranked third behind only professional football and baseball; 46\% of participants ranked some form of the game as their favorite sport. Professional football has ranked as the most popular sport in the poll since 1985, when it surpassed baseball for the first time. Professional football is most popular among those who live in the eastern United States and rural areas, while college football is most popular in the southern United States and among people with graduate and post-graduate degrees. Football is also the most-played sport by high school and college athletes in the United States. In a 2012 study, the NCAA estimated there were around 1.1 million high school football players and nearly 70,000 college football players in the United States; in comparison, the second-most played sport, basketball, had around 1 million participants in high school and 34,000 in college. The Super Bowl is the most popular single-day sporting event in the United States, and is among the biggest club sporting events in the world in terms of TV viewership. The NFL makes approximately $
$3 under antitrust law. Complementary national leagues The original XFL was created in 2001 by Vince McMahon and lasted for only one season. Despite television contracts with NBC and UPN, and high expectations, the XFL suffered from low quality of play and poor reception for its use of tawdry professional wrestling gimmicks, which caused initially high ratings and attendance to collapse. The XFL was rebooted in 2020. However after only five weeks of play, the league's operations slowly came to a close due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and filed for bankruptcy on April 13. The United Football League (UFL) began in 2009 but folded after suspending its 2012 season amid declining interest and lack of major television coverage. The Alliance of American Football lasted less than one season, unable to keep investors. International play upright=1.15|alt=Photograph of a Mexican youth division football team | Players with one of the youth divisions of the Borregos Salvajes football program of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City American football leagues exist throughout the world, but the game has yet to achieve the international success and popularity of baseball and basketball.Nelson 1993, p. 15. It is not an Olympic sport, but it was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Summer Olympics. At the international level, Canada, Mexico, and Japan are considered to be second-tier, while Austria, Germany, and France would rank among a third tier. These countries rank far below the United States, which is dominant at the international level. NFL Europa, the developmental league of the NFL, operated from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 2007. At the time of its closure, NFL Europa had five teams based in Germany and one in the Netherlands. In Germany, the German Football League (GFL) has 16 teams and has operated for over 40 seasons, with the league's championship game, the German Bowl, closing out each season. The league operates in a promotion and relegation structure with German Football League 2 (GFL2), which also has 16 teams. The BIG6 European Football League functions as a continental championship for Europe. The competition is contested between the top six European teams. The United Kingdom also operated several teams within NFL Europe during the League's tenure, the resulting rise in popularity of the sport brought the NFL back to the country in 2007 where they now hold the NFL International Series in London, currently consisting of four regular season games. The continuing interest and growth in both the sport and the series has led to the possible formation of a potential NFL franchise in London An American football league system already exists within the UK, the BAFANL, which has ran under various guises since 1983. It currently has 70 teams operating across the tiers of contact football in which teams aim to earn promotion to the Division above, with the Premier Division teams competing to win the Britbowl, the annual British Football Bowl game that has been played since 1985. In 2007 the British Universities American Football League was formed. From 2008, the BUAFL was officially associated with the National Football League (NFL), through its partner organisation NFL UK. In 2012, BUAFL's league and teams were absorbed into BUCS after American football became an official BUCS sport. Over the period 2007 to 2014, the BUAFL grew from 42 teams and 2,460 participants to 75 teams and over 4,100 people involved. American football federations are present in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania; a total of 64 national football federations exist as of July 2012. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF), an international governing body composed of continental federations, runs tournaments such as the IFAF World Championship, the IFAF Women's World Championship, the IFAF U-19 World Championship and the Flag Football World Championship. The IFAF also organizes the annual International Bowl game. The IFAF has received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Several major obstacles hinder the IFAF goal of achieving status as an Olympic sport. These include the predominant participation of men in international play and the short three-week Olympic schedule. Large team sizes are an additional difficulty, due to the Olympics' set limit of 10,500 athletes and coaches. American football also has an issue with a lack of global visibility. Nigel Melville, the CEO of USA Rugby, noted that "American football is recognized globally as a sport, but it's not played globally." To solve these concerns, major effort has been put into promoting flag football, a modified version of American football, at the international level. Popularity and cultural impact United States "Baseball is still called the national pastime, but football is by far the more popular sport in American society", according to ESPN.com's Sean McAdam. In a 2014 poll conducted by Harris Interactive, professional football ranked as the most popular sport, and college football ranked third behind only professional football and baseball; 46\% of participants ranked some form of the game as their favorite sport. Professional football has ranked as the most popular sport in the poll since 1985, when it surpassed baseball for the first time. Professional football is most popular among those who live in the eastern United States and rural areas, while college football is most popular in the southern United States and among people with graduate and post-graduate degrees. Football is also the most-played sport by high school and college athletes in the United States. In a 2012 study, the NCAA estimated there were around 1.1 million high school football players and nearly 70,000 college football players in the United States; in comparison, the second-most played sport, basketball, had around 1 million participants in high school and 34,000 in college. The Super Bowl is the most popular single-day sporting event in the United States, and is among the biggest club sporting events in the world in terms of TV viewership. The NFL makes approximately $