Tag: Arena Football League

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher arrives at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

Amid turmoil, Jeff Fisher to lead Arena Football League

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Former NFL coach Jeff Fisher has been named interim commissioner of the Arena Football League.

Fisher is taking the place of Lee Hutton, who didn’t have the support of team owners as the league attempted to reboot after four dormant seasons. He exited the job on Tuesday.

The AFL began the season on April 27 with 16 teams. Since then, four franchises have either folded or pulled out of the league for the rest of the season. Two more have been moved to inactive status.

One of the remaining teams is the Nashville Kats, where Fisher is the president of football operations. He will remain in that job, The Tennessean reported.

Fisher, 66, previously was the head coach of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (1994-2010) and St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2012-16).

“Months ago when I decided to help return the Nashville Kats and arena football to the Music City, I did so because of my affection for Nashville and wanting to give back to the community that has been a blessing to me and my family over the years,” Fisher said in a news release. “We are now three weeks into the season and the league needs help and I agreed to help the league. I am honored the owners collective have confidence in me to lead them.”

The AFL dates to 1987 and was in business until 2008. It returned in 2010, then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2019 and was discontinued before the 2020 season.

G6 Sports Investment Group now operates the league.

–Field Level Media

Why Smaller Sports League Want in on Legal Sports Betting

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

While the four major U.S. sports leagues wrestle with how to approach the rapidly expanding legal sports betting market in the states, a bevy of smaller leagues and sports organizations are quickly embracing the emerging market.

The reason various niche sports are seeking out deals with sportsbook operators, gaming companies and sports information providers is grounded in the desire to expand their sports through the increased fan engagement that sports wagering can stimulate.

The four big dogs — Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League — have long known that gambling drives eyeballs, but as longtime opponents of legal sports betting, they are proceeding more cautiously in this new era. In fact, the leagues are calling for federal intervention on sports betting once again. But in any framework, legal sports betting is good for business and a potential lifeline for leagues fighting to stay afloat.

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