The Pacific Pro Football League, a "developmental" conference designed for players between high school and the NFL, is expected to start hiring players later this year for play in the summer of 2018.
There must be a need for it. A similar instructional league is being started at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
The West Coast league will have four 50-player teams and pay an average $50,000 per player, reported ESPN. The teams will be based in Southern California and play an eight-game schedule in 2018.
Pacific Pro Football was founded by Don Yee, quarterback Tom Brady's agent, and former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey,
"Pac Pro's concept of 'education' is expansive," said Yee. "Every team will have a counselor to help players develop their interests academically and/or vocationally, and assist with coordinating meaningful internships in their fields of interest."
USA Today said rules will be created to enhance safety and let NFL scouts see interesting matchups. The league will recruit coaches with NFL experience to teach pro-style schemes in an immersive environment.
McCaffrey said the development league could be an option for players not interested in playing in college and needing financial support.
"It'll make sense for a lot of young men and a lot of families," McCaffrey told USA Today. "We're hoping to provide them with that choice."
USA Today noted that funding has been a problem with other professional football minor league attempts. Yee said the start-up has received some angel financing from family and friends and he has met with a potential investor and media partners. He said there are no endorsements or backing yet from the NFL or its players' union.
One of the grandest development attempts with full NFL backing was the NFL Europe, which ended in 2007, noted The Guardian. The league ended after 16 seasons and an annual loss of about $30 million.
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told The Guardian in June 2016 that the timing might be right to get involved in a development league again.
"We've reached a point where we really should be looking more at a developmental league, and I really expect that to begin here in the next year or so," Jones told The Guardian. "We lost a lot of money on NFL Europe, but there were a lot of things the league did well and for all of those reasons – coaches, officiating, players, quarterbacks in particular – it's something we really do need to be looking at and studying. The time might be right to do it."
The Associated Press reported Monday that another independent developmental professional football league, headed by NFL scout John Peterson, is expected to start a training camp on April 5.
The West Virginia league will have four teams and will play six games in a three-week span.
"There's a tremendous need for a developmental and instructional league," Peterson told the AP. "The purpose is to help players get selected for the NFL and other pro leagues in Canada or Arena football."