Arena Football League New Teams and Expansion 2024

Arena Football League expansion contains cities 1. Austin 2. Bakersfield 3. Cincinnati 4. St. Louis and more.

Here is the list of cities announced for the 2024 AFL Relaunch:

• Bakersfield, California
• Chicago, Illinois
• Salem, Oregon
• Orlando, Florida
• Boise, Idaho
• Austin, Texas
• Denver, Colorado
• Everett, Washington
• St. Paul, Minnesota
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
• Odessa, Texas
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Nashville, Tennessee
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The majority of these cities already featured AFL teams in the past. Cities like Everett, St. Paul, and Salem are the first time featurettes. 

Arena Names For The AFL Teams 

AFL has not officially decided on the arena for the 2024 revamp. 

In the previous seasons, the franchises used to play at separate arenas, particularly in their home city.  Due to financial insecurities, they played at multi-purpose arenas and did not have unique separate stadiums owned by them. 

Some of the teams that will feature their cities again have the opportunity to play in the same arena again. Here are some former arenas where the previous cities allowed their franchises to play their AFL games:

• Austin – Frank Erwin Center
• Cincinnati – Riverfront Coliseum
• Denver – Pepsi Center
• Nashville – Gaylord Entertainment Center
• Orlando – Amway Center
• Philadelphia – Wells Fargo Center
• St. Louis – Scottrade Center
• Minneapolis – Target Center
• Jacksonville – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
• Anaheim – Thomas & Mack Center

The regular season is designed to be a 10-match format, which means that all the teams will not get to play against each other the same year. This format is similar to 32 NFL teams playing only 17 games each.

With the relaunch happening again in 2024, arena football fans will once again get to enjoy their beloved indoor event rise up in multiple cities. F1 Sports purchased the company’s rights in 2022, and they will be a major financial and broadcasting force behind the revamp. 

Arena Football League Teams 2024 are Orlando Predators and Philadelphia Soul. AFL has not confirmed all the team names. 

They will play in cities like Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Orlando. 

With some of the cities getting their teams back, they have already decided on their franchise names. For instance, Orlando will have their franchise name as Orlando Predators.

Similarly, Odessa’s franchise had put out a name West Texas Warbirds, but their announcement Facebook post has been removed as of 26 July. 

Here is the list of some former AFL franchises that played with their dates of operation:

• Anaheim Piranhas: 1994 – 1997
• Austin Wranglers: 2004 – 2007
• Carolina Cobras: 2000 – 2004
• Chicago Bruisers: 1987 – 1989
• Cincinnati Rockers:1992 – 1993
• Dallas Desperados: 2002 – 2008
• Georgia Force: 2002 – 2012
• Iowa Barnstormers: 2010 – 2014
• Las Vegas Outlaws: 2015
• Nashville Kats: 1997 – 2007
• St. Louis Stampede: 1995 – 1996
• Utah Blaze: 2006 – 2013
• Tampa Bay Storm: 1987 – 2017
• Detroit Fury: 2001 – 2004
• Baltimore Brigade: 2017 – 2019

Arena Football player salary ranges from $775 to $1500 per game. The remuneration differed per the position and popularity. 

Average arena football player salary is $700 to $800. Getting $1500 was for superstars like Wide Receiver TT Oliver who was excellent talent. Important positions like QBs also got bonus paychecks up to $250. 

This remuneration range is relatively low compared to an NFL player who receives an average of $2.8 million per season. 

Due to lower wages, many AFL athletes had to work part-time in other industries to sustain their life, which questioned their full-time dedication to improving their football skills. One such example is the Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner. 

Kurt Warner played in Arena Football for Iowa Brainstormers from 1995 to 1997. Warner had to work at a supermarket during his AFL career as a side job. 

Highest Paid Player In Arena Football 

Highest Paid Arena Football player is Anthony Robert Graziani who earned $200,000 in the 2007 season.

A former NFL Quarterback for Atlanta Falcons, Graziani joined the AFL through Los Angeles Avengers in 2001. Later, he joined Philadelphia Soul where he ended his professional football career in 2008. 

The ArenaBowl XXII champion, Graziani made 23,606 passing yards in total and led to 494 touchdowns from 1812 completed passes.

Anthony only allowed 68 interceptions during his AFL career. With a passer rating of 116.77, he became a superstar and earned heaps of money during his last AFL years. 

The Indoor Football League salary is at least $37,000 per season. This league is similar to AFL and has been active since 2008, and contains 14 teams in 2023. In 2012, the wages for the IFL players ranged from $250 to $500 on a weekly basis.

Arena Football tryouts are not open for the AFL since the team names have been officially announced. The new AFL season will start in April 2024. 

Meanwhile, Indoor Football League teams like Northern Arizona Wranglers have already completed their tryouts in March 2023. The Wrangler’s session happened at Prescott Valley’s Bradshaw Mountain High School.

Bay Area Panthers also conducted their own tryouts on 25 February 2023, and the cost for registration was $65. The participants were also told to bring their own equipment. 

Registration is a must for entering tryouts and strict time is present for the athlete’s evaluation. These IFL tryouts feature the athletes bringing their own gear and accessories. 

Indoor Football League rules state that the play clock will begin 25 seconds after the ball is spotted upon the previous play. 

The league has also made certain changes to its previous regulations. For instance, there is a termination of the positive yardage rule in the final 6 seconds of the match. Likewise, the league has allowed the application of the Deuce rule throughout the game duration. 

Here are some other rules that the players need to follow in IFL:

• Fumbles can only be recovered by the player who lost it in the Fourth down in order to advance ahead.
• Eligible Receivers are only allowed to receive the handoff. There is no restriction on the number of handoffs. 
• An illegal forward pass will result in a loss of down and 5 yards of penalty. 
• The defensive team cannot mirror against a sole receiver. 
• Only 1 player is permitted to go to the sidelines to talk strategy with the head coach during plays. 

Arena Football Overtime Rules

Arena Football Overtime rules state that the time frame is limited to 15 minutes. This regulation is applied in both playoffs and the regular season. 

Both the teams in OT will receive one possession to score a touchdown. if the offensive team racks up points in their possession, then the defensive team automatically loses, and thus cannot go on offense. 

AFL contains a smaller field compared to NFL, with 50 yards length and an even smaller red zone that features an 8-yard zone. The team roster is limited to 20 with 1 substitution per quarter (non-specialists only).