The NFL- BFL Agreement

The Agreement that Changed Football


When you're a new league suspected to be taking on an already established giant, things can get tough. But, Jim Tading was prepared for whatever hardships his league would face. From 2015-2017, the league barely made enough to continue operations. But they never announced a suspension of operations. Why? Because even when things got tough, Tading never quit on his league. For every net loss the league concurred over the first three seasons, Hading made it up out of his pockets. The problem was, just being a Spring league wasn't enough to sustain interest in fans. What the BFL needed was two things, starpower and airtime. Research was done, and it was discovered that the NFL's 10-year contract with ESPN ended on April 23, 2018, @ 3:00 p.m.. Knowing this, Jim Tading made his boldest move yet. The previous night, he called then-NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. But, rather than announce he was contesting the NFL for the ESPN extention, he asked for a recommendation to better his position for their former CBS Sports Network deal they had for the 2015 season. That night, Robert Lavelle and Jim Tading worked out a deal that would lead to the solution Tading had been waiting for. The next day, sources confirmed that ESPN had signed a 20-year contract with the NFL, and a 5-year contract with the BFL. This, as big as it was for Tading and the BFL, was just the beginning. Thanks to the booming success of the 2018-2019 season, the league set history, by forming the 1st ever overseas franchise, the London United. Over the next two years, the BFL's popularity had soared to previously unimaginable heights. By 2020, the BFL was unquestionably the 2nd biggest american football league in the country, behind only the NFL. But, on August 3, 2021, history was made. At a press conference in Brooklyn, NY, BFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced he and BFL Commissioner Jim Tading had signed an inter-league agreement that was said to forevermore change pro football. The essential "peace treaty" between the two leagues benefited both sides, but the BFL had the better long-term deal. The treaty not only garnered even more public attention, but essentially protected the league as well.