League History

Here on League History, i'll describe the storyline leading to the creation of the BFL.

Jim Tading's Idea


Billionaire Jim Tading founded the Backbreaker Football League in 2013. He got the idea in 2012 from watching a NFL game in his hometown of El Paso, Texas. He was down in the dumps after another failed attempt to buy the NFL's Houston Texans franchise. So, he got the idea of trying to convince then League GM Roger Goodell to expand the NFL, but that was in vain as well. A week later, he got the idea to found his own league. Almost a year later, he made the announcement of the formation of the Backbreaker Football League.

Tading's Plan
Almost from the very beginning, the BFL was met with criticism from skeptics. Tading wasn't the first person to attempt to create a developmental football league in the US, or even build a league to rival the NFL. From larger-scale attempts like the rise, death, resurrection and eventual re-sinking of the USFL (1983-1985, 2002-2006), to lower scale attempts like the AFL, IPFL and the UFL, they all met with pretty much the same result: they form, last anywhere from one to three seasons, and fold due to lack of public interest. It was this model that prevented most from trying to branch outside of the NFL when it came to football in the US. So what made the BFL different from the rest? One, was their founder and commissioner, Jim Tading. Not only did he possess the wealth necessary to support the league's inevitable early loss of funds (being worth around $1.3B certainly helps), but he was also a knowledgeable fan of the game, and had a genuine love for the sport, add in his obvious skills in business and management, and there wasn't a better man for the task at hand than Jim. Two, was his strategy. Knowing most failing leagues announced their formation shortly before opening their doors, in an attempt to gain early interest, he set out on a different path. He announced the formation of the BFL a full two years before the league was set to open their doors. The idea was simple: by announcing the league early, it planted the seed of possibility in the minds of the public. Of course there would be skeptics and those who dismissed it entirely as "another disaster waiting to happen". As time went on and the deadline (which only he and the shareholders knew) approached, more and more information would be made available to the public. Interest would increase organically. By the deadline, the league would have enough of a loyal fanbase that Tading wouldn't be financially drained supporting the league until they made enough of a profit to execute Tading's two biggest long-term goals: a multi-year deal with a top network, and "Project Maximus", which consisted of expanding the league to markets such as London, England and Vancouver, Canada, something Tading knew would take time to do.