Invites to the XFL Summer Showcase have started to go out

[MikeMitchell]

@mygirlblue

I appreciate the kind words. I care deeply for the concept of having another viable pro football league in the states. I love the NFL. I love college football. It’s really about there being another avenue for football players and coaches. What I really want is a true pro league.

Developmental leagues? That’s a tough one. In theory, any league that isn’t the NFL, is a developmental league for them.

I am all for a true developmental league for the NFL. Like a minor league system but in order to pull that off. You need a developmental team for each NFL team. A 32 team league. That runs during an NFL season. For player call ups. It can be done but it would be very costly and it would be like the Gatorade league for the NBA. Kind of a developmental ground for coaches, players, referees and rules. The problem with it is, like minor league baseball or basketball. It would be hard to make it profitable.

The AAF had a chance but money matters. Everything sounds great on paper. Until you have to pay the bills. Same thing with the NFL. They tried with The NFL Europe. They lost so much money. They finally decided to close up shop.

[GDAWG]

@mygirlblue

I appreciate the kind words. I care deeply for the concept of having another viable pro football league in the states. I love the NFL. I love college football. It’s really about there being another avenue for football players and coaches. What I really want is a true pro league.

Developmental leagues? That’s a tough one. In theory, any league that isn’t the NFL, is a developmental league for them.

I am all for a true developmental league for the NFL. Like a minor league system but in order to pull that off. You need a developmental team for each NFL team. A 32 team league. That runs during an NFL season. For player call ups. It can be done but it would be very costly and it would be like the Gatorade league for the NBA. Kind of a developmental ground for coaches, players, referees and rules. The problem with it is, like minor league baseball or basketball. It would be hard to make it profitable.

The AAF had a chance but money matters. Everything sounds great on paper. Until you have to pay the bills. Same thing with the NFL. They tried with The NFL Europe. They lost so much money. They finally decided to close up shop.

A lot of people say that the NFL already has a developmental league that is free: the NCAA

[MikeMitchell]

@mygirlblue

I appreciate the kind words. I care deeply for the concept of having another viable pro football league in the states. I love the NFL. I love college football. It’s really about there being another avenue for football players and coaches. What I really want is a true pro league.

Developmental leagues? That’s a tough one. In theory, any league that isn’t the NFL, is a developmental league for them.

I am all for a true developmental league for the NFL. Like a minor league system but in order to pull that off. You need a developmental team for each NFL team. A 32 team league. That runs during an NFL season. For player call ups. It can be done but it would be very costly and it would be like the Gatorade league for the NBA. Kind of a developmental ground for coaches, players, referees and rules. The problem with it is, like minor league baseball or basketball. It would be hard to make it profitable.

The AAF had a chance but money matters. Everything sounds great on paper. Until you have to pay the bills. Same thing with the NFL. They tried with The NFL Europe. They lost so much money. They finally decided to close up shop.

A lot of people say that the NFL already has a developmental league that is free: the NCAA

There’s that too. I remember a time when the general consensus was that college football didn’t translate well to the pros. Like it wasn’t a great developmental area for the NFL. In terms of style of play, and the style of players.

It was an insult back in the day, to say that someone was a college system quarterback. That type of player would either be ignored or completely reprogrammed in the NFL. Someone like Kyler Murray, would never have been the first overall pick in the draft decades ago. Not just based on his size but the style of offense he played in.

The NFL has adopted so much of the college game, that the lines are now blurred. It used to be that the style between the pros and college, was so far apart. Now more than ever, the styles are more closely related.

[GregParks]

The Galette invite is interesting and it makes me wonder about players who may fall through the cracks, those being NFL vets who may have been out of the league for a year or two and want to come back. I'm not sure if the expected speed of play will be conducive to those players, but with many of the invites for the Summer Showcase going out to former AAF players, undrafted free agents from this year and current college players, is there an avenue for the veterans to get a spot, especially those who may not want to do traditional combine workouts like 40 times? I'm not expecting any Alvin Harpers like in the original XFL necessarily, but I hope that there is adequate communication lines open between agents, players, and the league to get some of those name veterans who might be interested.

[MikeMitchell]

The Galette invite is interesting and it makes me wonder about players who may fall through the cracks, those being NFL vets who may have been out of the league for a year or two and want to come back. I'm not sure if the expected speed of play will be conducive to those players, but with many of the invites for the Summer Showcase going out to former AAF players, undrafted free agents from this year and current college players, is there an avenue for the veterans to get a spot, especially those who may not want to do traditional combine workouts like 40 times? I'm not expecting any Alvin Harpers like in the original XFL necessarily, but I hope that there is adequate communication lines open between agents, players, and the league to get some of those name veterans who might be interested.

Hello Greg. Welcome to the board. I have seen your recent tweets about the league. You have some very good opinions and insight on the XFL.

You are a true XFL fan for bringing up Alvin Harper. Most people forget that he was a part of the league. He was a part of a small handful of name value vets that were a part of the original XFL. Harper didn’t bring much to the table. For Memphis, Wide Receiver Charles Jordan overshadowed him. Jordan was fantastic. He had NFL ability but was such a problem child off the field, that it hurt his chances to further his pro career.

In no way, do I mean this to be disparaging, because I am really excited about the 800 or so players that are going to get an opportunity to showcase their skills. The majority of the Showcase invites are entry level type pro players. Undrafted players from the last couple of years and young vets with some form of pro experience.
Players in that 21 to 26 year old range.

What has opened the door for some vets like a
Junior Galette, is the XFL allowing players to join The NFL before their league draft. Once the draft happens in October. You are locked into an XFL contract until the inaugural season ends. It’s entirely possible that someone like Galette does well at a showcase, is given a league contract, only to latch on with an NFL team in August. His willingness to go through a combine like workout impresses me. It shows his dedication to still play pro football.

Although the showcases are expected to be open to the media and potentially the public. How public will the XFL be about the actual testing results. If the media is on hand, they can independently bring a stopwatch, but will the league list 40 times for example, or will those numbers be kept internally. I am fascinated by how the league handles this.

Back to the veteran aspect. I don’t expect a large number of invites to be players who are in the 30 to 32 year old range. Veterans are going to try and avoid the showcases because they don’t want to go through the college rookie route of testing. They are also holding out hope for an NFL contract. They want to stay on that radar as long as they can.

A player like Terrelle Pryor for example, is probably holding out hope for more individual workouts, like the one he had in Seattle recently. He might just be the type of veteran who commands second tier money. The 175k a season range, if he entertains playing in the XFL.

[Tank55]

Wait, THE Greg Parks!?!

https://www.amazon.com/Was-Football-Stu ... 1608137120

[MikeMitchell]

Wait, THE Greg Parks!?!

https://www.amazon.com/Was-Football-Stu ... 1608137120

My assumption is that it is in fact him. We recently followed each other on Twitter. I feel bad because I didn’t even realize that he wrote a book about the league. Those reviews are not too kind. It makes me want to check out the book even more.

[GregParks]

Ha...yes, that's me, and no I wouldn't recommend buying the book. It did NOT turn out as I had hoped, and come to find out after the fact, the publisher was/is not exactly on the up-and-up. They had me edit my own book, which I had no experience doing, and the whole thing was just a mess. It was one of those things where I had always wanted to write a book (about a subject I felt passionately about) so I was blinded to all the issues that were cropping up with the publisher. Oh well. You live, you learn!

[MikeMitchell]

Ha...yes, that's me, and no I wouldn't recommend buying the book. It did NOT turn out as I had hoped, and come to find out after the fact, the publisher was/is not exactly on the up-and-up. They had me edit my own book, which I had no experience doing, and the whole thing was just a mess. It was one of those things where I had always wanted to write a book (about a subject I felt passionately about) so I was blinded to all the issues that were cropping up with the publisher. Oh well. You live, you learn!

Sounds like your book was the AAF of books. Your publisher must have been Charlie Ebersol. I am sure that there are some good observations, insights or stories buried in that book somewhere.

It’s awesome to have you on the forum. An original XFL “Stan” as you put it on social media. Looking forward to reading your opinions.

[GregParks]

Selfishly I hope the Summer Showcase isn't open to the public. I would SO go to the one in Tampa but I'm up in New York visiting family that week, so if it WASN'T open to the public I'd feel better about missing it