Reuters: TSL finds 'secret sauce' to survival

[Tank55]

Activist? The players aren't paid. It's not a footnote.

[4th&long]

Activist? The players aren't paid. It's not a footnote.

Not being "Paid" isn't a problem... they are getting something of value in exchange:

The article does not report the benefit and reason why players choose the TSL. Again its something along these lines that they should inform the reader about:

"The TSL is aiming to be a true Developmental league for the NFL. In return for their efforts and 8 week time commitment the players get coached by NFL veterans, workout and practice against top free agents to stay in football shape, and best of all get game film and exposure for all games produced by Fox Sports. Additionally all meals plus room & board are covered. In the absence of the TSL these players would have limited exposure."

Something along those lines which is an honest answer and explains to the reader why a person would really want to play in the league. Most aren't paying to play either.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

No he shouldn't be highlighting this as positive media coverage.

Again, it's already mentioned in the piece that there's no player payroll. There's no need to do so beforehand in more activist terms.

Really sloppy.

No, it exposes Woods as a liar because it quotes Woods as still calling his league professional even though it doesn't even fit the definition of semi-pro. And let's not beat around the bush: unless Woods thinks you're famous enough to bring eyeballs, you still have to pay the $2000 room and board for the privilege.

This is the sporting equivalent of an internship. No real compensation, no guarantee of employment, just "payment in exposure." Anyone in the arts and entertainment community will knowingly laugh at that phrase because they know what it entails.

[4th&long]

No he shouldn't be highlighting this as positive media coverage.

Again, it's already mentioned in the piece that there's no player payroll. There's no need to do so beforehand in more activist terms.

Really sloppy.

No, it exposes Woods as a liar because it quotes Woods as still calling his league professional even though it doesn't even fit the definition of semi-pro. And let's not beat around the bush: unless Woods thinks you're famous enough to bring eyeballs, you still have to pay the $2000 room and board for the privilege.

This is the sporting equivalent of an internship. No real compensation, no guarantee of employment, just "payment in exposure." Anyone in the arts and entertainment community will knowingly laugh at that phrase because they know what it entails.

I've mentioned this multiple times... Most players aren't paying a dime you are mistaken... See below...

>> How much is the registration fee?
The player development fee for the 2021 season will be $2,000. Players who have been in an NFL training within the past three years are not responsible for the development fee

Who is eligible to participate in The Spring League?
Any player who was draft eligible during a previous year's NFL draft, is eligible to participate in The Spring League.

Will I receive compensation if I’m accepted into The Spring League?
Players in The Spring League receive housing and meals. No additional compensation is provided.
~
The Spring League is the premier professional football development league operating in the U.S. <<

https://www.thespringleague.com/?page_id=132

I also think Woods said that TSL 2020 players may be exempt from the fee - They definitely don't need to pay for a tryout.

Also Woods clearly calls it a Dev league... see above; they pay the coaches and staffs, refs, stadium rents, etc... Professional may be a stretch for some but its clearly an Elite Dev league. FCF and IFL may pay chump change but players get way more out of the TSL than those leagues. Clearly not XFL/AAF but that's a diff take.

[nick1091]

Not being "Paid" isn't a problem... they are getting something of value in exchange:

The article does not report the benefit and reason why players choose the TSL. Again its something along these lines that they should inform the reader about:

"The TSL is aiming to be a true Developmental league for the NFL. In return for their efforts and 8 week time commitment the players get coached by NFL veterans, workout and practice against top free agents to stay in football shape, and best of all get game film and exposure for all games produced by Fox Sports. Additionally all meals plus room & board are covered. In the absence of the TSL these players would have limited exposure."

Something along those lines which is an honest answer and explains to the reader why a person would really want to play in the league. Most aren't paying to play either.

Beyond the "love of football," I would think it's generally understood a large amount of players go in alternate leagues for some degree of exposure. I don't think the article is trying to portray some kind of scam or indentured servitude on the part of TSL.

The title of the article sets the stage to basically ponder the question as to why they survive while others do not, and it's obviously in large part to the reduced overhead by not having player salary. Spelling out why players would do that in super flowery terms is the job for an in-house marketing team, not professional journalists.

By the way, I'm in an industry where Reuters was once a massive competitor (and total jerks), so if I thought they were being unfair or irresponsible I'd definitely call them out on it.

[4th&long]

[*]

Not being "Paid" isn't a problem... they are getting something of value in exchange:

The article does not report the benefit and reason why players choose the TSL. Again its something along these lines that they should inform the reader about:

"The TSL is aiming to be a true Developmental league for the NFL. In return for their efforts and 8 week time commitment the players get coached by NFL veterans, workout and practice against top free agents to stay in football shape, and best of all get game film and exposure for all games produced by Fox Sports. Additionally all meals plus room & board are covered. In the absence of the TSL these players would have limited exposure."

Something along those lines which is an honest answer and explains to the reader why a person would really want to play in the league. Most aren't paying to play either.

Beyond the "love of football," I would think it's generally understood a large amount of players go in alternate leagues for some degree of exposure. I don't think the article is trying to portray some kind of scam or indentured servitude on the part of TSL.

The title of the article sets the stage to basically ponder the question as to why they survive while others do not, and it's obviously in large part to the reduced overhead by not having player salary. Spelling out why players would do that in super flowery terms is the job for an in-house marketing team, not professional journalists.

By the way, I'm in an industry where Reuters was once a massive competitor (and total jerks), so if I thought they were being unfair or irresponsible I'd definitely call them out on it.

Partially agree, but for me as a reader, i like more info, ie whats the players angle. Plus as I posted above its factually inaccurate as R&B is covered.

I really think the non-payment issue is more to do with avoiding Workers Comp and Health Ins,

[Firecop]

I agree that it would have been nice if the article would have explored all sides of league participation; too many people are getting hung up on compensation (pay) vs. benefits. It's really no different than us sending our kids to soccer camp where we pay for them to be coached, trained, and evaluated against a higher level of competition than available at the local level. Whether you like the TSL's structure and business model or not, it has survived longer than either the AAF or XFL and there seems to be plenty of willing participants. This is one case that proves "Go BIG or Go Home" isn't always the right way.

[4th&long]

I agree that it would have been nice if the article would have explored all sides of league participation; too many people are getting hung up on compensation (pay) vs. benefits. It's really no different than us sending our kids to soccer camp where we pay for them to be coached, trained, and evaluated against a higher level of competition than available at the local level. Whether you like the TSL's structure and business model or not, it has survived longer than either the AAF or XFL and there seems to be plenty of willing participants. This is one case that proves "Go BIG or Go Home" isn't always the right way.

Agreed Firecop, with the exception that most of these players aren't even paying. Also agree that people are getting hung up on the pay/comp, if players didn't want to be there they simply wouldn't sign up. The players there see the benefit. And watching some of these QB's and players in general - It looks clear to me that they will have a much better chance getting evaluate by an NFL team AFTER a season like this one. Their skilz, timing, strength, muscle memory, etc... No doubt will improve or return to mid season form.

As far as the structure... Yes - agreed. And to me B Woods is making it clear what the difference is between an Alt/Minor league (XFL/AAF) vs a true Dev league. And I'll be the first to say as a fan I prefer the Alt league, then minor, then Dev league in that order. But they all have appeal. If The TSL can get NFL backing or endorsement they will get more appeal. And a Dev league is least threatening to the NFL.

Now there are somethings I'd like to see changed, but we'll save that for another thread. Bottomline TSL is making cost effective incremental improvements over time.

[MGB01]

I agree that it would have been nice if the article would have explored all sides of league participation; too many people are getting hung up on compensation (pay) vs. benefits. It's really no different than us sending our kids to soccer camp where we pay for them to be coached, trained, and evaluated against a higher level of competition than available at the local level. Whether you like the TSL's structure and business model or not, it has survived longer than either the AAF or XFL and there seems to be plenty of willing participants. This is one case that proves "Go BIG or Go Home" isn't always the right way.

They're "going big" without making any effort to do so. Consider we're on the eve of truly a one-time event in history, where a college game (JMU/SHSU) and a pro game (even if one would only consider TSL the bare framework) are on head-to-head on network TV (ABC vs FOX) on the second Saturday in May. At the very least it's a bit of trivia down the road.

Beats that Super Saturday that ESPN was trying to push a few years ago. I mentioned this previously, not only were they not involved in any of the games/events, but the one they did have (Sabercats/Rattlers I'm pretty sure was on ESPNEWS), crickets. The futility of trying to make a push without the NFL (or an appropriate alt league) or college football involved.

[nick1091]

As far as the structure... Yes - agreed. And to me B Woods is making it clear what the difference is between an Alt/Minor league (XFL/AAF) vs a true Dev league. And I'll be the first to say as a fan I prefer the Alt league, then minor, then Dev league in that order. But they all have appeal. If The TSL can get NFL backing or endorsement they will get more appeal. And a Dev league is least threatening to the NFL.

Not sure how a dev league is threatening to the NFL, they already have the world's biggest dev league in the NCAA.

At worst, I'd think the NFL would be ambivalent to TSL. At best, they'll happily look at the games and the potential TSL's uncovered a gem that could get some camp invites. From the sounds of it I think they were ok conceptually with AAF, they just weren't going to fund it or lend them players from the practice squad like Dunedin wanted when he took over.

XFL/CFL hybrid/merger, probably not as friendly a view. There could very well be some schedule overlap, and hopefully there'd be a path to actually retain players who are successful (I think one of the Luck vs. McMahon news articles specifically mentioned they were reaching out to PJ Walker's reps to retain him.)