What do Jeremy Lin, Joe DiMaggio, Jason Terry and Danny Green all have in common? Most fans would say they could all be considered star athletes in their respective sports or that they have all showed signs of superb athleticism. Besides having excellent hand-eye coordination, each of these major stars has had a career in the minor league before taking center stage in a professional arena. All major sports, including baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer feature a developmental minor league, except football. What if the National Football League were to construct a developmental league?

Currently there are two major professional American football leagues in the world, the NFL and the Canadian Football League. The NFL currently holds 32 teams, three of which are among the top 10 most valuable teams in sports, according to Forbes. The other seven are a mixture of major professional soccer, baseball and basketball teams. All three sports feature a premier developmental league. Soccer has the Premier Development League, basketball has the National Basketball Association Development League and baseball has Minor League Baseball (MiLB).

One major advantage of an NFL developmental league would be player availability and an increase in level of play. NFL teams would be able to call up players who have very recent playing experience on a slightly smaller level. In the 2014-15 season, the NBA Development League had 30 players called up to play on NBA teams. 

The MiLB circuit features four levels of difficulty that allow players to develop over time in a moving up the ladder system. If a developmental football league was created, it could allow teams to maintain their level of competitiveness. Because backups are often forced to take on a starting role for a good portion of the season, they tend to fall short to the play of their predecessor. Meanwhile, a starting developmental player who was moved into a second string or starting position in the big leagues would have very recent game experience.

The developmental league would also allow both drafted and undrafted players to hone their skills while allowing fans to see them play on another stage. Imagine if Heisman Trophy winner and NFL flop Tim Tebow had been given shot at redemption after his rookie season, or if he started his professional career in a league that could have better fostered his fundamental growth. Tebow could have served as Peyton Manning’s backup this past Super Bowl or found the way to transition his playing style to the NFL.

The question arises when and where they would play. The NBA D-League teams play from November to April in smaller expo centers and arenas. MiLB teams also play during the MLB regular season at all levels that feature their own stadium or small ballpark. This ensures that when a player moves up, he won’t be playing in an unconditioned season, which could make the transition easier. 

The NFL developmental league could possibly play during the NFL regular season at NFL stadiums during the away games of the home team. It could also serve as a pure developmental league for college football players leaving college for the draft and form a league in the spring following the college football championship and continuing into the middle of summer.  A spring developmental league would resemble the infamous United State Football League that existed in the 1980s.

The USFL final spring season served as the initial professional realm for both three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Steve Young and two-time Pro Bowl running back Herschel Walker before they both became NFL Stars. Walker averaged 4.9 yards per carry and totaled 737 rushing yards his rookie NFL season. Young threw for 935 yards with a 52 percent completion rate while only playing five games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1985.

With a developmental league in place, NFL fans would be able to watch football all year long. The biggest issue would be the money aspect. According to Forbes, the Dallas Cowboys, one of the NFL’s 32 teams, are worth $3.2 billion and the most valuable team in the NFL. An NFL developmental league would be an investment definitely worth it for both the players and the fans.