Where's the Spring League?

And, as part of spring Minnesota Vikings fans have fretted over free-agency moves and watched with rapt wonder as the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft unfolded absolutely perfectly for the team. We've seen the improbably re-signing of Anthony Barr, and home-town hero Adam Thielen's new contract--both of which we, in typical Vikings fan manner, doubted would happen.

So, now what? Now that the excitement has settled and we see the odd hype clip from the team's mini camps, we're hitting that very dull part of the offseason. While in early May there is still interest in the team's OTAs, the built in fun factor for hearing about the off-season conditioning program and mini camps is surprisingly short and training camp won't start until the end of July.

The NFL is still the reigning king of professional sports in the United States and there is nothing quite like it for hype, pageantry, and action when every game is so important because the season is so comparatively short. Every year during the preseason there is the suggestion that the NFL will/should shorten the preseason to just two games and extend the regular season by two games. But the violence of the sport and the restrictions on team rosters makes that suggestion controversial. It has the potential to be an issue when the league and the players' union negotiate their next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

What is the solution for feeding the public's interest in football, lest the market become distracted with other options like the growing interest in MLS soccer?

This year we saw the Alliance of American Football attempt to fill that sports entertainment void. It didn't last a year, but it showed that fans were interested in having another option for football viewing. Since finance was a major element of why the AAF folded, we can't help wondering if it will encourage more attempts at a spring/developmental league for football.

Baseball and hockey teams have minor league clubs to help develop players, why not football? It seems like it would be beneficial to teams, to players who are trying to break into the NFL, and to owners, so why don't we see it happening?

We don't know, but we have a long time to wonder while we wait through the interminable NFL offseason. *sigh*