National Elite Football League

From pipeline to competitor

Official name: National Elite Football League (NEFL).

Founded in 2022 by Cody Harrison after a conversation with Jaxson Walls about the McCauley Rules turned a joke about “making his own league” into a real project.

Cody personally risked approximately $250 million to create the league. The football world initially believed he was joking.

Original purpose: a developmental/semi-pro alternative and direct NFL pipeline. That was the league’s beginning, not its endgame.

Modern mission: be a standalone professional football league and direct competitor to the NFL.

By 2060 the NFL and NEFL both view the other as a competitor. The NFL remains somewhat stronger overall, but the talent gap is not large.

Defining football identity: physicality. The NEFL never adopted the McCauley Rules or anything adjacent and openly markets itself as the more physical version of professional football.

The league stopped referring to itself as developmental/semi-pro in 2044. The NFL proposed a merger; the NEFL declined. That refusal is a major competitive turning point.

2048 is the first season in which an NEFL player could realistically view the league as a permanent career without needing the NFL.

The league deliberately plays spring football during the NFL offseason.

Don Branch historical role: Los Angeles Heat Waves QB; 26,567 passing yards, 277 passing TD, two championships, no MVP. He was generally viewed as a top-five quarterback rather than the league’s best player, but is remembered as the second-most important person in NEFL history behind Cody Harrison because he pioneered choosing the NEFL itself over NFL opportunities.

Cody Harrison

Founder and original league owner/commissioner. Commissioner tenure: 2023–2042.

Initial ESPN carriage was obtained aggressively; Cody described the early arrangement as effectively bribing ESPN to give the league a chance.

NFL involvement in establishing the original pipeline was limited to roughly 15%.

Cody realized by 2036 that the developmental league could become something much larger.

Died October 30, 2061.

The championship trophy was named for Cody Harrison beginning in 2066.

Within NEFL history he is remembered first as the founder, even though he was also a major NFL quarterback.

Hall of Fame induction was automatic because of his founder status.

Ownership

At first only five owners controlled the primary franchises: Myles Cross (Top Guns), Donovan Turner (Heat Waves), Jordan Johnson (Cyclones), Andrew Larsson (Rollers), and Cliff Cardwell (Sharks).

In the modern league every franchise has its own owner; one person may not own multiple NEFL franchises.

Owners may own teams in other professional sports. There is no prohibition on owning both NFL and NEFL interests.

Purchasing a modern franchise requires billionaire-level financial capacity.

Relocation requires approval from three-quarters of owners.

The Top Guns ownership standard

Myles Cross founded/acquired the Top Guns on October 17, 2022. His money came from real estate.

Cross ran Tampa like a real NFL organization while other early owners often treated the league casually. His motto: “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

The Walls family purchased Tampa in 2033 for $767 million. The group was headed by Mac Walls with Trever and Jacob Walls involved.

Jaxson Walls deliberately had no role in the Walls family purchase and said he would rather die than be associated with Mac Walls.

Mac retained Cross’s successful football infrastructure under an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy and remained heavily involved in operations.

Greatest owner in NEFL history: Mac Walls.

Boston becomes Arizona

Jaxson Walls purchased the Boston Minutemen in 2054, relocated the franchise to his home state, and rebranded it as the Arizona Rattlers.

Jaxson wanted an Arizona sports monopoly alongside his Diamondbacks and Suns interests and was motivated in part by competing with Mac as an owner.

He is 100% involved in football operations, spends aggressively, and openly admits the ego behind Jaxson Walls Field at Rattlers Stadium.

Greatest head coach in NEFL history: Hendrick Cobb, Arizona Rattlers.

Competition format

20 teams split between the National Football Conference (NFC) and Elite Football Conference (EFC).

Regular season: 13 games with bye weeks.

Playoffs: 14 teams total; seeds #1–#7 in each conference. The #1 seed receives a first-round bye.

Every playoff round is single elimination.

NEFL Bowl is played at a neutral site. Owners vote on the host, and a site cannot host in consecutive years.

Regular-season overtime uses college-football-style rules and cannot end in a tie.

Postseason overtime uses NFL-style rules: guaranteed possessions where applicable, then sudden death.

Physicality is a deliberate league identity. There are no McCauley-style blindside-hit rules.

Draft and entry

Modern NEFL draft eligibility: anyone age 18 or older.

Players may enter directly from high school; college players may leave school early specifically for the NEFL.

Draft length: four rounds. Draft order is determined by team record.

Undrafted players enter through AAA or tryouts.

If an NEFL player leaves for the NFL and later returns, his NEFL rights reset.

Restricted free agency and franchise-tag-style mechanisms exist.

The California development system

Every NEFL franchise controls a 53-man AAA affiliate in California.

California concentration is deliberate: reliable weather and reduced travel because the developmental league is geographically compact.

AAA mainly houses 18–19-year-olds who are not ready for the main roster, plus 3-star recruits, late bloomers, international talent, overlooked tryout players, and injury-rehab assignments.

An 18-year-old draft pick who is clearly not main-roster ready is automatically assigned to AAA.

Organizations do not lose rights to prospects for keeping them in AAA too long.

AAA teams are viewed primarily through their parent organizations, although the AAA championship is taken seriously.

AAA playoff format mirrors the NEFL.

Standardized modern AAA salary: roughly $85,000–$90,000.

AAA championship prize: $250,000.

AAA affiliate map is complete at 20 clubs. San Jose Sentinels are the Washington Monuments affiliate; Santa Clara Pioneers are the St. Louis Archers affiliate.

The original economy

Original concept restored for the earliest era: players did not begin with conventional salaries/contracts. Winning and NIL-style deals were central to compensation.

The early NEFL Bowl prize was $1,000,000 divided by roster size.

This incentive structure helped Tampa become dominant quickly: elite prospects wanted the organization most likely to win, gain exposure, and create earning opportunities.

A formal salary cap was introduced in 2035 after heavy public pressure that the league had become too predictable. Anti-Top Guns sentiment was a major cause. Myles Cross opposed the cap; Mac Walls later supported it.

Media and revenue sharing

National ESPN / YouTube TV media revenue is shared equally among all 20 teams.

League-wide sponsorship revenue is shared equally.

Local sponsorships, merchandise and premium seating are primarily retained by the individual franchise.

Ticket revenue: 80% to the home team and 20% to the league revenue-sharing pool.

Main national television partners: ESPN and YouTube TV.

Franchise identity

Five most popular teams: 1) Tampa Bay Top Guns, 2) Los Angeles Heat Waves, 3) Dallas Gunslingers, 4) Arizona Rattlers, 5) Las Vegas Rollers.

Tampa and Milwaukee are the league’s two most recognizable franchises for opposite reasons: Tampa for winning, Milwaukee for failure.

Tampa’s Ferrari + Red Bull relationship is team-level. The NEFL does not use one exclusive apparel supplier; each team negotiates its own apparel contract.

Naming rights are only one sponsorship category. Tampa and Arizona deliberately retain strong team/owner identity in stadium naming despite premium sponsor relationships.

Dynasties and droughts

Most championships: Tampa Bay Top Guns — 22.

Tampa has nine perfect regular seasons: 2024, 2026, 2027, 2034, 2045, 2047, 2050, 2069, 2070.

Greatest single team/season: 2050 Top Guns — 13–0, champions, league-best scoring, yards per game and point differential.

Greatest dynasty besides Tampa: Arizona Rattlers.

Longest championship drought: 48 years for Werewolves, Wasps and Sailors; Milwaukee’s 32-year drought is the second major historical benchmark.

Longest known playoff drought: Seattle — 35 seasons (2022–2056) in the completed year-by-year history.

Worst historical franchise reputation: Milwaukee; Atlanta is the other defining failure franchise.

Awards and voting

Major awards: MVP, Comeback Player of the Year (CBPOTY), Coach of the Year (COTY), Rookie of the Year (ROTY), Offensive Player of the Year (OPOTY), and Most Improved Player (MIP).

MVP and other major awards use a combined voting body of media, players and coaches.

All-NEFL First and Second Teams exist.

There is no Pro Bowl.

Outside winning the NEFL Bowl, MVP is the league’s most prestigious individual accomplishment.

The Milwaukee Collapse · 2023

Key West Sharks 43, Milwaukee Indians 42 (OT).

Milwaukee led 36–0 — the largest lead ever blown in NEFL history.

Patrick Hall Jr. led the historic comeback. Late in regulation Key West trailed 42–36 with 0:55 remaining and one timeout; Hall engineered the tying touchdown drive before the Sharks won in overtime.

The game helped cement Hall as the eventual No. 1 overall NFL Draft selection and simultaneously became the symbolic beginning of Milwaukee’s decades-long “curse.”

Hall’s later NFL postseason choking/yips mystery is intentionally unresolved. The Milwaukee game is the strongest evidence that he was not always a postseason choker.

2055 · Heat Waves 36, Rattlers 33

QBs: Jaxson Holloway (Los Angeles) vs. Nathan Henderson (Arizona). Hendrick Cobb coached Arizona.

Arizona led 33–30 with 27 seconds remaining. Jaxson Holloway found Bryant Thomas for a 34-yard game-winning touchdown.

NEFL Bowl MVP: Jaxson Holloway — 404 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT.

This was Arizona’s first NEFL Bowl under Jaxson Walls.

2064 · Rollers 39, Archers 37 (OT)

QBs: Damon Fairbanks (Las Vegas) vs. Tommy Thompson (St. Louis).

Fairbanks: 455 yards, 3 TD and NEFL Bowl MVP. Thompson: 488 yards, 3 TD.

Overtime became a possession-for-possession marathon before Las Vegas kicked the championship-winning field goal.

2069 · Top Guns 41, Rattlers 33

Davante Foster (Tampa) vs. Nathan Henderson (Arizona).

Foster: 466 passing yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; led Tampa back from a 27–9 deficit.

Henderson: 515 passing yards, 4 TD, 4 INT.

Combined QB production: 981 passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns.

NEFL Bowl MVP: Davante Foster.

The game is remembered as one of the league’s three greatest NEFL Bowls: high-scoring QB duel, major Tampa–Arizona bad blood, and an 18-point comeback.

The rivalries

Tampa Bay vs. Los Angeles: the league’s premier traditional rivalry since 2032 and Tampa’s #1 rival.

Tampa Bay vs. Arizona: genuine organizational bad blood. It began with Mac/Jaxson hostility but became a real rivalry once Arizona started winning.

Rattlers are the league’s second-most hated franchise largely because Jaxson Walls is associated with them.

Milwaukee has no true rival; its identity is built around its own failures and curse mythology.

An era-aware GOAT debate

Roads vs. Ryder is the normal overall debate even though many people acknowledge that a universal GOAT comparison is structurally unfair.

Ryder = dominance: 98–6, 22–2 playoffs, six rings in eight NEFL seasons.

Roads = completeness: 120–10, ten straight Bowls, six MVPs, five Bowl MVPs, five rings.

Foster = longevity + modern statistical supremacy: 83,209 yards, 717 TD, ten MVPs, four rings — but commonly called overrated when compared directly to his predecessors.

Hamlin = peak quarterbacking. Knox = non-QB supremacy.

The NEFL Hall of Fame

Location: Seattle, Washington — Cody Harrison’s hometown.

Eligibility: three years after retirement.

Voting threshold: 75% / three-quarters of the committee.

If a candidate fails, he or she returns in the next voting cycle.

Maximum 10 inductees per class.

Players, coaches, owners, commissioners and contributors use the same process.

Cody Harrison was automatically inducted as founder.

Franchise and transaction history

Boston Minutemen became the Arizona Rattlers when Jaxson Walls bought the franchise in 2054.

Trading did not exist at all before 2044. From 2044 onward, MLB-style trades of players/prospects/cash/salary retention are allowed; draft picks have never been tradable.

Los Angeles lost the 2056 NEFL Bowl to Arizona.

Tampa Bay lost the 2042 NEFL Bowl to Detroit.

Arizona won the 2065 NEFL Bowl over Milwaukee.