There have been several short-lived football leagues before, including the United Football League, United States Football League and XFL. They have acquired investments from Silicon Valley firms that will allow their eight-team league to start playing a week after the Super Bowl in February 2019. They will also launch a smartphone app on which fans will be able to stream games and play fantasy football. “This is not a development league,” Ebersol said. He said the league would appeal to the tens of millions of fans who play fantasy football but must stop playing once the N.F.L.

Source: New York Times March 20, 2018 15:22 UTC