Group unveils ‘radical pitch’ for new college football super league

A group spearheaded by TurnkeyZRG CEO Len Perna and former MLS Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott has unveiled its “radical pitch for a reimagined top tier of Division I football,” and it is “less a series of subtle tweaks than a full-scale factory reset,” according to Laine Higgins of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The group, College Sports Tomorrow, said that the College Student Football League would be “split into two tiers, with different divisions based on geography.” The top 72 programs would be “split into 12 six-team divisions, with the remaining 64 spread across eight divisions in a lower tier.” Teams in the top tier would “play 13 games, with the best performers in one season receiving the toughest opponents the next.” Historic rivalries would be “given preference for non-divisional games.” There would be “no true promotion or relegation,” though the top teams in the lower tier would “compete for two berths in the 24-team playoff and receive additional funds.” Given the legal issues and the broadcast deals involved, the prospect of it happening anytime soon are “closer to a Hail Mary than a quick completion.” The CSFL hopes to “exist as a parallel structure to the NCAA,” with the league implementing a “salary cap and floor for teams as well as pay scales for athletes’ endorsement earnings based on their position and on-field usage.” Athletes would “collectively bargain with the league through a players’ association,” the format of which “would depend on whether athletes are reclassified as employees.” Revenue would be split with 94% going to the 72 teams in the top tier, with the programs that “drive the most viewers and win the most games receiving larger shares” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/1).