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Steelers fans might’ve forgotten these 5 defunct football leagues

By Ryan Pawloski

CARSON, CA - MARCH 08: Tampa Bay Vipers football and helmet seen on the sideline while playing the LA Wildcats at Dignity Health Sports Park during an XFL game on March 8, 2020 in Carson, California. L.A. won 41-34. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA - MARCH 08: Tampa Bay Vipers football and helmet seen on the sideline while playing the LA Wildcats at Dignity Health Sports Park during an XFL game on March 8, 2020 in Carson, California. L.A. won 41-34. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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Ken Stabler #12 of the Oakland Raiders is shown in a photo dated 1978 in a game. (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images) /

World Football League (WFL)

The WFL was a new football league that wanted to push the NFL immediately. The idea was to make a worldwide operation that could expand the game of football. It also wanted to create a new salary opportunity for players in the NFL that felt that their contracts were unfair.

They did accomplish that task as they got some big-name players at the time to sign contracts with some of their teams. Ken Stabler signed with the Birmingham Americans and John Gilliam, a pro bowler for the Minnesota Vikings at the time, signed with the Hawaiians. None of them would actually play with those teams.

The WFL never got to push the envelope and raise their contract amounts enough to compete against the NFL. They did help players like Stabler and others to re-up with their NFL clubs on a better contract. They were not able to field any headline names on gamedays and couldn’t continue their expansion.

They only lasted a season and a half before they folded. They had a vision to expand the game of American football past the coast of the 50 states that it called home. They couldn’t accomplish that as they couldn’t get any further than Hawaii. They did set the mindset of getting other countries involved as the NFL is trying to get more games in different countries around the world.

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