NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman have become franchise owners in the Fan Controlled Football League, the league announced in a press release last week. The NFL players are the league’s first two confirmed team owners.
Lynch and Sherman, who were key members of the 2013 Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII, will own separate FCFL teams and will both also serve as “fan captains” of their squads. That means they will work with their team’s fan base to decide on the best team name, logos, and color schemes. The FCFL will consist of eight teams that all compete at a single location (yet to be announced), so fans are expected to support teams based on their favorite brand and style of play rather than hometown location. NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana is an investor in the FCFL.
Fans essentially act as general managers in the FCFL. In addition to voting on a team’s branding and drafting players to build rosters, fans will also determine the play calling through a blockchain-based voting system. The outcome of each fan vote will be relayed to the quarterback and hopefully executed on the field. Games will feature seven-on-seven competition that typically lasts one hour, and will broadcast on Twitch as part of a multi-year streaming deal.
SportTechie Takeaway
Adding Lynch and Sherman as team owners—two prominent NFL players and unique personalities—is a savvy move by a startup football league trying to define its brand. Both players have previously entered the entrepreneurial space. Lynch launched his Beast Mode Football Gloves and Lynch starred in his own show on Facebook Watch, while Sherman launched his own daily fantasy sports site in August.