Current season, competition or edition: 2024 GDFL season | |
| Classification | Low-level minor league |
|---|---|
| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 2010 |
| President | Charles Thompson |
| Commissioner | Khalid Bey |
| No. of teams | 19 |
| Countries | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Racine Raiders (2nd title) |
| Most titles | Oklahoma Thunder (5 titles) |
| Official website | gdfl |
The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level American football minor league[1][2] based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model.[3][4] The GDFL acts as an umbrella group that encompasses teams from across the Contiguous United States.[5]
As of April 2023[update], the league has 29 teams. The GDFL plays a playoff format similar to NCAA tournament, as 14 teams make the playoffs, with the two finalists meet in the Gridiron Bowl. The league also has an All-Star game called Hype Bowl, where the best players from the Impact Conference meet their counterparts from Xtreme Conference, and played annually before the championship game.
Teams' typical payroll budget changes between franchises, while salary payment also varies per players and per skillset – as some are getting paid, others are not paid at all and some are getting only "gas money".[6]
The league have partnering agreements with the Elite Football League of India (EFLI)[7] and the Federación Deportiva Nacional de Fútbol Americano de Chile (FDNFA)[8] for player development.
- ^ "Salt Lake Senate The Mission Vision and Plan".
- ^ "2021 Senate Football Information". Facebook.
- ^ "Gridiron Developmental Football League – About". Gridiron Developmental Football League. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ "Joplin Crusaders add second team".
- ^ "Red & Black move to new league". WWNY.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
SIwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Oklahoma Thunder Football agrees to foreign exchange player program".
- ^ "Chile Players to Compete in H.Y.P.E. BOWL".