Understanding Sports Leagues: How Promotion and Relegation Really Work

NFL fans are accustomed to the closed structure of the league, where the same 32 franchises compete annually. This approach provides a structure for the rivalries and narratives that teams and fans engage in, and rooting for a team is often passed down from one generation to the next.

On the other hand, European leagues have a promotion and relegation system that allows teams to move up from a lower league or be relegated to a lower one. In this article, we’ll explain the difference and how the NFL could possibly benefit from exploring the European approach.

What is Promotion and Relegation?

Promotion and relegation a way of linking multiple divisions in a sport. European soccer leagues are structured in tiers. At the end of each season, the best teams in a lower division earn promotion to a higher tier, while the worst teams are relegated to a lower division.

For example, the English Premier League has 20 teams, and the bottom three are relegated to the lower league, known as the Championship. The top two teams from the Championship advance, and the third spot is decided through a playoff between the teams ranked 3rd to 6th.

This creates drama not only at the top of the league, but also at the very bottom, and fans are often more engaged by the relegation than by who will win the title.

How Did The Relegation System Come to Be?

The promotion and relegation approach has a long history. It started in the 19th century when most clubs were organized locally. As the league expanded and became more structured, the teams linked together into a pyramid organization.

The concept proved very popular among fans, as it allowed even the smallest teams to dream big and strive for promotion to a higher league every season. It was imagined as a meritocratic system.

The US Model: Closed Leagues

By contrast, the NFL and other US leagues have a closed system. Teams are admitted to the league through relocation and expansion, rather than based on their performance. For instance, teams that often perform poorly within the league, such as the Carolina Panthers or Arizona Cardinals, are in, and there’s no chance they could lose the spot.

The NFL employs other methods to maintain league balance in terms of quality. These include:

· The draft system enables weaker teams to acquire more draft picks and enhance their rosters. Drafts, therefore, play a significant role in the league’s timetable, and many crypto NFL betting sites allow players to make wagers on the outcome of the drafts alongside the outcome of the games themselves. According to experts from Webopedia, the draft is the period during which most bets are made.

· Salary caps limit how much a team can spend within a season and therefore create a balanced field in which bigger and more wealthy teams can’t simply overspend the smaller ones.

· Revenue generated from merchandising and exclusive rights to broadcast NFL games is distributed evenly among the teams, regardless of their size and success.

Comparing the Two Models

The two models are different in their intentions and outcomes. The differences include:

Competition and Parity

In European leagues, the competition is both about winning and survival. A mid-tier club won’t be able to compete for the title, but being 17th, instead of 18th, in the league is a victory in itself, as it allows the team to stay in the league.

The parity in the NFL is largely influenced by the rules governing drafts. Teams are allowed to improve themselves and to reinvent their strategy with each draft. This keeps things interesting, even for teams that don’t have a chance of winning, but in a different way than in European soccer.

Economic Implications

Relegation to a lower league comes with significant financial costs, which can be devastating for a team. Dropping from the Premier League to the Championship can cost the team as much as $100 million in TV rights revenue. To address these issues, the league has introduced parachute payments to prevent bankruptcies.

There’s no such volatility for teams in the NFL, regardless of their standing. Stability is one of the most important values for owners, sponsors, and networks.

Opportunities for Small Clubs/Teams

The underdog story in European soccer leagues is about teams that come from a lower league and win big once they are promoted to the Premier League. For instance, Leicester City’s 2016 Premier League title was one such story, as the team managed to be promoted from the Championship and win it within just two years.

In the NFL, such underdog stories are still possible, but they typically involve teams that have managed to reinvent themselves after a draft, often under the guidance of new coaches.

What If Promotion/Relegation Existed in US Football?

There are no plans to introduce the European system to the US, but many have wondered what that system would look like and whether it would improve the NFL in some way. The NFL now plays games in Europe, and there’s a growing interest in soccer in the US, so the two are more closely connected.

Pros

There would be no “tanking” for draft picks, and every game of the season would matter. This would be the case even for the teams that have poor performance throughout the season. Fans of lower-league teams could have hopes of reaching the NFL at some point.

Cons

The financial difference between the NFL and smaller leagues is huge, and in this context, relegation to a lower league could completely bankrupt the team. Team owners would never agree to such an approach if their team could lose billions in franchise value. US sports culture is built around stability and decade-long rivalries between the teams, and relegation could jeopardize that.

What About Lower Leagues?

There are a few options for what lower leagues could be. The most notable one is the United Football League (UFL), which emerged in 2024 following the merger of the XFL and USFL. It currently exists as a split league with eight teams.

Other leagues that could be included are the Indoor Football League (IFL) and the National Arena League (NAL), which are semi-professional leagues featuring indoor games. These leagues could serve as a third tier. College football (NCAA) could serve as the lowest and 4th tier, which would be the barrier between amateur and professional leagues.

Since the financial side of things is so different and the fan cultures are based on somewhat opposing traditions, there’s little chance the NFL could try this approach anytime soon.

To Sum Up

European soccer leagues have a tier system in which teams are promoted or relegated to and from different tiers each year, based on their performance. This allows the fans to root for their team even if they are not competing for the number one spot.

The NFL, on the other hand, has a fixed system in which franchises remain the same regardless of how well they perform in a season. Some have considered introducing a European system to the NFL, but it would contradict a long-standing tradition and not meet the needs of team owners or fans.