Former USFL president launching spring high school football Prep Super League
Former USFL president Brian Woods says he is launching a new spring 11-on-11 high school football league that aims to lure the nation's top high school football talent.
The Prep Super League plans to bring teams to 12 cities across eight states starting in spring 2024, says it will help the four and five-star prospects it is targeting navigate the burgeoning Name-Image-Likeness landscape, multiple outlets reported Tuesday morning.
The league will use NCAA rules, is planning a six-week season that runs April 19 through May 24 and is not affiliated with high school state associations. The cities the Prep Super League is reportedly targeting: Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Tampa.
League founder Brian Woods told recruiting site On3 the Prep Super League will be "supplemental and complementary entity to traditional high school football."
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The league's website says it is for aspiring college football prospects seeking "supplemental instruction, enhanced competition and a less restrictive environment to pursue NIL deals. Many state high school associations allow athletes to pursue NIL deals with some guidelines. Some states like Texas and Florida, have rules in place that deem players ineligible if they enter into an NIL deal.
League officials told The Associated Press that it is targeting prospects entering their sophomore or junior high school seasons. Players must be enrolled at an accredited middle or high school and live in the teams' markets. No players are attached to the league yet, which would play at a time when offseason staples recruiting camps and 7-on-7 typically take place.
"We believe that we’re going to be able to raise the brand value of especially the four and five-star player that elects to come in," Woods told On3. "They may have a great grading on them. They may have numerous offers, but my position would be, a player that comes into the Prep Super League will come into a league that’s going to really raise his brand awareness. The athlete could increase his opportunities for either more NIL deals or NIL deals with more monetary value behind them.”
Woods told the AP the league will start hiring coaches in the next two to three months. Woods stepped down as president of the USFL, an upstart American pro football league, in December.
