Roster
| Quarterbacks Fullbacks Wide receivers
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen | Linebackers Defensive backs
Kickers
| Injured reserve
Other league exempt
League suspension
Inactive reserve
Refuse to report
Recallable reassignment
Rookies in italics |
| 2017 Cleveland Gladiators season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Dan Gilbert |
| Head coach | Ron Selesky |
| Home field | Quicken Loans Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–9 |
| League place | 3rd |
| Playoff finish | Lost Semifinals 59–73 (Storm) |
The 2017 Cleveland Gladiators season was the 18th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their eighth in Cleveland. The Gladiators played at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Gladiators drew an average home attendance of 10,173 in the 2017 AFL season. [1]
Front office [2]
| Head coach Assistant coaches
| |||||
| Quarterbacks Fullbacks Wide receivers
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen | Linebackers Defensive backs
Kickers
| Injured reserve
Other league exempt
League suspension
Inactive reserve
Refuse to report
Recallable reassignment
Rookies in italics |
The 2017 regular season schedule was released on January 5, 2017. [4]
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||||
| 1 | Saturday | April 8 | 7:00 PM EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | L 40–46 | 0–1 | Quicken Loans Arena | 12,865 | [5] |
| 2 | Sunday | April 16 | 3:00 PM EDT | Baltimore Brigade | L 49–52 | 0–2 | Quicken Loans Arena | 5,758 | [6] |
| 3 | Saturday | April 22 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Tampa Bay Storm | L 61–62 | 0–3 | Amalie Arena | 9,119 | [7] |
| 4 | Friday | April 28 | 7:00 PM EDT | Washington Valor | W 48–34 | 1–3 | Quicken Loans Arena | 9,223 | [8] |
| 5 | Saturday | May 6 | 7:00 PM EDT | Philadelphia Soul | L 67–69 | 1–4 | Quicken Loans Arena | 10,389 | [9] |
| 6 | Bye | ||||||||
| 7 | Saturday | May 20 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Philadelphia Soul | L 46–64 | 1–5 | Wells Fargo Center | 7,667 | [10] |
| 8 | Saturday | May 27 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Baltimore Brigade | L 60–63 | 1–6 | Royal Farms Arena | 5,190 | [11] |
| 9 | Saturday | June 3 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Washington Valor | W 59–35 | 2–6 | Verizon Center | 9,901 | [12] |
| 10 | Saturday | June 10 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Philadelphia Soul | L 49–59 | 2–7 | Wells Fargo Center | 10,103 | [13] |
| 11 | Friday | June 16 | 7:00 PM EDT | Baltimore Brigade | W 59–48 | 3–7 | Quicken Loans Arena | 10,877 | [14] |
| 12 | Saturday | June 24 | 7:00 PM EDT | Philadelphia Soul | L 28–59 | 3–8 | Quicken Loans Arena | 10,580 | [15] |
| 13 | Bye | ||||||||
| 14 | Saturday | July 8 | 7:00 PM EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | W 41–39 | 4–8 | Quicken Loans Arena | 11,525 | [16] |
| 15 | Bye | ||||||||
| 16 | Saturday | July 22 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Tampa Bay Storm | L 27–57 | 4–9 | Amalie Arena | 10,567 | [17] |
| 17 | Saturday | July 29 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Washington Valor | W 62–28 | 5–9 | Verizon Center | 11,127 | [18] |
| 18 | Bye | ||||||||
| Round | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFL Semifinals | Monday | August 14 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Tampa Bay Storm | L 59–73 | Amalie Arena | 9,621 | [19] |
| Team | Overall | Points | Records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Away | GB | STK | |||
| (1) Philadelphia Soul | 13 | 1 | .929 | 817 | 590 | 7–0 | 6–1 | — | W3 | ||
| (2) Tampa Bay Storm | 10 | 4 | .714 | 710 | 662 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 3.0 | L1 | ||
| (3) Cleveland Gladiators | 5 | 9 | .357 | 696 | 715 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 8.0 | W1 | ||
| (4) Baltimore Brigade | 4 | 10 | .286 | 620 | 749 | 3–4 | 1–6 | 9.0 | L4 | ||
| Washington Valor | 3 | 11 | .214 | 565 | 692 | 2–5 | 1–6 | 10.0 | W1 | ||
(#) - playoff position secured
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The franchise was one of the original four that launched the Arena Football League for its inaugural season in 1987. The club was relocated to Tampa Bay area for the 1991 season, being the last of the original teams to either fold or leave its market. After 26 years in the Tampa market, the team ceased operations in December, 2017.
The Philadelphia Soul were a professional arena football team based in Philadelphia. They competed in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Soul made five ArenaBowl appearances, winning their first appearance and losing their next two appearances. The Soul won in their fourth appearance, against the Rattlers in 2016, winning 56–42. They also won in their fifth appearance in 2017 against the Tampa Bay Storm, winning 44–40.
Shane Boyd is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Antoine "T. T." Toliver is a former arena football wide receiver. He played football and basketball at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1995, he was named the Class 5A Player of the Year in football and was also runner-up for Florida's Mr. Football Award. In basketball, Toliver helped Mainland win the Class 6A state championship in 1995 and 1996. He played college football and basketball at Hinds Community College, where he was named the 1997–98 Junior College Player of the Year as a quarterback. He later transferred to Bethune-Cookman University, where he played basketball but not football.
Larry Brackins is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pearl River Community College. Brackins has also been a member of the New York Jets, New York Sentinels, Philadelphia Soul, Dallas Vigilantes, Orlando Predators and Cleveland Gladiators.
Larry Beavers is an American football wide receiver and kick returner for the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League (NAL).
Kent Richardson is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at West Virginia.
Tyrone Goard is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013. He played college football at Eastern Kentucky. He has also spent time with the Pittsburgh Power, Portland Thunder, Philadelphia Soul, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Los Angeles KISS, Portland Steel and Tampa Bay Storm.
Shane Austin is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at University of Hawai'i. Austin went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and signed with the Everett Raptors of the Indoor Football League (IFL) after the draft. After starting the Raptors final games of the season, Austin was able to gain the attention of the Pittsburgh Power of the AFL. Austin was named the starting quarterback for the Power, but a broken hand caused him to miss two months of the season. Austin then was assigned to the Cleveland Gladiators where he was named the backup to Chris Dieker. With Dieker struggling for the Gladiators, Austin was given the opportunity to start and lead the Gladiators to a 14–1 record as a starter and a berth in ArenaBowl XXVII. The Gladiators lost to Arizona Rattlers in the ArenaBowl, but Austin was named Second Team All-Arena.
Mykel “Boom Boom” Benson is an American football fullback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Milwaukee Mustangs as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football and college baseball at Florida A&M University.
Warren Smith is an American football quarterback for the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at the University of Maine.
ArenaBowl XXIX was the championship game of the 2016 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Philadelphia Soul and the National Conference Champion Arizona Rattlers. The game was played at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The 2017 Arena Football League season was the 30th season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to five teams. Due to this, for the first time since 1991, the league was not divided into conferences or divisions. The 14-game regular season began on April 7, 2017, when the two new teams, the Baltimore Brigade and the Washington Valor, faced off in the Verizon Center, and ended on August 5, 2017, when the Tampa Bay Storm lost against the Philadelphia Soul.
The 2017 Philadelphia Soul season was the twelfth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The Soul played at the Wells Fargo Center. The Soul won their second ArenaBowl the previous season beating the Arizona Rattlers. The Soul lost once in the regular season and repeated as ArenaBowl Champions in the playoffs after defeating the Tampa Bay Storm 44–40 in ArenaBowl XXX.
The 2017 Baltimore Brigade season was the first season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The Brigade played at the Royal Farms Arena.
The 2017 Washington Valor season was the franchise's inaugural season and the city of Washington's first Arena Football League season since the Washington Commandos left in 1990. The Valor played their home games at the Verizon Center.
The 2017 Tampa Bay Storm season was the 30th and final season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their 26th while in Tampa Bay. The Storm played at Amalie Arena.
Chris Bonner is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Colorado State University Pueblo and attended Clairemont High School in San Diego, California. He has been a member of the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL).
ArenaBowl XXX was the championship game of the 2017 Arena Football League season. The game was broadcast on AFLNow, Twitter and WPVI-TV. It was played between the Philadelphia Soul and Tampa Bay Storm at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It was the Soul's third ArenaBowl championship and fifth appearance while it was the Storm's tenth appearance. The Soul set an ArenaBowl record for largest comeback victory after overcoming a 20–7 deficit.
The 2018 Arena Football League season was the 31st season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted from five to four teams with one team folding, one going on hiatus, and one added expansion team. The 12-game regular season began on April 13 and ended on July 7.
