2018 Arena Football League season

Last updated
2018 Arena Football League season
League Arena Football League
Sport Arena football
DurationApril 13 – July 28, 2018
Regular season
Season champions Albany Empire
League postseason
#1 vs #4 champions Washington Valor (#4)
  #1 vs #4 runners-upAlbany Empire (#1)
#2 vs. #3 champions Baltimore Brigade (#2)
  #2 vs. #3 runners-up Philadelphia Soul (#3)
ArenaBowl XXXI
ChampionsWashington Valor
  Runners-upBaltimore Brigade
Finals MVP Arvell Nelson
AFL seasons
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Empire
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Brigade
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Soul
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Valor
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ButtonGray.svg AFL teams

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.

Contents

League business

League organization changes

The offseason was marked by uncertainty until the AFL and Arena Football League Players' Union reached a new deal on a four-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA), nearly doubling player compensation and expanding health insurance benefits, replacing the previous CBA, which had expired after the 2017 season. The deal was finally reached amid rumors that the season and league's existence were in jeopardy when the two sides were failing to negotiate through several proposals and supposed ultimatums. [1]

On March 27, 2018, the AFL announced commissioner Scott Butera would be replaced by Randall Boe. [2] During Butera's three seasons as commissioner, the league had decreased from 14 members in the 2014 season to four for the 2018 season.

Teams

On August 23, 2017, the week of ArenaBowl XXX, multiple sources revealed that the AFL planned to expand to Albany, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, for 2018. [3] The Albany Empire was confirmed October 24, with the team owned by Hearst Communications executive George Randolph Hearst III and sharing non-football management with the Philadelphia Soul. [4]

On November 28, the Cleveland Gladiators announced that they would have to take a two-year leave of absence while their arena, shared with its primary tenant the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, undergoes construction during the basketball offseason. [5] The next month, the longest-tenured AFL team, with franchise roots to the inaugural AFL season, the Tampa Bay Storm, also suspended operations citing higher operating costs combined with lower revenues, but did not rule out returning in the future. [6]

In February 2018, the 2018 season schedule was finalized with only the returning Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington teams and the expansion Albany team, but no Newark team, matching the size of the league in the original "demonstration season" in 1987.

Schedule and playoff changes

The 2018 season consisted of a 13-week schedule during which each team played 12 games and had one bye week. With only four participating members for the season, the schedule for each team decreased by two games, continuing the trend of shortened seasons since the 2015 season. All teams played each opponent four times. Expansion Albany played seven home games, Baltimore and Washington six, and defending champion Philadelphia had only five.

At the end of the regular season, all teams participated in the ArenaBowl playoffs, in which the top seed faced the 4th seed while the 2nd seed faced the 3rd seed in a home and home series. The team in each series with the highest aggregate score advanced to the ArenaBowl. If the aggregate score in either series had been tied after the second game in the home-and-home semifinals, the game would have continued in the AFL's standard overtime format; this was not necessitated. While the semifinals consisted of two games in each pairing, ArenaBowl XXXI was still only one game. [7]

With one week remaining in the 2018 regular season and a then three-way tie for first, the league announced the ArenaBowl would be hosted by the semifinal winner with the higher average attendance through the season instead of using any tiebreakers or home field advantage based on records. [8] However, once the semifinals were completed, the higher-seeded Baltimore Brigade, not the higher-attended Washington Valor, would host ArenaBowl XXXI as the Valor's home field, Capital One Arena, had already scheduled summer renovations to begin at that time. [9]

Regular season standings

2018 Arena Football League standings
TeamOverallPointsRecords
WLPCTPFPAHomeAwayGBSTK
(#)-Albany Empire 84.6676465644–34–1—W3
Baltimore Brigade 75.5836055625–12–41L3
Philadelphia Soul 75.5836125773-24-31L1
Washington Valor 210.1674826421–51–56W1

(#) - clinched regular season title

Playoffs

Semifinals ArenaBowl XXXI
        
1 Albany 57*40 97
4 Washington56 47103
4 Washington69
2 Baltimore 55
2 Baltimore5753110
3 Philadelphia 45 41 86
*Indicates overtime victory

Semifinals

All times listed are in EDT.

DateKickoffAwayScoreHomeGame siteRecap
July 147:00 p.m.Albany Empire57–56 (OT)Washington Valor Capital One Arena
July 217:30 p.m.Washington Valor47–40Albany Empire Times Union Center
July 156:00 p.m.Baltimore Brigade57–45Philadelphia Soul Wells Fargo Center
July 207:00 p.m.Philadelphia Soul41–53Baltimore Brigade Royal Farms Arena

ArenaBowl XXXI

DateKickoffAwayScoreHomeGame siteRecap
July 287:00 p.m.Washington Valor69–55Baltimore Brigade Royal Farms Arena

Awards

All-Arena team

Offense
PositionFirst teamSecond team
Quarterback Tommy Grady, Albany Randy Hippeard, Baltimore
Fullback Jeramie Richardson, Philadelphia Rory Nixon, Baltimore
Wide receiver Joe Hills, Albany
Malachi Jones, Albany
Darius Prince, Philadelphia 		Reggie Gray, Washington
Brandon Thompkins, Baltimore
Aaron Wascha, Philadelphia
Center Ryan Cave, Albany Phillipkeith Manley, Philadelphia
Offensive lineman Hayworth Hicks, Albany
Jordan McCray, Baltimore 		Neal Tivis, Philadelphia
Wayne Tribue, Philadelphia
Defense
PositionFirst teamSecond team
Defensive end Joe Sykes, Albany
Jake Metz, Philadelphia 		Darryl Cato-Bishop, Albany
Rodney Fritz, Baltimore
Defensive tackle Justin Lawrence, Baltimore Brandon Sesay, Albany
Middle linebacker Dexter Jackson, Baltimore Derrick Summers, Albany
Jack linebacker Terence Moore, Albany Joe Goosby, Philadelphia
Defensive back Marrio Norman, Albany
James Romain, Philadelphia
Virgil Gray, Baltimore 		Dwayne Hollis, Cleveland
Joe Powell, Baltimore
Varmah Sonie, Albany
Special teams
PositionFirst teamSecond team
Kicker Mark Lewis, Baltimore Adrian Trevino, Philadelphia
Special teams Brandon Thompkins, Baltimore Chris Duvalt, Washington

Source: [10]

Attendances

TeamHome average
Albany Empire9,714
Baltimore Brigade5,113
Philadelphia Soul9,454
Washington Valor6,742
Overall average7,601

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References

  1. ↑ "Arena Football League, Arena Football League Players Union Reach Agreement on CBA". ArenaFootball.com. March 16, 2018. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ "AFL Announces New Commissioner and Chairman of Executive Committee". OurSportsCentral.com. March 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ Soul hosting ArenaBowl XXX on Saturday, Bill Gelman, South Philly Review , August 23, 2017
  4. ↑ Skodnick, Leif (October 24, 2017). "It's Official: Arena Football League returning to Times Union Center". Times Union . Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Cleveland Gladiators to take 2-year hiatus during Q renovations". WKYC. November 28, 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Tampa Bay Storm suspending operations". Tampa Bay Times . December 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Arena Football League to Kick Off 2018 Season with New Playoff Rules, More Ticket Options for Fans". AFL. February 13, 2018. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Three Teams Enter the Final Weekend Tied for First". AFL. July 2, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Washington Valor, Baltimore Brigade to meet in ArenaBowl XXXI". The Washington Times . July 22, 2018.
  10. ↑ "AFL Announces 2018 All-Arena First and Second Teams". AFL. July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ "2017 Arena Football League Attendance Chart". arenafan.com. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
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