Professional Arena Football set to kickoff in 2019, and the Richmond Roughriders joined the PAF

By Aaron Castete

​Gregg Fornario, owner of the Richmond Roughriders, has announced he will be starting a new arena football league called the Professional Arena Football league in March 2019. The league will have two divisions Southern (SAF) and Northern (NAF) with the goal of lowering travel costs for the teams who participate in the league.

The PAF plans to have a decent size number teams participating in the 2019 Inaugural Season with the goal of "quality over quantity". Each division is expected to have 4 to 8 teams. According the website, the league will make sure teams go through extensive background checks, and make sure the teams have the right finances for a stable long-term future. As for scheduling, the PAF will play "a 8 to 10 game schedule, depending on what the team owners vote on."

The NAF Board of Directors currently includes:
Gregg Fornario (President and Commissioner)
Jesse Heninger (Director of Marketing, Operations, Brand Strategy)
Trey Braid (Operations, Creative Services & Information Technology)
Andrew Germann (Gameday Operations Coordinator)

As for Gregg's Richmond Roughriders, he announced his intentions to move his team to the PAF for 2019! As of now, the team is still currently exploring relocation sites due to the fact that the Richmond Coliseum is likely to be torn down.

As for the rulebook, the PAF website states that the league will play under a set of unique rules.

The following information is listed on the PAF Website:

• "Kickoff thru goal post is 1 pt and goes up with each consecutive successful kick.  
  • Example if kickoff goes thru uprights 3x in a row that is 3pts etc
• FG miss attempt, but makes contact with uprights is spotted at the 5yrd line like a punt.
• At the 2 minute warning at end of the game goes to 4 to score there will be no more 1st downs .  
  • Example if it's your ball at mid field with 2min and 5 seconds left and its 3rd and 3 you will want to call a timeout or if you don't it goes to 3rd and goal from mid field.
• Iron man = Must have 1 guy that plays a minimum of 16 plays on both sides of the ball.
• Roster = 19 man dress on the day of the game| 24 Man Roster during season
• Salary cap = $1,900 Minimum | $5,000 Maximum"

Source: www.professionalarenafootball.com

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