2018 Arena Football League season
| 2018 Arena Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Arena Football League |
| Sport | Arena football |
| Duration | April 13 – August 7, 2018 |
| Regular season | |
| League postseason | |
| ArenaBowl XXXI | |
The 2018 Arena Football League season is 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 begins on April 13 and ends on July 7.
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 expanded health insurance benefits, after the previous CBA 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.
On March 27, 2018, the AFL announced commissioner Scott Butera would be replaced by Randall Boe. During his three seasons as commissioner, the league had decreased from 14 members in the 2014 season to four for the 2018 season.
On August 23, 2017, the week of ArenaBowl XXX, multiple sources revealed that the AFL plans to expand to Albany, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, for 2018. 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.
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. The next month, the longest-tenured AFL team, with franchise roots to the inaugural AFL season, the Tampa Bay Storm, also suspended operations citing financial problems.
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