In every business assets are developed, it is important that the NFL maintains and builds its assets players from a development standpoint.
 
The NBA, NHL and MLB all have developmental leagues which employ hundreds of athletes. The NFL is the biggest money-making sports league in North America and draws better television ratings than any source of entertainment in the country on an annual basis.
For years, the NFL has essentially considered the colleges its minor league system. Tradition will be a tough thing to buck. In concept, a developmental league may be an idea whose time has come, but in the minds of some owners maybe not so much.
The first thing would have to be the financial model, getting it to work, said Indianapolis owner. "But we'd have to decide, too, that it's something we needed. And I'm just not really convinced of that right now, and probably a lot of other (owners) aren't, either.
Coaches both head coaches and assistants, seemed split on the notion of a developmental league. And without the wholesale support of the coaching fraternity, even the NFL might be hard-pressed to introduce the concept of a developmental league this one speaks to cronies.

The NFL bought the regional combines established by Steve Austin, and huddled them under its umbrella. As the NFL continues to talk about potential expansion overseas, expanding rosters and overall growth, one thing that is very clear is that it could be in danger of watering down the talent pool too much.

 Yes, there are precious few people who can play at the high level required to be an NFL player However, the wear and tear of life in the League takes its toll on players, and teams are always looking for fresh talents to take their place.
It's hard to find someone once they've missed a chance at playing right out of college, so the talent pool shrinks as time goes on. The bottom line is the owners would like a way to develop young players in the offseason and perhaps spot some talent they missed the first time around who might have otherwise gone off to find new careers not involving pads and helmets.
So the question becomes: How do you put a developmental league together that won't kill ownership's bottom line? Goodell conceded. "If we do it, my personal view is it should be defined by what the actual objective is. If it is going to be a developmental league, let's call it a developmental league; let's design it as a developmental league. If it is going to be a commercial league that is trying to generate fan interest or generate revenue, we should also be clear on that objective. I think our general view right now is to make it a developmental league."
The NFL doesn't want to create competition for itself, even on a tiny scale. Even beyond that, it doesn't really want to get in the way of college football either. You may think they don’t care oh but they very much do care about keeping in the good graces of the NCAA.

But commissioner, Roger Goodell said Saturday afternoon at a fan form Q&A at the Landmark Hotel that the idea is being investigated, but that it will not be a commercial venture, meaning there won’t be teams spread across the United States, October 22, 2011 .
While the owners won't be looking for billions, they'll want to make a little money, at least as much as they can to help keep this thing going. You'll get more football fans willing to come out in the spring than any other time of year. So, we might consider an additional developmental league that would play likely in the spring, but I don’t think I would make it commercial so I don’t see franchises all over the country. What we’re evaluating internally is should we have a developmental league?” Goodell said. “I would argue that I would not make it commercial. We brought NFL Europe over here it was in part to expose our game to more fans. And that was wonderful. On the other hand, people wanted to see the real thing, whether they are in Europe or in the United States, you want to see real football and the best players playing in competitive games.
Since 1989, the league has allowed each franchise to maintain a practice squad of up to eight players for what is essentially a scout team, but is often viewed as mini developmental unit. Any team is granted a ninth member on the squad as part of the league's International Development Practice Squad Program, so long as the player is foreign born and their primary residence falls outside of the United States.

 Players, who have multiple seasons of NFL experience, are not eligible to join a practice squad, though that would undeniably be a step backwards in their careers. For instance, it is difficult to imagine other players clamoring to get back into the league, joining a practice squad. But it has been illustrated, the position does fill a need, as well as provide less accomplished players a chance to eventually make a roster.

For the 2012 season, these practice-only players made $5,700 per week, but because they are not considered members of the active roster, are not entitled to a pension or other benefits. Players are eligible to join the practice squad if they do not have an accrued season of NFL experience, which is defined as six games on an active roster, or as long as they are a free agent who was active for fewer than nine games in their one accrued season. For all intents and purposes, someone can be on a practice squad for up to three seasons, and it is fairly common to see a player elevated from this designation to the active roster for a game based on injuries, then waived back to the practice unit by the following week.
As a four-year veteran,a player is better off than many in a similar circumstance in that he achieved a pension from the league, which requires at least three games on an active roster for four seasons. While Commissioner Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith have in the past squabbled over what the average length of a player's career actually is -- Smith says it's closer to three years, Goodell, six -- there is no question players who have played in the NFL move on without reaching the threshold for long-term benefits and health care.
As one of the last remaining chances for players to break into the league, the NFL presently offers a handful of regional combines after acquiring a smaller outfit in 2011. If a player performs well enough there, he is brought into an invite-only super regional event, which for this upcoming offseason will take place in April. Players have been drafted out of the 162 invitees with another 63 signed to preseason 90-man rosters as undrafted free agents.
 
 With little or no support from the league after leaving college early to chase their NFL dreams, a player has to acknowledge that he's not sure what he would do for a living if he continues to be unable to secure a long-term option in pro football. Nonetheless, the NFL, which right or wrong is relatively open about the fact that it primarily uses the NCAA as its minor-league system, is not necessarily there to do many favors.

For a new league to succeed, it will need to provide enough developmental return to make the investment worth it.
Even if it were physically possible for a player to play football year-round, it seems unlikely the NFLPA would sanction that kind of schedule. For those players that managed to come out of a D-league and make it on with an NFL team, there would need to be some limit for how much football they could play in a calendar year, a pitch count of sorts.