- By: Will Proctor,
- in Uncategorized
The Arena Football League has many unique rules that are misunderstood by both casual and die-hard LA KISS fans. In this semi-regular segment we will try to clarify these rules so all LA KISS fans will have a better understanding of the game we all love!
One of the AFL’s most unconventional and misunderstood procedures is how they describe player transactions. The AFL does not use traditional terms when talking about player transactions; the way in which the AFL describes transactions is not familiar to most American sports fans. This stems from the AFL following the single-entity business model, meaning the league owns the rights to the teams, players and coaches. As a result, when a team wants to bring a player onto their roster, they do not sign the player; the league assigns the player to the team. If a team wants to no longer have a player on their team, they do not release him. Instead they designate the player for reassignment. This player is now a free agent and can sign with other teams within the league.
There are two other types of transactions, “recallable reassignment and “other league exempt”. When a team places a player on recallable reassignment, the team has 48 hours to activate the player before he becomes a free agent. The “other league exempt” designation is used when a player signs with the CFL or NFL. The AFL has agreements with both the NFL and CFL that allows players to not be penalized for signing contracts with teams in these two leagues. When a player is on the other league exempt list, the team still holds the rights to the player. If the player rejoins the AFL, he will be assigned back to the roster of his previous AFL team.
Transactions Defined*
Assigned - Player signs with team.
Reassignment - Player released from team.
Recallable Reassignment – Team has 48 hours to activate player before he becomes a free agent.
Other League Exempt – Player signs with CFL or NFL.
*Source Arenafootball.com
