We’ll see how this pans out for them.
The World Football League tried but couldn’t stay in business.
The United States Football League actually won an anti-trust lawsuits against the NFL, but ended up going out of business. I thought they had a good business plan, since they played in spring and early summer, so they weren’t head to head against the NFL. They planned to switch to a fall schedule, and go head to head, but went out of business before that could happen.
Remember the Xtreme Football League, or XFL? They played in 2001, I think is was. They were bankrolled by NBC and the World Wrestling Federation, but they too couldn’t make a go of it long term.
And then there was the WLAF which was run by the NFL itself but folded in 2007. The only league really still operating these days is the CFL. Granted it is only in Canada and has different rules and is fairly minor league in comparison to the NFL but its the only other game in town so to speak. It also has a history going way back that rivals the NFL in that department.