Spring League to use bubble concept for football tournament

Football's first bubble concept experience is set to take place.

The Spring League is scheduling a six-team football tournament for October in Las Vegas, and it plans to use a bubble concept for the competition, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.

The teams will mostly feature players released by NFL clubs, and dozens of college players from FBS Power 5 schools either who opt out of the upcoming campaign or have their season canceled, Spring League CEO Brian Woods told Seifert.

The league plans to house a total of 228 players in the same location, and its bubble would follow professional leagues' models, such as the NBA, NHL, and WNBA, Woods adds. All players will practice and play at the same facility.

The Spring League is an elite professional football development league. It takes place annually in March and April, but it wasn't able to host the event in its usual months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the Spring League hosted a four-day showcase in Colorado in late July. The league's COVID-19 protocols for the event included a 14-day self-quarantine before camp, most meetings via video conference, and daily symptom and temperature checks.