Following the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company’s (HOFV) acquisition of The Crown League, the firm has rebranded the community-backed national fantasy football competition to the Hall Of Fantasy League.

As a result of its rebranding the Hall of Fantasy League will also introduce a new format, alongside features and talent. According to the firm, the HOFL ‘aims to unify the large and fragmented fantasy football market into one national league with 10 regionally based franchises’.

The HOFL is the first digital platform to enable millions of fantasy football fans throughout the US to communally engage and financially back fantasy teams of a premier nationwide league. 

The league allows participants to have the opportunity to partially stake on any of the league’s franchises, with each entity having its own front office consisting of fantasy experts and former NFL players. 

Mat Sposta, Co-Founder of the HOFL commented: “Fantasy sports is a national pastime in the US with a massively engaged market of millions of participants who partake in individual home leagues across the country.

“Inspired by the Green Bay Packers’ public ownership structure, the HOFL’s communal framework unites fantasy football fans through direct franchise backing, creating a unique experience and alignment of financial and rooting interests that does not exist in today’s fantasy market.”

Stakeholders in the team will be able to offer an input on roster moves whilst also directly communicating with the franchises front offices and fellow players. Moreover, players will receive a pro rata share of winning based on the success of the franchise they have invested in. 

Michael Crawford, President and CEO of HOFV added: “This rebrand reflects an important milestone for our fantasy football business, which has been structured to tap into the multi-billion dollar fantasy football market with a highly differentiated product.

“Given our relationships with the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL Alumni Association, as well as our ability to create fresh and compelling media content, we have the playbook to build a highly engaged community that can be monetized in a number of ways.”

The inaugural draft for the HOFL is expected to take place in the summer of 2021, with the competition commencing alongside the 2021-22 NFL season. During and leading up to the competition the league will use its access to HOFV’s entities to create original video, audio and written league-focused content that will be hosted on its platform.

This also includes the new Hall Of Trivia show, a topical football, fantasy and sports-themed trivia programme hosted by Jeff Eisenband and sponsored by HQ. The show is expected to launch on the HQ app on Thursday, 22 October.

Questions over the location of the franchises, team names and logos, front office personnel and league rules are expected to be revealed in the months leading up to the draft.