The Professional American Football League (LFA) is the professional Football league in Mexico, founded in 2016 and currently hosts 9 teams. It is a spring league that starts in March with the championship in June. It uses the NFL rules and teams play 8 games over 9 weeks.
Previous American football leagues in Mexico have come and gone since 1920, but the LFA is the first professional American football league in Mexico since 1996. The fact that American football is the 4th most popular sport in Mexico, along with long standing college leagues and the US having a plethora of Football talent, meant that there was significant demand for a pro league in Mexico, and the supply of players to play in it.
Mexican American Professional Football (FAM) was another professional league created in 2018, but ceased operations in 2022. The league was formed with many of the same initial investors as the LFA, and the intention was to eventually merge with them.
The LFA and CFL have an alliance, sharing players between the two leagues.
The salary cap in the LFA is around $100,000, with different pay levels for different kinds of players.
Level 1: Foreign players. Each team can have up to 5, with a max of 2 Canadians.
Level 2: Franchise players. Must be Mexican.
Level 3: The rest of the starters. 17-20 per team.
Level 4: Depth players.
Level 5: Practice squad players. Only get paid if they play.
The LFA draft functions similarly to the NFL draft, but takes place over a single day.
Current state of the LFA
The LFA is currently deep into their off-season. Games will start in March 2025.
How to watch and follow
You can catch streams of the games by going to the LFA Facebook page, or the page of a team competing in the game, and find a streaming link there.