The Jersey Flight were a professional indoor football team based in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL on ...

(AAL) and then as a member of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States. Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...

(NAL) from 2020 to 2021. They were owned by New Flight Enterprises, LLC, and played at the

CURE Insurance Arena The CURE Insurance Arena is a multipurpose arena in Trenton, New Jersey. It hosts events including shows, sporting events and concerts. The arena seats 7,605 for hockey and other ice events, 8,600 for basketball and up to 10,500 for concerts, fam ...

as their home arena.

History

The Jersey Flight were announced to be joining the

(NAL) at a press conference on March 20, 2017. Jersey Flight Football, Inc., was reported to be the first 100% African-American-owned professional sports franchise in the state of New Jersey. The Flight announced the franchise's first head coach would be Jake Grande, former assistant coach and defensive coordinator of the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

. The owners heavily pursued sponsors and partnerships in order to pay for multiple years of stability. However, the team did not meet the NAL's updated minimum obligations prior to the release of the 2018 schedule in December 2017 and was subsequently removed from the league without playing a game. A few days later, the Flight announced they had joined the recently formed

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL on ...

(AAL) for the 2018 season. After two games played, owners Samuel Davis, Jr. and Kyna Felder-Ruiz were arrested for tax fraud on April 13, 2018. The team finished the season with an official record of 5–3. In December 2018, the team announced William Thomas as the new general manager and Adam Turkel as head coach for the 2019 season. On March 1, 2019, Turkel was informed he had been let go and claimed the team was folding. However, the Flight announced on March 10 they were playing under new ownership and Nick Coppola had been named head coach. The new ownership was later revealed as New Flight Enterprises, LLC. led by Jay Sababu with operations managed by Willard Stanback. Due to the late ownership change, the team started the 2019 season late and only played three games against other AAL teams, going 2–1. The team made the divisional playoffs as two of the four teams in the division did not finish the season, and lost to the undefeated West Virginia Roughriders. Head coach Coppola then left the team after the season. In October 2019, the NAL announced the Flight, under their new ownership, was re-approved to join for the 2020 season along with the West Virginia Roughriders. The team then named Terry Foster as head coach and general manager. As the 2020 NAL season was cancelled due to the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Flight did not make their league debut until May 28, 2021, in a 45–42 home loss to the

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followi ...

. The Flight finished their inaugural NAL season with a 2–6 record and missed the playoffs. Following the 2021 season, the Flight were not listed as a member of the NAL for the 2022 season. In January 2022, the Arena Professional Football League, a new league started by the owners of the

Charlotte Thunder The Charlotte Thunder are a professional indoor American football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the American Arena League (AAL) and play their home games at the Bojangles' Coliseum. The team was formed prior to t ...

, announced the Flight as a member team, but were later replaced by a team called the Jersey Ballaz.

Current roster

{, class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;" , + colspan="7" style=";text-align:center;", Jersey Flight roster , - , style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" , Quarterbacks Fullbacks *''Currently vacant'' Wide receivers , style="width: 25px;" , , style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" , Offensive linemen Defensive linemen , style="width: 25px;" , , style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" , Linebackers *''Currently vacant'' Defensive backs Special teams *''Currently vacant'' , style="width: 25px;" , , style="font-size: 95%;vertical-align:top;" , Reserve lists *''Currently vacant''

References

External links

Jersey Flight official site
{{New Jersey Sports 2017 establishments in New Jersey 2022 disestablishments in New Jersey Defunct American football teams in New Jersey American Arena League Sports in Trenton, New Jersey National Arena League teams American football teams established in 2017 American football teams disestablished in 2022