Brian Urlacher is coming out of retirement to play football again
By Josh Hill
Former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is coming out of retirement to play football again.
A monster of the midway is making a comeback — sort of.
Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher is coming out of retirement to play football again. But he’s not going to come running out of the tunnel to save his former team, the Chicago Bears. Instead Urlacher is dusting off the shoulder pads to play for the Fan Controlled Football League, which is exactly what it sounds like it is.
Urlacher is reportedly going to play for FCF Zappers, which is a team in a league controlled by fans at every level. Fans pick the owners of the teams that they help create and then pick the players that play for their team. Fans even call the plays, and watch as the games are broadcast on Twitch.
It’s essentially Madden Franchise mode if it were a real thing.
What is the Fan Controlled Football League?
Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher is coming back to play football.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) December 18, 2020
Urlacher has signed with the FCF Zappers, a team in the Fan Controlled Football League.
Bob Menery who is the co-owner of the Zappers announced the signing on Instagram.
If that sounds wild, it is. The first time this league came to my attention was when someone showed me that Urlacher was coming out of retirement to play in it and down the wormhole we all went researching how insane this league is.
There are four teams in the league right now, all owned by famous people or famous athletes. Mar Shawn Lynch owns a team called The Beasts, Richard Sherman and Quavo co-own the Glacier Boyz, while Instagram comedian Bob Menery and Mets pitcher Trevor May co-own the Zappers — the team Urlacher is going to play for.
Fans can join whichever team they want to be in the ‘ownership group’ of and then get to vote on what the team does at every single level of the operation.
It’s the truest answer to the question of what happens if the arm chair coach and general managers on Sundays actually called the shots.
Urlacher hasn’t played football in eight years, but this is not an intense style of football that he will be playing. The FCF league consists of 7-on-7 games on a field that makes the whole thing feel like a bonus play option in Madden.
Next. NFL Playoff picture is starting to take shape. dark
But Urlacher is back, which continues a long line of superstars who walked away from the game they loved but couldn’t stay away. And at least this time he’s popping up in the news it’s not for slamming NBA players for protesting or endorsing a mass shooter.
It’s yet another 2020 plot twist no one saw coming.