Editing World Football League (section)

===Legacy===
The league's struggles led to endless sarcastic comments (starting with the league's own abbreviation, which was often pronounced "[[Wiffleball|Wiffle]]"). Chicago Fire offensive lineman [[Steve Wright (American football, born 1942)|Steve Wright]] quipped that he had been offered a million dollar contract: "A dollar a year for a million years!"

In the 1976 season, Memphis Southmen coach John McVay joined the staff of the [[New York Giants]] and brought with him nine players from the Southmen. In what has been described as "the closest approximation to a meeting between the champions of the WFL and the NFL" (even though the Southmen never won a WFL title), the Southmen-reinforced Giants upset the defending Super Bowl champion [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], 17–0, in a preseason match that year.<ref name="cc2205">{{cite news |first=Mark L. |last=Ford |work=The Coffin Corner |publisher=Pro Football Researchers Association |title=25 Significant "Meaningless" NFL Games |volume=22 |issue=5 |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-05-865.pdf |date=2000 |access-date=January 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014211941/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-05-865.pdf |archive-date=October 14, 2010 |url-status=dead }} ''Note: The PFRA erroneously refers to this matchup as the last such contest.''</ref>

The WFL, for all its embarrassing miscues, produced a number of coaches who found success in the NFL, notably [[Jack Pardee]], [[Lindy Infante]], and [[Marty Schottenheimer]]. [[Jim Fassel]], a quarterback for the Hawaiians, became a head coach in the [[National Football League|NFL]] and [[United Football League (2009)|UFL]], taking the [[New York Giants]] to [[Super Bowl XXXV]] in 2001 and the [[Las Vegas Locomotives]] to a win in the [[2009 UFL Championship Game]]. McVay worked his way up the Giants organization and eventually became the team's head coach; he had even more success as general manager of the [[San Francisco 49ers]] during the 1980s [[dynasty (sports)|dynasty]] years. Several players, most notably [[Pat Haden]], [[Danny White]], [[Alfred Jenkins]], [[Greg Latta]], and [[Vince Papale]], later found success in the NFL as well.

Four WFL alumni made it to the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]: [[Larry Csonka]], [[Paul Warfield]], [[Leroy Kelly]] and [[Don Maynard]]; all four were already established stars in the NFL before joining the WFL.

The league's most severe impact was on the [[Miami Dolphins]], who had just won consecutive [[Super Bowl]]s before the WFL's snagging of three of their star players. This changed the course of NFL history, by opening the door to dominance by two other AFC teams, the Steelers and the Raiders, during the second half of the 1970s.

While by no means the pioneer of "singular" team nicknames, which had been used by some college and professional sports teams since the 19th century, the high quantity of them in a single league ("Fire", "Sun", "Bell", "Storm", "Steamer", "Thunder", "Express") was rare in professional sports at the time, and was a distinguishing mark of the league.

The WFL also arguably affected locations of other professional football teams: from the NFL, Hawaii hosted the [[Pro Bowl]] from 1980 through 2009 and again from 2011 to 2016, Jacksonville got the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] in 1995, Charlotte received the [[Carolina Panthers]] in the same year, and Houston's expansion franchise, the [[Houston Texans|Texans]], revived the name of the WFL team in 2002. Though the WFL's Toronto establishment failed due to Canadian resistance, the [[Buffalo Bills]] (with Canadian backing and special conditions) played one [[Bills Toronto Series|home game in Toronto]] a season from 2008 to 2013, and the league's original intent to expand the game globally is being partially fulfilled by the [[NFL International Series]]. Other cities became regular stops for franchises in other leagues:

*Memphis hosted the [[Memphis Showboats|Showboats]] of the [[United States Football League|USFL]] from 1983 to 1985, the [[Memphis Mad Dogs|Mad Dogs]] of the [[Canadian Football League|CFL]] in 1995, the [[XFL (2001)|XFL]]'s [[Memphis Maniax|Maniax]] in 2001, the [[Memphis Express|Express]] in the [[Alliance of American Football|AAF]] in 2019, and [[Memphis Showboats (UFL)|another Memphis Showboats]] in the [[United States Football League (2022)|2022 USFL]] and [[United Football League (2024)|2024 UFL]]. The NFL also used Memphis as a temporary home for the [[Tennessee Oilers]] in 1997 before their stadium in Nashville was completed.
*Birmingham hosted the [[Alabama Vulcans|Vulcans and Magic]] of the [[American Football Association (1978–1983)|AFA]], [[Birmingham Stallions|Stallions]] of the USFL, the [[Birmingham Fire|Fire]] of the [[World League of American Football|WLAF]] from 1991 to 1992, [[Birmingham Barracudas|Barracudas]] of the CFL in 1995, the [[Birmingham Thunderbolts|Thunderbolts]] of the XFL in 2001, the [[Birmingham Iron|Iron]] in the AAF in 2019. In 2022, the [[Birmingham Stallions (UFL)|Birmingham Stallions]] of the second reiteration of the USFL became the champions of the new league version, a championship it successfully defended the following two seasons.
*Orlando hosted the Americans of the AFA, [[Orlando Renegades|Renegades]] of the USFL, [[Orlando Thunder|Thunder]] of the WLAF, [[Orlando Rage|Rage]] of the XFL, the [[Florida Tuskers|Tuskers]] of the [[United Football League (2009–2012)|UFL]] and the [[Orlando Apollos|Apollos]] of the AAF.
*Shreveport later hosted the Steamers of the AFA and the [[Shreveport Pirates|Pirates]] of the CFL.
*Jacksonville hosted the Firebirds of the AFA and the [[Jacksonville Bulls|Bulls]] of the USFL before the NFL Jaguars franchise was awarded. In 2010, Jacksonville received an [[Arena Football League]] expansion franchise, [[Jacksonville Sharks (arena football)|which revived the Sharks name]].
*Charlotte later hosted the Chargers of the AFA before the NFL Panthers franchise was awarded.
*San Antonio later hosted the Charros of the AFA, [[San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL team)|Gunslingers]] of the USFL, the [[San Antonio Riders|Riders]] of the WLAF, the [[San Antonio Texans|Texans]] of the CFL, the [[San Antonio Matadors|Matadors]] of the [[Spring Football League|SFL]], the [[San Antonio Commanders|Commanders]] of the AAF, the [[San Antonio Brahmas]] of the 2020 XFL and 2024 UFL, and four home games for the NFL [[New Orleans Saints]] during their [[2005 New Orleans Saints season|2005 "road season"]], in which the Saints [[Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints|had to abandon their usual stadium]], the [[Louisiana Superdome]], due to [[Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome|damage]] from [[Hurricane Katrina]]. (San Antonio has also hosted NFL exhibition games.)
*Southern California hosted the [[Los Angeles Express (USFL)|Express]] of the USFL, the [[Los Angeles Xtreme|Xtreme]] of the 2001 XFL, the [[Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL)|Wildcats]] in the 2020 XFL, the [[Los Angeles Dragons|Dragons]] of the [[Spring Football League|SFL]] and was expected to host a franchise in the UFL, a promise that was never fulfilled before the league's sudden shutdown in 2012.
*The New York/New Jersey metropolitan area hosted the [[New Jersey Generals]] of the USFL, the [[New York Sentinels]] of the UFL, and the [[New York Guardians|Guardians]] of the [[XFL (2020)|2020 XFL]], and two teams that bore both states' names: the [[New York/New Jersey Knights|Knights]] of the WLAF and the [[New York/New Jersey Hitmen|Hitmen]] of the 2001 XFL.
*Chicago hosted the Fire of the AFA, [[Chicago Blitz|Blitz]] of the USFL and the [[Chicago Enforcers|Enforcers]] of the 2001 XFL.
*Detroit later hosted the Michigan Panthers in both the [[Michigan Panthers|1983-85]] and [[Michigan Panthers (UFL)|2022-present]] incarnations of the USFL and UFL and was targeted as a possibility for XFL expansion before the 2001 XFL folded.
*Portland later hosted the [[Portland Breakers|Breakers]] of the USFL and served as the launching point for the [[CFL USA]] initiative with an exhibition game in June 1992, though it never received a CFL team.
*Houston later hosted the [[Houston Marshals|Marshals]] in the [[Spring Football League|SFL]] and the [[Houston Roughnecks (2020)|Roughnecks]] in the 2020 XFL, along with [[Houston Roughnecks (2024)|another Roughnecks]] in the 2024 UFL.

The NFL's [[Houston Texans]] revived the name of the WFL's [[Houston Texans (WFL)|franchise]] for that [[Houston|city]] when it began play in [[2002 NFL season|2002]]. ("Texans" had been used by an [[Dallas Texans (NFL)|NFL Dallas team]] in 1952—after it folded, the remnants were taken over by the expansion [[Indianapolis Colts|Baltimore Colts]]—and by an AFL Dallas team in the early 1960s, which became the [[Kansas City Chiefs]].) The moniker was also used by an [[Dallas Texans (Arena)|arena football team in Dallas]] in the early 1990s, and by a [[San Antonio Texans|CFL San Antonio team]] for one year in the 1990s.

There is also a [[Major League Soccer]] team called the [[Chicago Fire (soccer)|Chicago Fire]], and there are/were also [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] teams called the [[Memphis Grizzlies]] (2001–present) and [[Charlotte Hornets]] (1988–2002, 2014–present) (the nickname "Hornets" was used for minor league baseball teams in Charlotte long before the WFL entry; also, the "Grizzlies" name for the Memphis NBA team was in use when the franchise was still in [[Vancouver]]). The [[Jacksonville Sharks]] and [[Portland Thunder]] names were later revived for teams in the 2010 revival of the [[Arena Football League]], with the indoor Sharks (outlasting its namesake by several years) having since moved to the [[National Arena League]].

The [[American Football Association (1978–1983)|American Football Association]] was conceived as a successor to the WFL, and in some newspapers was even referred to as the "New WFL". Many of the AFA teams revived, with slight alterations, the names of WFL teams that had resided in its respective cities, and several of the AFA's key personnel had previously served in similar capacities with WFL teams; the league operated from 1977 to 1983.

The league also caused significant problems for the lower levels of professional football. Its arrival resulted in the end of the [[Atlantic Coast Football League|ACFL]] and [[Seaboard Football League|SFL]], effectively killing minor-league professional football in the United States until the AFA's formation in 1979.