The 2016 Arena Football League season was the 29th season in the history of the Arena Football League. Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to eight teams. The 16-game regular season then began on April 1, 2016 and ended on August 1, 2016. The league, however, kept its eight-team playoff format, which meant that every club qualified for the postseason.
| 2016 Arena Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Arena Football League |
| Sport | Arena football |
| Duration | April 1, 2016 – August 26, 2016 |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Nick Davila, ARZ |
| League postseason | |
| American Conference champions | Philadelphia Soul |
| American Conference runners-up | Jacksonville Sharks |
| National Conference champions | Arizona Rattlers |
| National Conference runners-up | Cleveland Gladiators |
| ArenaBowl XXIX | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Soul |
| Runners-up | Arizona Rattlers |
| Finals MVP | Shaun Kauleinamoku, PHI |
League business
Teams
The Las Vegas Outlaws and the New Orleans VooDoo were dropped from the league at the end of the 2015 season because new ownership groups could not be found for either team. The Spokane Shock jumped to the Indoor Football League on September 1, 2015.[1] The AFL claimed ownership of the Shock name, forcing the team to rename itself the Spokane Empire.[2] On October 30, 2015, the league announced that there would not be any expansion teams for the 2016 season; this event occurred just under three hours before what had been slated to be the expected announcement of an expansion franchise in San Antonio to be owned by the ownership group of the San Antonio Spurs. The group owning the 2015 league champion San Jose SaberCats returned the franchise to the league on November 12, 2015 for "reasons unrelated to League operations". Commissioner Scott Butera said the league would try to find new ownership, but this was not forthcoming in time for the team to operate during the 2016 season to defend its championship.[3] Because the league was now down to eight teams for the 2016 season, there were still the American and National Conferences but no divisional play. The Cleveland Gladiators were moved to the National Conference to maintain a balance between the conferences.[4] The league took over operations of the former Portland Thunder in January 2016[5] and rebranded it as the Portland Steel.[6] The 2016 schedule was announced on December 10, 2015.[7]
ArenaBowl Playoffs
All teams from both conferences qualified for the playoffs. As in the prior season, there were the Conference Semifinals, the Conference Championships, and ArenaBowl XXIX.
In the American Semifinals, the Soul beat the Storm 63–41 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Sharks beat the Predators 69–68 in overtime; the National Semifinals saw the Rattlers beat the Steel 84–40 and the Gladiators beat the Kiss 56–52 in San Diego, California.
The Rattlers doubled up the Gladiators 82–41 in the National Conference title game. In the American Conference title game, the Soul edged the Sharks by a score of 55–50.
The Philadelphia Soul upset the heavily-favored Arizona Rattlers 56–42 in ArenaBowl XXIX in Glendale, Arizona for their second AFL title.
Alignment
| Conference | Teams |
|---|---|
| American | Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators, Philadelphia Soul, Tampa Bay Storm |
| National | Arizona Rattlers, Cleveland Gladiators, Los Angeles Kiss, Portland Steel |
Regular season standings
| Team | Overall | Points | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | PF | PA | CON | Home | Away | ||||
| x-Arizona Rattlers | 13 | 3 | .813 | 1,068 | 766 | 8–0 | 8–0 | 5–3 | |||
| Los Angeles Kiss | 7 | 9 | .438 | 736 | 748 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 2–5 | |||
| Cleveland Gladiators | 7 | 9 | .438 | 826 | 934 | 2–4 | 4–4 | 3–5 | |||
| Portland Steel | 3 | 13 | .188 | 670 | 926 | 1–7 | 3–4 | 0–9 | |||
x - Clinched conference title.
Playoffs
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Championships | ArenaBowl XXIX | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Portland | 40 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 82 | ||||||||||||
| National Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Cleveland | 41 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Cleveland | 56 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Arizona | 42 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Philadelphia | 56 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tampa Bay | 41 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 55 | ||||||||||||
| American Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jacksonville | 50 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Orlando | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Jacksonville | 69OT | ||||||||||||
Conference semifinals
| Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | August 6 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 69–68 (OT) | Orlando Predators | Amway Center | [8] |
| National | August 6 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | Portland Steel | 40–84 | Arizona Rattlers | Talking Stick Resort Arena | [9] |
| American | August 7 | 6:00 p.m. EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | 41–63 | Philadelphia Soul | PPL Center | [10] |
| National | August 7 | 6:00 p.m. EDT | Cleveland Gladiators | 56–52 | Los Angeles Kiss | Valley View Casino Center | [11] |
Conference finals
| Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | August 13 | 9:30 p.m. EDT | Cleveland Gladiators | 41–82 | Arizona Rattlers | Talking Stick Resort Arena | [12] |
| American | August 14 | 6:00 p.m. EDT | Jacksonville Sharks | 50–55 | Philadelphia Soul | PPL Center | [13] |
ArenaBowl XXIX
| Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 26 | 7:00 PM EDT | Philadelphia Soul | 56–42 | Arizona Rattlers | Gila River Arena | [14] |