Almost two decades before the Beach Football League's official launch, founder Tully Banta-Cain was dreaming big.
The former New England Patriots linebacker recalls being at a practice early in his career and asking team chairman and CEO Robert Kraft if he could ever envision a player owning an NFL team one day.
Winning two Super Bowls was great, but Banta-Cain knew there were levels to success. Down the line, when his playing days were done, he was motivated to unlock them.
"It goes all the way back to my playing days," Banta-Cain said. "I actually asked Robert Kraft one day at practice if he ever thought a player could own an NFL team one day. It was one of those things where I always had a vision."
That vision started to take shape after his retirement, even if it would take a few more years after that for the world's first beach tackle football league to come to fruition.
Back in his home state of California, Banta-Cain went jogging on the oceanfront path in picturesque Manhattan Beach. As he ran past wide stretches of sand lined with bustling volleyball courts, inspiration struck.
What if he could organize something as legitimate as the Association of Volleyball Professional's Beach Volleyball Pro Series, but with tackle football?
"I just started doing what everyone does when they think of an idea like that," Banta-Cain said.
"You Google it to see if there's anything already out there, and I didn't find anything. There was no beach football league. There had been charity events, and the Pro Bowl used to have a beach flag game, but that stopped after a former Patriots running back, Robert Edwards, suffered a career-altering injury. So it was one of those things where we saw a lane and I went for it."
Making it happen didn't come without some bumps in the sand, though.
The global COVID-19 pandemic forced a pause, and Banta-Cain earned a coaching internship with the San Francisco 49ers through the Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship program. If he didn't get a job on the coaching staff, he promised himself he would go all in on the BFL.
Sitting in the back of these 49ers meetings, he drew up a potential logo and drafted a rule book in his notebooks. Attending Super Bowls as part of the NFL Player's Choir, he was able to share his ideas and gauge interest from NFL players and coaches.
Banta-Cain also tapped into his friend, Adam Cyril Nesheim, to take on the challenge with him from the ground level.
The now business partners initially met at Nesheim's neighborhood barbecue in Hermosa Beach, becoming fast friends who bonded over football, music, and beach culture.
Both from the Bay Area, the entrepreneurial spirit rubbed off on them. There was no class or YouTube video on how to create a new sports league, but they looked at the business as filling a void and solving a problem, just like any other successful product.
"The joy the game brings to so many people is really why I'm in it," Nesheim said.
"Football has always been a centerpiece of my life and it taught me so many life lessons and opened up so many doors for me. Having the opportunity to give people a salary or provide them a place to play – there are so many football players that come from Division I, Division II, Division III, hundreds of thousands of them, but as we know only a couple hundred will be selected in the NFL Draft. So the talent pool that is out there just in the US alone is so vast, and the idea was to be able to provide an outlet for so many talented players that don't get a shot to play on Sundays. That's why I wanted to team up with Tully."
The duo studied the model of a few emerging sports, like beach volleyball, beach soccer, and even the BIG3 pro basketball league. A serendipitous run-in with Paul Rabil in Manhattan Beach really gave them something to strive for, as Banta-Cain learned the former lacrosse star and his team were huddled around a laptop working to get the Premier Lacrosse League off the ground.
"Now, (the PLL) has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and the league is on ESPN, and it's so cool to see the growth of that," Banta-Cain said.
"That was a huge inspiration because we felt lacrosse is a big sport, but with football, and flag football now being in the Olympics, players are looking for alternative ways to compete, because it's not a sport like basketball where you can just go to a park and play pickup. It has to be organized, and this is another outlet."
With a business plan and the means to bootstrap, Banta-Cain and Nesheim got to work to launch the first pilot event in Hampton Beach last summer. Leveraging his status as a former athlete in New England and his community ties, the hope was he could get support from fans and players.
Current and former Patriots Kendrick Bourne, Jamie Collins, and Max Lane were among a group who traveled up to New Hampshire with Patriots Cheerleaders to engage fans and generate hype, and John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Chamber of Commerce, was instrumental in helping Banta-Cain get this off the ground, even getting them in touch with former New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu for state-wide support.
Nyhan has even offered his own ideas for how to improve the BFL's future stops at Hampton Beach, suggesting bleachers, beer gardens, and other activations to draw fans and families in.
"We've had a couple of planning meetings already, and I believe some of the things we have brainstormed so far really fit the Patriots community model," Nyhan said. "It will be a two-day event as of right now, Saturday and Sunday, with all of the all-star football players from high schools all around the seacoast of New Hampshire playing tackle football against first responders on the beach the first day."
Volunteers from the Winnacunnet High School football team volunteered last summer, and to thank them, Banta-Cain made a $1,000 donation to the program, Nyhan shared.
And if last year was any indication, the Granite State will once again embrace having representation from their hometown team come to them for a change.
"Lines were everywhere for signatures, picture taking, and there's so many people up here who don't get down to Foxborough and aren't able to attend Patriots games or events often or ever," Nyhan said.
"So for them to come here, for not only the adults but the children, so many New Hampshire fans wore their Patriots football shirts and it was amazing to see how the community accepted this event."
Banta-Cain and Nesheim have seen similar responses from the other communities they'll expand to in 2025.
"You can tell people about a beach football league, and it sounds good, but until you show people the vision it's hard to just describe it," Banta-Cain said.
"Having the players who went out there and coaches, the NFL guys who came out, the kids who participated in our kids activation – they're all coming back and asking when the next event is because it was just such a special day. Everyone had so much fun. To see it come to life and for people to embrace it, that's what I get excited about. I get chills daily thinking about what this thing could be."
With the organic success of the pilot event, the BFL enters its next phase: scaling.
The 2025 tryout circuit expands from coast to coast. Eventually, each of those cities will boast its own professional BFL team.
"It checks all the boxes because it's for kids, it's for adults, it's family friendly," Banta-Cain said. "It's motivational and it gets everyone kind of involved. We're bringing in local business, we promote local hotels and restaurants, so everyone wins. It's been amazing."
The schedule begins in May at Hermosa Beach, where Banta-Cain and Nesheim first came up with the idea. They'll also hit Santa Cruz, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., and Wildwood, N.J. before coming back to New England.
"We are so excited to bring this to a region in the US where people kind of overlook as far as beaches go," Nesheim said of their final two stops in Newport, R.I. and Hampton Beach.
"They think of California and Florida beaches, but the northeast is just beautiful and I think events there are going to be such a home run."
Beyond that, the expansion possibilities are endless.
Until recently, the BFL has avoided initial institutional investments, sticking to a self-sustaining business model. Essentially, it's run like a pop-up. They pull permits from the host city, bring in sponsors and activations, and play football.
The potential for growth extends beyond the United States, mirroring the NFL's hopes to expand the game of football internationally, and really, to anywhere the BFL can bring a dump truck full of sand.
The BFL also helps make the game more accessible.
"We hit the missing element because football is primarily played in the fall and winter, so to open it up to a year-round possibility on the beach is just totally different," Banta-Cain said.
"It's so different how the game is played, so we have our own unique angle and it's a big opportunity to grow the sport. Football, especially tackle football, you have to buy pads, helmets, all of this equipment, where our league doesn't really require that. So kids from all demographics and financial backgrounds just need a football. They can just go out to a beach and play. That's our angle too, is that we want to help football be more accessible."
Playing on a soft surface like sand, and without pads, helps limit some injury concerns. Having both coached football together at Saint Monica Preparatory in Santa Monica and understanding the importance of player safety, Banta-Cain and Nesheim see what their league could do for youth participation.
"I just love the idea of that little kid who maybe doesn't have enough money to play peewee because the pads and the travel costs are too high," Nesheim added.
"We want to be able to make it so any kid could come kick off their shoes, put their feet in the sand, and play the game."
Thinking long term, the BFL hope to secure network and streaming partners and maybe even acquire facilities in desirable, beachfront locations. The possibilities are as vast as the ocean, but one goal stands out for the commissioners.
"The ideal would be to see this become an Olympic sport," Banta-Cain said.
"It really could help to unify the world in that respect of football. It could almost be the summer version of the NFL, you know? The NFL but with shades and sandals. I think it could become one of the next big sports. The sky is the limit."
Registration is currently open for men and women, with different divisions for youth, co-ed flag, and both male and female tackle in each city. Learn more and register now at BeachFootballLeague.com.
