There’s been a lot of news around the AF1 this week. Some of it is going to make a real impact on Arena operations moving forward, both for individual teams and for the league as a whole. Let’s get into some of the bigger stories.
Billings Signs Last Chance U Alum
The Billings Outlaws and Coach Cedric Walker are apparently still not satisfied with their QB play. On Tuesday, May 6, Billings signed former Last Chance U standout Malik Henry. Henry was featured in season three and four of the Netflix program. He has since played spent time in the Canadian Football League, the Indoor Football League and the National Arena League.
Earlier this year, Henry was signed to play QB for the Arizona Bandits, one of 12 teams originally slated to be a part of the AF1 in their debut season. Of course Arizona eventually opted not to participate in the 2025 season due to financial issues.
Billings is currently on a four game losing streak and are desperate for solutions. Let’s hope Henry has what they need to finally turn things around.
Morton is Moving on Up
Jalen Morton is headed to Birmingham. The AF1 MVP candidate signed with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions on Tuesday. UFL News Hub’s Greyson Alman breaks down the implications of the signing and details Birmingham’s ongoing string of bad luck under center HERE.
While it’s a huge opportunity for Morton, it creates a 6’4” 225 lbs hole at QB for the SW Kansas Storm. The Storm are currently second in the AF1 and coming off a big win over the Billings Outlaws in Week Eight. Morton is currently leading the AF1 in Passing Yards, Rushing Yards, Rushing Touchdowns and he’s second in Passing Touchdowns. Morton’s consistently incredible performance has led to his backup Jairus Grissom not getting a lot of snaps this season. It’s unclear if Grissom is going to get the keys moving forward.
The Storm are going into a bye week. So Coach Gary Thomas has a little more time to figure out the situation. At this time, they’ve yet to add another QB to the roster.
Jon Gruden Joins Kats Ownership Group
On Tuesday May 5, Super Bowl winning Coach Jon Gruden formally joined the ownership group of the AF1’s Nashville Kats.
UFL News Hub’s Mark Perry covered the details HERE.
Kats President and Partner Jeff Fisher, who is also the Commissioner of the AF1 said of the announcement, “The Nashville Kats and the Arena Football 1 league are very excited to have someone with Jon’s experience, expertise, and success to not only be part of the ownership but also take an active role in a variety of ways within the organization.”
You can follow this LINK for the full press release.
Billings on the Move?
Outlaws Owner and Team President Steve Titus made headlines Sunday morning when he floated the possibility of moving the team on twitter.
As we’ve detailed in multiple stories on UFL News Hub, the Outlaws are on a four game losing streak. Saturday night they lost to the SW Kansas Storm 49-31 and fell to fifth place in the league with a record of 2-4.
After his Sunday tweet, on Tuesday, May 6, Titus, who is certainly living up to his description of himself as a “transparent person”, then gave a follow-up interview to The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports. In the interview Titus breaks down in vivid detail the financial struggles the team is currently facing.
Notable quotes include “the money doesn’t make sense to stay in Billings” and Titus stated the odds of the Outlaws staying in Billings next season were “50-50”.
To Titus’ credit, he said that the Outlaws weren’t considering bailing on this season but he couldn’t guarantee they’d still be in Billings come 2026. He told 406 MT Sports, “Outlaws football is not going anywhere. The only question is whether we’re playing in Billings or somewhere else.”
It’s a great interview. Titus goes into a lot of detail on what it financially takes to keep a team running. You can read all of those quotes and the story in its entirety HERE.
Week Eight Players of the Week
This week’s AF1 players of the week awards went to Salina QB Rakeem Cato on Offense, Oregon Defensive Lineman Mike Fields on Defense and Salina Wide Receiver Dez Epps on Special teams.
See the tweet below for a more detailed breakdown of their stats:
AF1 Mid-Season Awards
We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the season and the AF1 celebrated by handing out their Mid-Season awards. According to the AF1, “We asked TheAF1.com contributors along with a few other great minds to stack up the votes for Mideast on MVP, Coach of the Year, and many other awards!”
I’ll give you a summary below but you can read the AF1’s full press release HERE.
First Team All-Arena Fullback
Tracy Brooks- Salina Liberty: 43 Carries, 82 Yards, 7 Rushing Touchdowns, 13 Receptions, 88 Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Second Team All-Arena Fullback
Logan Wright- SW Kansas Storm: 41 Carries, 130 Yards, 5 Rushing Touchdowns, 3 Receptions, 31 Yards, 1 Touchdown
All-Arena Wide Receiver
Duane Brown- Albany Firebirds: 40 Receptions, 563 Yards, 20 Touchdowns
Demarius Washington- SW Kansas Storm: 36 Receptions, 454 Yards, 7 Touchdowns
Darius Prince- Billings Outlaws: 32 Receptions, 399 yards, 8 Touchdowns
First-Team All-Arena Offensive Line
Colby Byrd- Albany Firebirds
Jeremy Martin- Salina Liberty
Sama Paama- SW Kansas Storm
Second-Team All-Arena Offensive Line
Alex Heil- SW Kansas Storm
Alekisanita Tapa- Salina Liberty
Brandon Nicholson- Albany Firebirds.
All-Arena Defensive Lineman
Ezekiel Rose- Albany Firebirds: 13 Tackles, 6 Sacks
Henry Kellogg- Salina Liberty: 8 Tackles, 6 Sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles
Chei Hill- Washington Wolfpack: 15 Tackles, 10 Sacks
All-Arena Linebacker
Dejon Walden- Albany Firebirds: 16 Tackles, 7 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble
Drew Singleton- Albany Firebirds: 17 Tackles, 6 Sacks, 3 Fumble Recoveries, 3 Forced Fumbles
All-Arena Defensive Back
Michael Lawson- SW Kansas Storm: 56 Tackles, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 2 Forced Fumbles, 4 Interceptions
Isaiah McFarland- Nashville Kats: 19 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery, 9 Interceptions, 3 Touchdowns
Shaun Lewis- Nashville Kats: 14 Tackles, 6 Interceptions
First-Team All-Arena Kicker
Henry Nell- Albany Firebirds: 3 FG Attempts, 2 FG, 47 PAT Attempts, 41 PAT, 12 Deuces
Second-Team All-Arena Kicker
Dillon Burkhard- SW Kansas Storm: 5 FG Attempts, 3 FG, 32 PAT Attempts, 24 PAT, 2 Deuces
All-Arena Kick Returner
Marquel Wade- Albany Firebirds: 26 Kick Returns, 470 Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Coach of the Year
Damon Ware- Albany Firebirds
First-Team All-Arena Quarterback
Sam Castronova- Albany Firebirds: 143 Passing Attempts, 84 Passing Completions, 1,112 Yards, 33 Passing Touchdowns, 21 Rushes, 122 Rushing Yards, 3 Rushing Touchdowns
Second-Team All-Arena Quarterback
Jalen Morton- SW Kansas Storm: 243 Passing Attempts, 108 Passing Completions, 1,355 Yards, 22 Passing Touchdowns, 63 Rushes, 285 Rushing Yards, 11 Rushing Touchdowns
Most Valuable Player
Sam Castronova- Albany Firebirds
Which AF1 Mascot are you?
And finally, ViceTV has concocted a scientific GIF that will help you finally determine which AF1 Mascot you are. Enjoy!
