WHEELING, W.Va. – Chris Duffy, the owner of the Wheeling Miners Football organization, announced Wednesday that he is now a co-owner of the semi-pro team, the Pittsburgh Outlaws.
A professional team like the Wheeling Miners utilizing a semi-pro team as a farm system creates a low-cost, flexible pipeline for player development, injury replacement, and scouting. It allows parent clubs to “park” prospects for development without full salary burdens and offers a place for injured players to rehab, ensuring a steady, controlled flow of talent.
Key advantages include:
• Cost-Effective Development: Provides a venue to train younger or inexperienced players without the high costs associated with higher-tier, fully professional minor league affiliates.
• Immediate Depth and Injury Coverage: When injuries occur on the main roster, the semi-pro team provides readily available, organized, and familiar replacements.
• Player Conditioning and Rehab: Injured professional players can gain game-time experience and conditioning in a less pressurized, lower-stakes environment.
• Strategic Scouting & “Parking”: Allows the organization to retain rights to players who are not quite ready for the top tier, preventing them from being signed by competitors while they continue to develop.
• Evaluation in Real Game Conditions: Coaches can evaluate potential, performance, and attitude in competitive yet less intense situations before promoting players to the professional roster.
While true minor league systems (such as in MLB) are fully professional, using a semi-pro team offers similar developmental benefits with lower overhead. This model is frequently seen in sports like soccer and was historically used in baseball to manage roster depth.
Practice Squad
In gridiron football, the practice squad—also called the taxi squad or practice roster—is a group of players signed by a team but not part of the main roster. The Pittsburgh Outlaws are back-to-back WIF champions.
Duffy says he looks forward to expanding the talent level in the Valley.
