[2] Players are usually paid $200 per week (before taxes), and veterans can make $225 with the potential raises for loyalty on a year-by-year basis.

Charter teams began being announced in July 2016 with the Columbus Lions and Lehigh Valley Steelhawks joining from the defunct American Indoor Football.

To balance the uneven scheduling, the Corpus Christi Rage and Dayton Wolfpack each only were given five home games while the other five teams each had six.

[16] During the summer league meetings, the NAL conditionally approved ownership groups in Boston, Providence, Richmond, and Orlando[17] with an expansion application deadline of August 15, 2017.

The Richmond Roughriders, formerly of Arena Pro Football, confirmed the next day that they were finalizing their NAL expansion requirements.

[19] The Carolina Cobras were announced in Greensboro on December 4 and the Maine Mammoths on December 5, with both teams owned by National Sports Ventures, and organization led by NAL executive Rob Storm and Atlanta businessman Richard Maslia[20] and includes Sharks' owner and expansion chairman Jeff Bouchy.

[28] After failing to reach an agreement with local ownership, both the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks and Maine Mammoths announced they had suspended operations for the season.

[33] The Massachusetts Pirates chose to not join the merged league[34] and the New York Streets were not mentioned as an included team.

As with almost all other sports leagues, the NAL suspended operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, with intention to hold the season once social distancing mandates were lifted and it was safe to do so.

[38] Following the cancellation of the 2020 season, Massachusetts Pirates left for the Indoor Football League (IFL), while the NAL announced the additions of the Albany Empire,[39] Baltimore Lightning,[40] Louisville Xtreme,[41] Ontario Bandits,[42] and the Tampa Bay Tornadoes.

The Louisville and Tampa Bay organizations left the league three months after being added, and the West Virginia Roughriders opted to go dormant for 2021 while the owner was trying to sell the team.

[51] On November 11, the league announced the San Antonio Gunslingers as an expansion team after playing their inaugural 2021 season in the AAL.

[52] The Roughriders, Ontario Bandits, and Jersey Flight were eventually removed from the list of 2022 NAL teams[53][54] and were not included in the schedule.

[59] In August 2023, the league announced it had added the Omaha Beef[60] and Sioux City Bandits[61] from Champions Indoor Football for the 2024 season.

[63] Also on August 31, the Warbirds, which had been renamed as the West Texas Desert Hawks, were announced as joining the relaunched Arena Football League.

[65] On September 21, the two-time American West Football Conference champions Idaho Horsemen joined the NAL.

[71] The Tropics put out an open letter begging members of the Topeka business community to buy and save the franchise.

[74] On July 9, 2024, the league announced a merger with the remaining teams in American Indoor Football and added the Corpus Christi Tritons and Harrisburg Stampede and welcomed back the Columbus Lions.