Like the Arena Football League, the WIFL was to use rebound nets (the AFL's since-expired patent on them had not yet taken effect), but only to prevent losing balls: any ball that made contact with the nets would be declared dead, similar to a rule instituted by the National Hockey League over a decade later.
Players would be paid US$500 per game (a relatively high sum) or a third of ticket revenue, whichever was greater.
Eleven days prior to the WIFL's debut, however, Baltimore and San Antonio folded, and Indiana followed suit.
Not desiring to move forward with only three teams in the league, the remaining franchises instead sought to join the AFL to begin play in 1989.
When the AFL reportedly set the expansion fee in the seven-figure range (allegedly to purposefully discourage the WIFL teams from joining), the three teams could not meet those demands and folded.