Arena Football League and Arena Football One, LLC v. Bryon Bishop

Bryon Bishop once played for the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League (“AFL”). Although he and the team parted ways after just one season, Bishop later participated in a Predators tryout, hoping to resume his professional football career. On the second day of the two-day tryout, Bishop suffered an on-the-field injury. The issue in this case is whether the AFL must provide workers’ compensation benefits for that injury. 1

Bishop’s entitlement to benefits turns on whether he was an AFL employee, which turns on what we make of the “Standard Player Contract” that Bishop signed (the…