The Minnesota Monsters (f.k.a. Duluth Harbor Monsters) are jumping from TAL to AF1
- Trey
- 2 minutes ago
- 5 min read
In the past week, multiple sources reached out to Off The Wall with information regarding the two-time defending Arenamania champions from Duluth making the jump from The Arena League to Arena Football One for the 2026 season, and it looks like the Minnesota Monsters made it official this afternoon:
This is a HUGE move that shakes things up and sends ripples through the arena & indoor football world, but it is also looking like it will become a messy situation very, very quickly.
For those not familiar with TAL, it's a newer league entering it's third season in 2026 with a hybrid style of arena football. Think of it as 7-on-7 meets arena football, and you get the TAL.
The Duluth Harbor Monsters have dominated the league through the first two seasons and appear to have their sights set on goals beyond the TAL -- and it looks like they get a new start in the AF1 with the Minnesota Monsters.
Let's take a look at what this means for each league and where we go from here.
What This Means For The AF1
The AF1 gets an immediate jolt during an offseason where there has been some good, more bad and some stuff that's just still unknown. With the Kansas teams leaving for more regional pastures and things still up in there with the Michigan expansion, this is a big win for the league and gives them some positive momentum to build off of. We haven't heard a lot out of the AF1 camp beyond free agency up until this point, and getting a defending champion (twice over) to join your league is a big win.
Just think about the possible matchups now:
Minnesota vs Albany
Nashville vs Minnesota
Tony O'Neil vs Damon Ware
The All-Yellow of Duluth (or will it be an all-different color?) vs the All-Purple of Washington
Matchups that were big time "What if..." questions these past few seasons become a reality very, very quickly -- and it might be one of the quickest league jumps we've ever seen in the sport. From what I was able to gather, this came together very quickly for all parties involved.
Part of the reason it seems to have escalated so fast is a change in ownership.
"After multiple discussions throughout the 2025 season, Brent Labrie and Kramer Service Group has now sold the team to Jacob Lambert and J&B Manufactured Homes. Lambert is a native of Kettle River and was very involved with the team as a sponsor before.
With the move, General Manager Steve Walters also owns 10 percent of the team."
The Harbor Monsters were so dominant in TAL play that there were times these last two seasons where it seemed like Duluth just had more players on the field than their opponent.
But how will that translate to the AF1? There's a lot of question marks, ranging from the potential venue constraints to house the rebound nets to the change in roster philosophy.
In TAL there are no kickers, no uprights, and you typically saw one O-linemen in an offensive set, with various combinations of skill position players fielding the rest of the formation.
One of Duluth's strengths these past 2 seasons was overwhelming opposing offenses with a monstrous pass rush and dominant D-line play -- overpowering skill position players that were no match for the size, power and speed of the Duluth defensive line.
Now, they will be going up against three offensive linemen every set and every snap.
Now, Duluth will have to incorporate a kicking game, and with that comes the beauty and terror of the rebound nets and all of the logistics that go with that.
Now, they will be picking on someone their own size in the AF1. This is going to be a fun story to see unfold. Not to mention:
Duluth Head Coach Tony O'Neil on a bigger stage with a bigger microphone?
Yeah, sign me up.
What This Means For TAL
This one hurts if you are The Arena League. The premier franchise in the league's short two-year history and the true model for consistency and excellence so far bouncing for a bigger league this quickly stings.
In an interview earlier this year, TAL Commissioner Tim Brown mentioned wanting to get from 6 teams in 2025 to potential 10-12 teams in 2026.
When reached out to for comment by Off The Wall this past weekend when the rumors were swirling, a prominent TAL leader mentioned the league was still planning on proceeding with the same 6 teams from last season, as well as a couple of new expansion franchises.
Duluth was also very quick to shut down rumors that they were interested in going to the IFL not too long ago and were adamant about the bright future of TAL.
Fast forward to earlier today, The Arena League made a lengthy announcement on several topics related to the Duluth Harbor Monsters:
Included on the lengthy press release are notes on the Ownership Status of the team, as well as the league's commitment to Stability & Growth.
“As of today, Mr. Lambert has not completed the formal application process to the TAL, which is a required step in any ownership transfer, nor has he fully paid for the purchase of the team”
“All members are contracted to the TAL in perpetuity, thus giving the TAL permanent stability.”
It seems like this relationship between the team and the league soured very quickly. But why the sudden change of heart? Was the new ownership mentioned earlier the catalyst for all of this happening? Does Duluth feel like they have "outgrown" the TAL?
There's a lot that will unfold with this situation throughout this offseason and it feels like this is just the beginning. But as of now, the leadership team of the Duluth Harbor Monsters seem to be leaving the brand behind and starting a true expansion team from scratch.
Do we see the Duluth Harbor Monsters brand revived with a new ownership group next season? What does that mean for the TAL? Where do they go from here with growth?
Looking at the map, there's a clear pattern with franchises so far:
Get on I-35, start driving and you'll run into a city with a team.
But where exactly do we see the TAL expanding into?
Head west of I-35 and you run into a very crowded marketing place with a bunch of teams currently in the National Arena League.
Do they go east into Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri & Illinois?
Or do they create another 'pod' of teams in a different part of the country and make two conferences? Sort of like what the ENTFLA was supposed to be?
Like I said, this is a big blow to TAL and we'll have to see how they plan to grow from here.
Losing the dominant team is never ideal for a league, but Harbor Monsters are the northern most team in the league. So maybe if you are looking for a positive spin zone, at least it wasn't one of the centrally located teams? At least it was a regional outlier franchise?
....
....
....
Idk man, I'm grasping at straws lol. This just stinks for The Arena League if the Harbor Monsters do leave or if the leadership that has been running the team picks up their ball and goes home. It feels like this story is farrrrrrr from being over.
A lot more questions than answers that will just take time to work out.
What's next for the AF1? Where does TAL go from here? What do YOU think?