We’ll start off with the obvious caveat: OF COURSE there’s no way the NFL or any of the major American sports leagues will consider the idea of promotion and relegation, the concept used by the Premier League and other worldwide organizations to send its best second division squads up to and worst first-tier teams down.

For one, we know a terrible Major League Baseball team would crush its inferior Triple-A opponents, that an AHL team made up of NHLers would wreak havoc on the league and that the hapless 2018-19 New York Knicks would sweep through the NCAA tournament. Don’t argue. It’s the truth and you should accept it.

But now we’ve got competing football leagues looking to grab eyeballs from the NFL: The AAF created some buzz in its debut last week, and Vince McMahon’s XFL reboot — premiering next year — grabs headlines every time the league makes an announcement. The players who participate are at a high enough level that they’re borderline NFL players or at least some talents who were overlooked by 32 pro teams.

So here’s a brilliant idea that would bind the three leagues together involving promotion and relegation that would be amazing if it could be pulled off:

I have an idea. The winner of the XFL league plays the winner of the AAF. The winner of that game plays the NFL team with the worst record. If the NFL teams loses, they get demoted to the lesser league, and the team the beats them gets promoted to the NFL. Chaos ensues. — Bethany (@bmagg86) February 13, 2019

Again, I doubt the Arizona Cardinals would lose to the Arizona Hotshots in this matchup. BUT THINK OF ALL THE EXCITEMENT! Just the mere possibility of an NFL getting relegated to the AAF would blow up social media and would have people breaking down the game like it was the Super Bowl.

There are reasons to poke holes in the idea — for one, how would season-ticket holders feel about paying top dollar for a lesser league if their franchise was relegated? — but we here at For The Win love fun hypothetical sports ideas and this one is great. And some fans are weighing in with their modifications to it and some opinions on why it might work or not:

A more realistic move would be to add 1/2 NFL slots for AAF/XFL teams. If they reach the NFL playoffs, they stay in the NFL, otherwise, they get switched out. https://t.co/MoHX4dihWv — Sean Navarro (@seanavarro) February 14, 2019

The problem with this is the AAF players are making less than $100,000 on their contracts and the NFL CBA doesn’t allow any players to make that little money based on minimum contract rules. Clever idea if the NFL is willing to lose a lot of power, but they’re not https://t.co/Z6sowVvKis — Adam (@askolnick14) February 14, 2019

No, XFL vs AAF. Winner plays CFL champ. That winner plays NCAA champ. That winner plays worst in the NFL. — C. Rush (@chrisrush92) February 13, 2019

I think its called "relegation", and soccer leagues have only done it for the past +50 years. Would love to see it in NFL though, stop rewarding failing franchises. https://t.co/B6Er7gYIo0 — Jake Thaddeus (@StateFarmJake94) February 14, 2019

This also prevents NFL teams from tanking. Brings in a relegation factor, makes the league more competitive IMO. I love this idea so much. EPL feel to it, too. You gotta win to keep your place. https://t.co/NuAfZxbKtN — Caleb King (@__CalebKing) February 14, 2019

Can we get Roger Goodell, McMahon and Charlie Ebersol in a room just to discuss it?