The Jacksonville Sharks are changing football leagues. Here's what you need to know.

Two weeks ago, the Jacksonville Sharks lifted the National Arena League trophy.

Now, they're swimming away in search of less stormy waters.

The Sharks are moving from the NAL to the Indoor Football League for the 2024 season, the club announced at a Tuesday press conference inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

The IFL becomes the third league for the Sharks, who originally competed in the Arena Football League from 2010 to 2016 before moving into the NAL after the 2016 season. Amid continuing uncertainty in the NAL, which dwindled to five franchises by the season's end, Sharks co-owner Kevin Wezniak said the time was right to make the move.

"We looked around at the end of the season, and we want that stability, that structure, the people in place that can make our organization better," said Wezniak, who also said that discussions between the Sharks and the IFL had been continuing for years.

The Sharks would open their IFL schedule at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena beginning next spring. The league has not yet released its schedule for 2024, although the 2023 season ran from March 17 through July 15.

For the Sharks, the goal is stability. For the IFL, which concluded its 15th season this summer, the move brings on board a team with four championships across two leagues in the indoor game.

"How do you put a cherry on top of a season like that?" IFL commissioner Todd Tryon said. "In my opinion, you add the most respected, the most recognizable brand arguably in indoor football, and that's the Jacksonville Sharks."

MOVING ON FROM NAL

The Sharks were the last original member left from the NAL's launch at the end of 2016.

Jacksonville won three of the six NAL championships -- the league did not play in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic -- after previously capturing an ArenaBowl trophy in the AFL in 2011.

While the Sharks in many ways became the league's flagship franchise, the NAL's revolving-door financial instability ultimately led Jacksonville toward the exit.

The league began the 2023 season with seven teams, but two -- the Albany Empire, owned by former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the Fayetteville Mustangs -- failed to finish out the season. The NAL announced the pending arrival of two newcomers for next year, the Omaha Beef and the Sioux City Bandits, but the concerns remained.

"Over time, it kind of was getting stale," Wezniak said. "We were losing a lot of teams, we were seeing games not happening and we were looking for that leadership. We worked so hard to put our house in order, we wanted a better league for us so that we survive for our fans."

WHO IS IN THE INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE?

The IFL, based in Grand Island, Neb., began play in 2008 and fielded 14 teams in the just-completed 2023 season, including two of the sport's most prominent names in the Arizona Rattlers and the Iowa Barnstormers.

Other teams in the IFL in 2023 were the Frisco Fighters, Green Bay Blizzard, Massachusetts Pirates, Quad City Steamwheelers, Sioux Falls Storm, Tulsa Oilers, Bay Area Panthers, Duke City Gladiators, Northern Arizona Wranglers, San Diego Strike Force, Tucson Sugar Skulls and Vegas Knight Hawks.

Tryon said the IFL rules will be largely familiar for Jacksonville fans. Among the most notable differences, the IFL uses a two-platoon system instead of the iron-man game of the NAL.

"There's very similar rules and I would say that the casual fan watching probably won't tell much of a difference," he said.

Tryon said the league is also working with New York-based technology company Simplebet on a system that will enable in-game betting on individual plays, as well as fantasy football platforms.

He also highlighted the IFL's player development partnership with the XFL, including a combine that included more than 200 players over the summer.

"The goal is to advance the player, whether it's on or off the field, and we've already got that in place," Tryon said.

LONG ROAD AHEAD

Still, the move isn't without challenges for the Sharks, and the most obvious is travel.

Among other issues, the Sharks will incur significantly higher additional travel expenses compared to the NAL, which was largely centered on the Southeast. The only other franchise from the 2023 season in the Eastern time zone was the Massachusetts Pirates.

Although the IFL is also planning an expansion franchise for Columbus, Ohio, the next closest teams to Jacksonville would be Frisco, Tulsa and Quad City, all more than 1,000 miles away by road. Still, Sharks coach Jason Gibson welcomed the new chance to face off against the likes of Arizona.

"It's a good opportunity to see growth," Sharks coach Jason Gibson said, "and I'm excited for the challenge."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Sharks to join Indoor Football League for 2024 season