History of the Philadelphia Liberty

Founding

On July 5, 2017, adam2552 was given the rights to start a new NSFC team in Philadelphia. Prior to the S2 Expansion Draft, Silver Fox was hired as the Liberty’s Co-GM. Shortly after the announcement, the Liberty traded for Stephen Harris (K/P) who would officially become the first Liberty player. The Liberty then selected 11 players during the expansion draft on July 11, 2017, only one of whom is still currently on the roster: safety Vikain Marmaledov. In the time period leading up to the S2 NSFL Draft, the Liberty made several trades to acquire more picks. First, they moved from the first to second overall pick and acquired two mid-round picks, then the Liberty moved from the second to the seventh overall pick and picked up another early pick. Through a series of these trades, the Liberty snagged a league-high 18 picks in the historic S2 draft. These picks formed the bulk of the Liberty’s S2 roster and were the foundation of the team that won the Liberty’s first Ultimus Championship in Season 7.

S2 - S4: The Adam 2552 Era

The Liberty went 5-9 in their first franchise season, the capstone of which was a 45-7 Week 15 win over the San Jose Sabercats. With the bulk of the team being Season 2 players, a sizable improvement was expected in Season 3 for the Liberty. Additionally, the team made a QB change, starting S3 rookie Clifford Rove over the inactive Jameis Christ. The team started S3 with an abysmal 0-3-1 record, but turned it around, winning 8 of their last ten games to clinch the franchise’s first playoff spot. The Liberty were demolished on the road in that playoff game, however, ending their season. In that offseason, Norfolk Seawolves head GM was promoted to Liberty Co-GM. The Liberty started S4 similarly weakly, winning just two of their first seven games. Once again, however, they turned it around towards the end of the season, going 5-2 to clinch their second consecutive playoff spot. This time, the story was different, as the Liberty played a competitive game on the road and forced overtime against the Yellowknife Wraiths. However, they eventually lost after not touching the ball once in overtime. After S4, Adam 2552 announced he was stepping down from the job and promoted Tyler Oles to head GM.

S5 - S7: Oles takes over, success continues

In S5, the Liberty offense enjoyed by far their best season yet as QB Clifford Rove exploded into the upper tier of NSFL QBs by tossing 38 TDs and only 17 INTs. However, the Liberty defense faltered late into the season and the Liberty missed the playoffs on the conference record tiebreaker. After that season, star CB Tyler Oles, who also played QB in high school, decided to change positions and take up QB full-time. Current QB Clifford Rove became a CB. Oles had a very effective first season, setting new franchise records for passing attempts, completions, completion %, and passing yards. Oles also became the first Liberty quarterback to pass for over 5,000 yards. Led by Oles, the Liberty enjoyed their most prolific season yet, starting the season with an upset of the Wraiths on the road and earning the franchise’s first #1 seed with a 9-5 record. The Liberty earned a convincing win over the Wraiths in the playoffs to advance to their first ever Ultimus. The Liberty went toe-for-toe with the Otters until the last drive, when WR Josh Garden dropped the game-winning touchdown pass. The Liberty offense enjoyed another productive season, assisted by Oles’ best season yet. The defense improved even more from S6’s NSFC-winning team, driving the Liberty to the a 10-4 record, the best ever seen by the Liberty. However, the Yellowknife Wraiths saw nearly unprecedented success and the Liberty only received the #2 seed. In the playoffs, however, the Liberty played a nearly perfect first quarter against the overwhelmingly favored Wraiths, allowing them to surge ahead to a 17-0 lead on the way to their second consecutive Ultimus appearance. The Liberty, once again massive underdogs, surged out to a 21-3 lead that was just too much for the Otters to overcome. The Liberty became the first NSFC team to win the prestigious Ultimus trophy. After the season, Tyler Oles continued his rise up the ranks as he was hired to the NSFL Head Office. Former San Antonio Marshals GM Kevin Kolbe was hired to the Co-GM spot. Current Co-GM Raashad Brooks was also promoted to the head GM slot.

S8 - : The Brooks era begins

Brooks took over in advance of S8, which saw numerous star players hit by the effects of old age.