 They were the sixth AFL team to leave for the IFL since the 2010 relaunch.On November 14, the AFL announced that it had granted a second franchise to Washington Valor owner Ted Leonsis to be based out of Baltimore for the 2017 season, the Baltimore Brigade, bringing the league up to five teams.On August 23, 2017, the week of ArenaBowl XXX, multiple sources revealed that the AFL planned to expand to Albany, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, for 2018.