Former Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain yanked and tugged at the fishing pole. He didn’t know if it was a whale or a tuna.
“I want to see a fish actually come out of that thing, now,” Banta-Cain said.
He didn’t know because he wasn’t in the ocean. He was in the fishing simulator at the Rhode Island Offshore Invitational fan fest on Bowen’s Wharf in Newport. The Sport Fishing Championship was in town, one of the many initiatives the league took in an area it hopes to leverage for growth.
“One of the things that we found right away, that was apparent, the New England community is a community of passionate fishermen,” SFC founder and CEO Mark Neifeld said.
The SFC, which kicked off its inaugural season in 2022, is a 13-team offshore fishing league. The teams compete in the Gulf or Atlantic Division. The Atlantic features two teams from New England: Lights Out Boston and the Rhode Island Breakers.
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The tournament took place from July 24-26, and was the first in Rhode Island and the penultimate match to the Atlantic Division championship. The Cape Cod Invitational was a week prior.
In Newport, teams competed 120 miles offshore, sleeping on their boats for the weekend and competing in a catch-and-release scoring format. The conditions made for a rough weekend, but the New Jersey Sea Birds came out on top.
In addition to the simulators, the tournament featured live streaming with on-board camera crews.
Breakers owner Paul Squarcia said the festivities and technology are part of an aim to bridge the gap between the waves and the fan base.
“My vision is really the Savannah Bananas … everybody watching somebody patiently wait to catch a fish is not that exciting,” Squarcia said.
The simulator adds the hands-on experience to that picture.
“You really start to feel the difference between a 20-pound tuna and a 70-pound tuna. I think that’s something really unique to our sport. You can’t log into your Madden franchise and get tackled by Myles Garrett,” Neifeld said.
Why should people care about fishing?
According to NOAA Fisheries, recreational fishing generated $173 billion in sales impacts in 2023. Bass Pro Shops, which Squarcia and Neifeld cited as part of their business motivation, generated $7.39 billion in retail sales in 2024, per the National Retail Federation.
Neifeld said the league wanted to capitalize on a “white space” in sports media.
What has likely helped the SFC is its celebrity presence.
Former No. 1 NBA draft pick Ben Simmons owns the South Florida Sails, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler owns the Texas Lone Stars, and Super Bowl champion tight end Trey Burton is an angler on the Sea Birds. Banta-Cain, who lives in Newport, was a guest but has participated in charity tournaments.
The competitive nature and mental benefits are some of the many reasons athletes are attracted to the sport.
“A lot of us are chasing the unknown, in the sense of like, this marlin fishing is out of this world,” Burton said. “Not many people in the world ever get a chance to fish at this level or fish like this on these big, unbelievable boats.”
Burton, a Florida native, got into fishing because of his constant beach trips growing up, something he said he “hated.” Eventually, he used that time to catch a few dozen shrimp on the pier.
While a distaste for the trips may not be part of it, many celebrity athletes had a similar affinity for the sport before getting involved in the SFC. Neifeld said the league’s owners are typically passionate about the sport or see the business opportunity it presents.
It also must help that the SFC invites NFL stars to compete in its annual pro-am exhibition, The Catch. Jameis Winston, Jarvis Landry, and Dalvin Cook have been some of the many guests.
Well before the league’s inception, Banta-Cain said a fishing culture existed in the Patriots’ locker room, with players such as Randy Moss, Tedy Bruschi, and Matt Light fishermen.
“New England is definitely a fishing capital,” Banta-Cain said. “So I got exposed to that just from playing and seeing other guys boast and brag about their catches over the weekend.”
People gathered around a live video feed during the Sport Fishing Championship’s Rhode Island Offshore Invitational.
People gathered around a live video feed during the Sport Fishing Championship’s Rhode Island Offshore Invitational.
The league is looking to capitalize on that, as an expansion team has been offered for sale in Connecticut. Specifically, Neifeld considers the coastlines north of Cape May, N.J., as a mainstay in the SFC’s plan.
Since Day 1, the league has made clear it has to take advantage of what’s regarded as one of the best areas in the country.
Now that players have experience with tournaments in Newport and on Cape Cod, they know that, as well.
“They’ve got to do things like what they did in Rhode Island, it’s only going to make the league more popular,” Burton said. “I thought Florida was, and I still do for the most part, think it’s the best fishing in America, but the fishery up north is out of this world.”