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THE MINNESOTA MONSTERS REACHED a contractual agreement with Meadow Lemon and LemonMade Entertainment LLC to lead marketing and franchise management operations as the club prepares for its inaugural season in the Arena One Football League.
Lemon will serve as chief executive officer and general manager.
The Monsters will begin league play in May 2026 and play their home games at Amsoil Arena.
Lemon is the son of Harlem Globetrotters legend Meadowlark Lemon, who spent 24 seasons with the team.
“Meadow Lemon represents exactly what we want this franchise to stand for,” Monsters owner Jake Lambert said. “He understands leadership, brand, and community. This is not just about football. This is about building something that lasts. His background, experience, and vision make him the right person to lead this organization forward.”
One of Lemon’s first moves with Lambert was to secure Parthé Visual Communications Group to handle brand and marketing efforts for the franchise.
“We are thrilled to be part of the Minnesota Monsters from the very beginning,” said Paul Lemenager, president of Parthé Visual Communications Group. “This franchise has authentic leadership and a compelling story. Our team is excited to help bring the Monsters brand to life and support the growth of the Arena One Football League. This is a special opportunity.”
The Monsters will open their home schedule May 22, 2026, against the Nashville Kats.
“This is alignment,” Lemon said. “Jake brings strong business leadership and community roots. Paul brings elite creative vision. I bring structure, culture, and execution. My father taught me that entertainment and excellence go hand in hand. We are building a franchise with purpose, pride, and long-term vision.”
Additional announcements regarding ticketing, partnerships and community initiatives will be made in the coming months.
. . .
THERE'S A QUIET LITTLE TRUTH about professional football that rarely shows up on highlight reels or recruiting boards, but it was sitting right there in plain sight during a recent National Scouting Combine interview between Eric Wilson and Arena Football One director of football operations Gary Compton.
Opportunity, at the pro level, is not a slogan. It is a process. And it is earned.
That theme ran through nearly every answer Compton gave during a long, candid conversation at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, where AF1 coaches, league officials and dozens of players spent three days being evaluated, taught and, in a few cases, signed on the spot.
“What we did last night in signing those players in front of that entire group of people, I think it stood for them to understand, you know what? There is an opportunity, there is a chance,” Compton said. “And the smiles on those guys’ faces when they got signed and the excitement and all of that, and that’s what it’s all about.”
That line matters.
AF1, which is still building its national footprint, is not selling fantasy. It is selling accountability. It is not promising players a roster spot. It is offering them a door — and watching closely to see who walks through it prepared.
For Compton, the combine was not about drills alone. It was about building a full picture of who these players really are.
“We want to get hands on with these guys. We want to be able to see what they can do. We want to be able to teach them. We want to be able to talk to them. We want to be able to interview them,” Compton said. “As (AF1) Commissioner (Jeff) Fisher said last night, it’s all about character.”
That is where this league is quietly separating itself from some of the churn-and-burn models that have haunted arena and indoor football in the past. AF1 is not just trying to assemble rosters. It is trying to assemble people.
“You can find out five minutes from the guy what he’s all about,” Compton said. “And I think that’s where our coaches and everybody have done a great job.”
Those coaches were everywhere during the combine, which Wilson smartly highlighted. Washington’s J.R. Wells was flying around with linebackers. Oregon Lightning coach Chuck Jones worked directly with offensive linemen. Minnesota Monsters coach Darren Clark, J. coached receivers. Albany, Nashville and others were on site, evaluating, teaching and recruiting in real time.
“That’s what it’s all about, right?” Compton said. “We want to be able to grab them when we have and talk to them a little bit.”
This was not a cattle call. It was a working football environment.
That is important because AF1 is not building toward 2026. It is building toward 2027 and beyond.
Compton was blunt about that.
“Commissioner Fisher and I, it’s funny because people see my phone ring when I’m with him and it says Jeff Fisher. And they’re just at awe of that,” Compton said. “I see him as a normal guy I work with every day, right? But him and I talk each day, he’s got a vision. Our management group has a vision of where this thing is going.”
That vision includes controlled expansion, new markets and a belief — sometimes unfashionable in the fractured world of 50-yard football — that arena football still has national relevance.
“As we go into 2027, 28, as we continue to expand, start to grab all these markets and everything, because the way I tell everybody, arena football is the only game,” Compton said. “It’s the only game I know, and I’m partial to it.”
That is not marketing fluff. That is a football lifer talking about the version of the sport he believes in.
Another underappreciated piece of this combine was the international pipeline. AF1 is actively recruiting players from outside the United States and giving them legitimate roster opportunities.
“The international guys that we signed, right? I mean, they’re blowing up on social media right now,” Compton said. “And that’s insane. And that’s what it’s all about for us. Giving not only players another opportunity, but giving the international players an opportunity.”
That matters in a league that wants to grow beyond the same recycled talent pool.
The viral moment, as Wilson noted, came when a catch by one of those international players generated 35,000 views and helped drive his signing. That kind of organic exposure is what this league desperately needs — not just content, but proof of concept.
AF1 is betting that if you put real football people in front of hungry players, something authentic will happen.
At this combine, it did.
And in a sports economy crowded with hollow promises, that might be the most important takeaway of all.
