NFL Europe was formerly known as the World League. It was not originally affiliated with the NFL in any way, but it had serious financial problems so, they asked the NFL to bail them out. The original World League also had several American teams including the New York/New Jersy Knights, Orlando Thunder, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders, and possibly a few more that I can't remember. These teams were dissolved after the leauge hit financial problems. The only teams left from the original league are the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Barcelona Dragons.