The recently announced changes to Riot Games League of Legends competitive play were inspired by the NFL, Destructoid reports.

In an effort to level the playing field, Riot created a league system that matches players of similar skill levels. The developer also used the NFL for inspiration to allow the top tier teams to have sponsors and earn salaries. On the viewership side, Riot hired a team dedicated to eSports, and some of the producers and cameramen have experience with the NFL.

Season 3 will run from Feb. - Aug. 2013. For more on the changes coming to the third season of League of Legends competitive play, you can read our overview, which contains a gigantic explanatory infographic.

In its continuing attempt to eliminate "toxic behavior" in league play, Riot announced last week that it banned an entire team from competing in a recent event. Be sure to check out our interview with League of Legends producer Carl Kwoh, in which he described the methods and motivations for the cleanup.