The World League of American Football was formed in 1989, by a unanimous vote of NFL owners, as a spring developmental league, the "brainchild" of commissioner Paul Tagliabue. This came after the NFL had played popular American Bowls in London's Wembley Stadium and elsewhere since 1986. Of the 28 NFL teams, 26 paid $50,000 each in startup costs for the WLAF. Team payrolls and budgets were controlled by the WLAF office but not all teams were owned by the league; in May 1992 it owned five (including Barcelona, London and Frankfurt) and partially owned three.