During John Bassett's ownership of the Argonauts from the late 1950s to early 1970s, he entertained various machinations for bringing American football to Toronto, including moving the Argos to the NFL or bringing an NFL team to the city alongside the Argos. Other CFL team owners were steadfastly against Bassett's moves and almost rescinded his franchise in 1974. His son John F. Bassett obtained a World Football League franchise for the city in the league's inaugural season of 1974, which he named the Toronto Northmen, but in response the Canadian government proposed the Canadian Football Act, a bill that would have banned US football leagues from playing in Canada to protect the CFL from competition. The bill forced Bassett to move the club to Memphis where they became the Memphis Southmen. When the legislation died without being approved before the 1974 Canadian federal election, Bassett again attempted to put a team in Toronto for the 1975 season. There were plans to establish a United States Football League franchise in Toronto in 1983 being pushed by John F. Bassett, but again the Canadian government warned against it and the idea was dropped. The XFL considered expanding to Toronto for 2002, but ultimately folded after its inaugural season in 2001. There have been efforts to bring an NFL team to Toronto for more than 40 years. In 2014, it was widely reported that Toronto interests, including Larry Tanenbaum, part owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), and Edward Rogers III, Deputy Chairman of Rogers Communication, were attempting to acquire an NFL franchise in hopes of moving it to Toronto.