on january 19, 2017, the bus carrying the cottonmouths was involved in a rollover on i-74 on the way to play the peoria rivermen. 24 players and staff were injured in the accident. in march 2017, it was announced that owners wanda and shelby amos were selling the team and that general manager and head coach bechard was in charge of looking for a buyer. the amos' cited mounting financial losses as their reason for trying to sell the team and that they would cease operations if a new buyer is not found. on may 3, 2017, the team official suspended operations for the 2017–18 season. however, sphl commissioner jim combs confirmed that negotiations with a potential ownership were still on-going but would only be ready for the 2018–19 season if the ownership transfer was successful. in june, the new potential ownership was confirmed as residential world media, headed by fidel jenkins, and that the purchase was still in negotiations with the sphl. however, it was also stated that the cottonmouths branding would not be included in the purchase and would instead be called the columbus burn. in august, the league terminated the application of the burn to join the league.