Following the shut down of the 0-7 King County Jaguars by Harold Metcalf after the 1995 season, many of the team members reconvened as the Federal Way 49ers.  The team embarked on an aggressive schedule with a 16-game slate that covered every weekend after the 4th of July through to the week before Halloween.  Only the Oregon Thunderbolts would play more games in a season two years later when they kicked off 18 times.

The first half of the season was a literal win-one-lose-one enroute to a 6-6 record before stringing three wins together that included the rubber-match with the Pierce County Bengals in the playoffs, Steve Thorton putting the game out of reach with a 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to go up 22-6.  The 49ers rode the wave into the PFL North championship game losing to the Jets who claimed their fourth consecutive league title.

The management of the 49ers decided to merge with the Puget Sound Jets franchise, becoming the Emerald City Jets in 1997, leaving the 49er franchise as a one-and-done organization after reaching the PFL North title game.

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