Alliance of American Football

[cosmo_kramer]

Another new football league?

Charlie Ebersol, who directed a documentary on the XFL that aired last year as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, announced Tuesday that his league, the Alliance of American Football, plans to debut Feb. 9, 2019, the week after Super Bowl LIII. The season will run 10 weeks and will have 50-man teams.

Besides good football and names the local market knows, Ebersol says a hallmark of the league will be no TV time outs and 60 percent fewer commercial, as well as an innovative approach to broadcasting the games.

There also will be no kickoffs (ball will be placed automatically at the 25-yard line) and no on-side kicks. The losing team will just start on their own 35-yard-line with fourth-and-10. Play clocks are 30 seconds and every touchdown has to be followed by a two-point conversion attempt.

Former NFLers involved in league to rival XFL

 

[madmadworld]

Merger ...lol

 

[Peter Parker]

I see that the NFL is actually allowing an AAF commercial during the Super Bowl telecast. I think it is possible that this league will manage to function as an informal development league for the NFL.

I am surprised thatt hey could not come to terms with St. Louis for a team but the list of cities looks like it could be viable. In fact unless they want tog o head to head I think the XXL will be hard pressed to come up with an equally good list of cities.

 

[Clarbear]

Merger ...lol

Lol maybe the nfl should have acquired some of the usfl teams to their league. I know that some of the players from that league went to the nfl but unfortunately that they did not have their stats transferred with them.

Sent from my SM-G950U using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[madmadworld]

They should of Killed off the Lions and went with the Panthers. that was a good team that would have beat the Lions at that time. lol

 

[Peter Parker]

who plans to watch the first week? I do. Who knows it might be competitive product and worth watching---ora spectacualr failure.

 

[meStevo]

I'll give it a shot as long as it's entertaining, will fill a hole w/ the NFL being over.

 

[Derwin0]

who plans to watch the first week? I do.

Being the only football around (and baseball not yet started), I'll give it a try.

 

[SamCdbs]

I will give it a shot, but post AFL, history teaches us that Americans say they want more football. Until they are given more football.

WFL: Had one season in 1974 and went under 12 weeks into its second.
USFL: In which one Donald J. Trump was a team owner. Whatever happened to that guy? Lasted 3 seasons, 1983-85. Lost $163M ($381M in today's money). Sidenotes: The USFL footage fell into the public domain and was used as generic background football on TV in dozens of TV shows. The LA Express uniforms got bought by a prop department and appear in one of the most cartoonish of the original A-Team episodes, involving a football team used as cover in Berlin.
WLAF/NFLE: Backed by the NFL itself, ran two seasons (1991-92) with a league split between smaller US markets, NYC, Montreal and 3 European teams. Relauched in 1995 as a Europe only thing. Dead in 2007.
CFL USA: CFL expanded to USA 1993-95, lost a fortune and nearly went bankrupt following its return to a Canada only system.
XFL: This combination of pro wrestling and football (he hate me) lasted one season, with NBC actually paying the WWE to get out of the second year of its two year contract. 2001. Might be coming back next year, and run by one of the greatest fail forward men in history, Ollie Luck, who ran the NFLE among many other things in a lifetime of failure.
UFL: Forgotten minor league, ran four years between 2009-12. Many of the same people as in the AAF.

And for 2020, they have announced the "Freedom Football League" whose selling point will be an absence of drug testing or a player conduct policy, "Pacific Pro Football" run by Tom Brady's agent, and a relauched XFL.

 

[Peter Parker]

I think that both the 60s vintage AFL (there were others) and the AAFC of the 40s succeeded because the NFL was slow to expand. Now that there are 32 teams across the country and at least discussion about further expansion there is not really an underserved or unserved market.

But I will give ita shot anyway. Who knows I may fall in love with the Birmingham Iron or the San Antonio Commanders.

 

[Derwin0]

Wasn't the USFL doing okay until they stupidly switched from Spring ball to directly competing with the NFL (which led to all their tv contracts being canceled)?

 

[DWS44]

Wasn't the USFL doing okay until they stupidly switched from Spring ball to directly competing with the NFL (which led to all their tv contracts being canceled)?

That, and pinning their hopes on the Donald and/or the anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL. That $3 check for damages didn't go very far.

For anyone interested who hasn't watched the ESPN 30 for 30 on the USFL, its definitely worth a watch, Very well produced with interesting story-telling.

 

[SamCdbs]

Wasn't the USFL doing okay until they stupidly switched from Spring ball to directly competing with the NFL (which led to all their tv contracts being canceled)?

Somewhat. The original plan was called the "Dixon Plan" which was to play, mostly, in large, often NFL stadiums (as most were government owned and sat empty in the spring and summer, they were available), and to have a regional draft where players were tied to the nearest team to their college in some cases. Along with a strict salary cap. Still lots of teams folded or moved, as is typical for such ventures. Then a group of owners, remember the AFL was still fresh in their memory, tried to move to, compete with and eventually force a merger with, the NFL. Didn't work.

Of course the TV world was a lot different back then. With the number of channels now, maybe something can find a niche.

 

[Ronnie-]

Does anyone know about any entry requirements? Such as so many years removed from high school? Or could say a just graduated high schooler decide to pursue this and get paid instead of taking a scholarship offer from a college ?

 

[Jimbo]

Where is the list of cities/teams involved ?

 

[DWS44]

Where is the list of cities/teams involved ?

Here they are:

More here: Teams

 

[meStevo]

Does anyone know about any entry requirements? Such as so many years removed from high school? Or could say a just graduated high schooler decide to pursue this and get paid instead of taking a scholarship offer from a college ?

AAF will maintain similar requirements as the NFL.

AAF will use the same eligibility rules as the NFL

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[Derwin0]

AAF will maintain similar requirements as the NFL.

AAF will use the same eligibility rules as the NFL

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A shame, as some players really aren’t college material and could use an alternate (paid) route, not unlike the minors for mlb.

 

[meStevo]

Maybe the XFL will fill that need, but I doubt it. They're not even going to allow anyone with a criminal record to play last I read. Could be a key point of differentiation though.

 

[meStevo]

First game on CBS next week.

Michael Vick os the OC for Atlanta, w/ QB Aaron Murray taking on Steve Spurrier's Orlando team w/ Zack Mettenberger at QB.