The Alliance of American Football appears to have met its maker.
Sources: The AAF will suspend all football operations today. New owner Tom Dundon will lose approximately $70 million on his investment. Dundon makes decision against wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 2, 2019
All @TheAAF football operations will be suspended in the next few hours, per source with knowledge of situation. League is not folding, yet. But it's heading that way.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 2, 2019
Just a few weeks after launching, the AAAF required a huge infusion of cash to keep going. Tom Dundon, who owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, is serving as chairman of the AAF’s board of directors – with unilateral decisions-making power – after making a $250-million investment into the league.
Perception inside the AAF is that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon bought a majority stake in the league simply for the gambling app being developed.
Source: "Dundon got the technology he wanted and he's now minus one rather large headache."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 2, 2019
The Athletic website reported in February that the league was struggling to make payroll and that its “existence was in jeopardy” before Dundon stepped forward with a quarter-billion dollar commitment. The AAF was reportedly losing tens of millions of dollars a week.
The AAF consists of eight teams and features a collection of former NFL, CFL and college players. The standard AAF player contract covers three years and would have paid $250,000 USD – $70,000, $80,000 and $100,000 – in base salaries over the deal. Players could have earned more with bonuses.
What a source told me on @TheAAF: League heads were stunned by this, still working on a solution. There's still a hope for a Hail Mary situation with outside funding, but they're now suspending ops before a prime, pre-Final Four CBS time slot. This could get complicated.
— Conor Orr ???????? (@ConorOrr) April 2, 2019
Dundon had put $70 million into the league through eight weeks and the AAF would require another $20 million to get through the rest of its schedule, two more regular seasons weeks and four-team playoff and championship game.
AAF co-founder Bill Polian issues strong statement after new owner Tom Dundon shuts league down. pic.twitter.com/YwFWaLFwwl
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 2, 2019
The AAF sent out an email to league employees.
The email #AAF employees were sent minutes ago, announcing the almost assured end of their inaugural season and the immediate suspension of their league’s operations. (Via an AAF source.) pic.twitter.com/iS2rPzXy4d
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) April 2, 2019
