Do you think the ultimate goal is to sell the league to the NFL as a legitimate minor league system for players and teams?
***2019 AAF season thread***
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Do you think the ultimate goal is to sell the league to the NFL as a legitimate minor league system for players and teams?
On the AAF side - The vibe I have felt is they would like to keep it independent it gives them more freedom to play around with rules and things like that. One of their big things, when this started, was the ability to gamble real time with the app and I don't know if that is something the NFL wants to be involved with at this time.
On the NFL side - I think if the NFL coaches and GM's like the idea of a developmental league and are excited at the opportunity it will bring to give players experience, but at the same time, the NFL isn't hurting for money so if they wanted to have a league like this I think they would have just created one. After the money they probably lost on the NFL Europe, I think they are okay with letting someone else take the risks and they will sit back and get the rewards of having more developed players to choose from.
On the NFL side - I think if the NFL coaches and GM's like the idea of a developmental league and are excited at the opportunity it will bring to give players experience, but at the same time, the NFL isn't hurting for money so if they wanted to have a league like this I think they would have just created one. After the money they probably lost on the NFL Europe, I think they are okay with letting someone else take the risks and they will sit back and get the rewards of having more developed players to choose from.
This article could be AAF putting a good spin on it but it does sound more promising than the Athletic article.
"The Athletic reported that the league was in danger of not making payroll on Friday, before Dundon's investment. AAF co-founder Charlie Ebersol dismissed reports that the league was getting a financial bailout from Dundon.
"This has been an extraordinary undertaking for us," said Ebersol, who less than a year ago partnered with Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian to create the AAF. "It's a giant challenge and opportunity, and as a startup you are constantly looking for some peace of mind. When we got out of the first week of games, we saw there was so much interest from investors, and if we had one person who could take care of us for a very long time, that would be great.""
http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/26030221/hurricanes-owner-tom-dundon-invests-250m-aaf
"The Athletic reported that the league was in danger of not making payroll on Friday, before Dundon's investment. AAF co-founder Charlie Ebersol dismissed reports that the league was getting a financial bailout from Dundon.
"This has been an extraordinary undertaking for us," said Ebersol, who less than a year ago partnered with Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian to create the AAF. "It's a giant challenge and opportunity, and as a startup you are constantly looking for some peace of mind. When we got out of the first week of games, we saw there was so much interest from investors, and if we had one person who could take care of us for a very long time, that would be great.""
http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/26030221/hurricanes-owner-tom-dundon-invests-250m-aaf
I watched the past two weeks and I really like this league. The games fly by, which I like, and the crowds seem to be in it. Anyone starting a league has to know it will take time, so investors have to give this league at least one full year if not two to build a fan base. Having the teams in the South relatively close to each other has to help. It would make no sense to land a few teams in the North and then you have all the extra travel expenses. These guys can take a charter bus instead of charter flight. Also, the Arena League, the actual Arena League, has been on life support for years. Last year they had four teams. They have six this year.
I know they were already talking expansion for next year, which seems a little soon, but now with this, I wouldn't be surprised to see a team in Raleigh. I also read that they only have a one year deal in San Diego because they may be tearing down that stadium and building something new since the Chargers are gone. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. Besides travel, I think the biggest challenge with moving teams north would be the need for domed stadiums. I would love to see a team in Iowa, but the UNIdome would be our only real option.
From the Orlando Sentinel
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/spo...undon-carolina-hurricanes-20190219-story.html
Ebersol told the Sentinel that the league always had the money to meet payroll and has never been in any financial jeopardy. In fact, he said the league has received such positive reviews after only two weeks of its inaugural season that Dundon wanted to buy-in and become the league’s biggest investor.
“I felt good last week; I’m euphoric this week,” Ebersol said.
Said Dundon in a statement released by the AAF: "As a lifelong sports fan and entrepreneur, I’ve always valued the opportunities generated in the ecosystem of sports and entertainment. I’m impressed with The Alliance’s stunning growth in-stadium and across TV, mobile and social media in just these first few weeks."
Said Ebersol to the Sentinel: “We are a start-up, and start-ups raise money in pieces — there’s a Series A piece, Series B, Series C, etc. After the success of the first week, we had a number of investors come to us and offer us all kinds of different investments. Tom Dundon showed up and said, ‘Do you want to continue to raise Series B, Series C and Series D or do you want to raise Series Infinity right now and be taken care of from now on.’ That was an offer I was not going to refuse.”
Presumably addressing the Athletic’s portrayal of Dundon’s investment, Ebersol added: “How people interpret the relationship (with Dundon) and how quickly it came together is their business, but if I was going to describe to you my dream investor, I would have told you a 47-year-old football fan who has professional sports ownership experience and is self-made — a man who went from zero to billions of dollars completely on his own work. That describes Tom Dundon.”
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/spo...undon-carolina-hurricanes-20190219-story.html
Ebersol told the Sentinel that the league always had the money to meet payroll and has never been in any financial jeopardy. In fact, he said the league has received such positive reviews after only two weeks of its inaugural season that Dundon wanted to buy-in and become the league’s biggest investor.
“I felt good last week; I’m euphoric this week,” Ebersol said.
Said Dundon in a statement released by the AAF: "As a lifelong sports fan and entrepreneur, I’ve always valued the opportunities generated in the ecosystem of sports and entertainment. I’m impressed with The Alliance’s stunning growth in-stadium and across TV, mobile and social media in just these first few weeks."
Said Ebersol to the Sentinel: “We are a start-up, and start-ups raise money in pieces — there’s a Series A piece, Series B, Series C, etc. After the success of the first week, we had a number of investors come to us and offer us all kinds of different investments. Tom Dundon showed up and said, ‘Do you want to continue to raise Series B, Series C and Series D or do you want to raise Series Infinity right now and be taken care of from now on.’ That was an offer I was not going to refuse.”
Presumably addressing the Athletic’s portrayal of Dundon’s investment, Ebersol added: “How people interpret the relationship (with Dundon) and how quickly it came together is their business, but if I was going to describe to you my dream investor, I would have told you a 47-year-old football fan who has professional sports ownership experience and is self-made — a man who went from zero to billions of dollars completely on his own work. That describes Tom Dundon.”
You have to wonder if playing in a huge stadium like Qualcomm makes sense too. 70,000 is a lot of seats to fill especially when they sold 20,000 tickets to last week's game. A smaller stadium that seats 30-40k would be ideal, no? Better to have a packed stadium than one that appears half-full.
I think cedar falls and the uni dome would be a success in this league. You are relatively close to some power 5 schools that could be your region. Also if the nfl wants it as a feeder program you have the Vikings packers and bear all within driving range. Could be a win win for the right investors and for uni
First, I think that depends on if they can buy those old tarps from Baylor to cover up the empty seats.
Second, they are not building a new stadium for them. It is probably a new baseball stadium or a college football stadium that hopefully, they will be able to use in the offseason.
I heard that San Antonio had more fans at their home game last weekend than any of the LA Chargers games this year. It will be interesting to see if the fans start showing up once the new stadium gets built.
TBH I am pretty sure he missed this tackle, but still a good picture from 210football.com
I’m pretty positive it would never happen but a team in Cedar Falls would be sick. I bet they could fill the dome pretty easily
Wells Fargo arena
Edit: I know the barnstormers play there. I guess I'm not sure if its big enough to hold an AAF field
Not a great game for SA but Joel looked pretty good. I have seen a lot of improvement over the last couple of weeks. I think he is getting his legs under him and adapting to the speed of the game. He is leading the team in tackles.
