AFL To Sign Baker To Six-Year Extension, Eyes Global Expansion

AFL Expected To Sign Baker To Extension

The AFL is expected to sign Commissioner David Baker to a six-year contract extension, as he is heading up the league’s new “international expansion effort that would put teams overseas as early as 2010,” according to Lombardo & Lefton of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The deal will be voted on during the AFL BOD meeting on October 10 in Chicago. The negotiations for Baker's contract “centered on the AFL’s new business plan, with the international component pushed by Baker.” Baker said that the league “has had preliminary discussions with what he characterized as some ‘high-profile’ partners” regarding int'l expansion, but he did not disclose more details. Lombardo & Lefton report ESPN, which holds an equity stake in the league, has held “preliminary talks about a possible ownership stake in the international growth.” Baker said that London and Berlin, which both will have new arenas run by AEG, are potential expansion candidates. He added, “We’d also like to get into Mexico. ... Within the next five years we will definitely have more than one team on international soil” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/24 issue).