AAF Chair Tom Dundon said a decision on whether to shutter the eight-week-old league could come as soon as tomorrow. Dundon wants a player development agreement with the NFL and NFLPA and stressed there is a “real possibility” the AAF could shut down without one. “Trying to figure that out so I will have more information tomorrow,” he said. “It’s pretty fluid. It’s day to day I would say.”
Dundon’s acquisition was believed to have fended off dissolution with the league struggling to find capital to soak up losses. But his agreement was to fund week-to-week, meaning he could pull the plug at any time. The AAF had not previously linked its future to an agreement to secure practice squad players from the NFL, but Dundon now sees it as imperative. He said the “main thing” league officials are focused on is if there is a way to “truly make it a development league and have … the (NFL) practice squad futures players.”
Dundon: “It is just what we think would make this the most compelling league. … We don’t know what they (the NFLPA) are going to do, if they will do it. That is kind of our thought. That’s what we are trying to figure out right now.” The NFLPA did not reply for comment. A source said they heard the AAF wants a system like MiLB, where MLB pays the players and the minor league teams run the business. The NFL has flourished without a true minor league, so it seems unlikely the owners would agree to that.
