AAF Confident Quality Football Will Help Startup League Succeed

Players in the AAF can use the league as a showcase to prove they deserve a spot in the NFLAAF

The Alliance of American Football launches this weekend, and league co-Founder & CEO Charlie Ebersol is confident in its success because it will "put quality football on the field." Ebersol during an appearance on ESPN Radio earlier this week said, "We’ve built a league that we think ultimately offers the players something that no one else can offer: we offer the NFL-out, which in many respects is countered to how people have thought about these leagues before." Ebersol said the problem for the last 30 years of different spring football leagues is "they thought what people want is a new version." Ebersol: "They want it in an arena, they want it with naked strippers and hot tubs in the end zone, whatever the nonsense was around the game." In order to take care of players financially, Ebersol said the AAF has "all the traditional workman’s comp insurance" as well as providing the players with "full health insurance for them and their families." The league's philosophy is that players "should not be a commodity for the ATM machine of rich owners." The AAF is also "focused on how you can make the game move quickly but have it be fair" so there are not "egregious plays deciding the outcome of a game" (“Golic & Wingo,” ESPN Radio, 2/6).

HOW IT WILL WORK: In Columbus, Shawn Mitchell noted the AAF is a "single-entity league that will play a 10-week regular season and hold its championship game in Las Vegas during the weekend of the NFL draft in April." The league will "differentiate itself from its defunct predecessors" by offering "all of its players uniform, nonguaranteed contracts ($250,000 spread over three years) that allow them to pursue NFL opportunities once the AAF season ends." The league also will "provide tuition assistance, housing, health care and retirement packages and offer bonuses for performance and marketing participation" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/7). In San Antonio, Greg Luca wrote the focus of the AAF "remains squarely on establishing a sustainable on-field product." The league’s execs "bring years of NFL experience and a handful of Super Bowl rings." The games are "expected to be fast-paced, with enough offense to keep a fantasy-sports audience engaged." A core of regionally allocated players is "meant to drive interest for fans" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 2/6). In Memphis, Jason Munz wrote the AAF, "unlike most startups, is already plenty legitimate." There are "only a handful of rule alterations" from the NFL and many games "will be broadcast nationally by the likes of CBS, TNT, NFL Network and CBS Sports Network" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/5). 

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GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR PLAYERS: The EXPRESS-NEWS' Luca wrote players in the league "stand on even ground with a showcase to prove they deserve a spot in the NFL." The NFL offers only a "limited window for player development before roster restrictions and the weekly grind take over." The AAF "provides a chance to grow" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 2/7). In Phoenix, Bob McManaman noted 49 of the 52 players on the Arizona Hotshots' current roster "have spent some sort of time with an NFL team." Hotshots K Nick Folk said, "It’s a good situation for a lot of people here, myself included" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/6). ESPN’s Mike Golic noted fans have "seen other leagues come and go," but he is intrigued by how the AAF is "working with the NFL, having their season end right around the draft and players can leave and go to the NFL." Golic: "I'm interested to see how [the] football is. That is what will hold eyes, is the football going to be good enough to watch?” (“Golic & Wingo,” ESPN Radio, 2/8).

EYE IN THE SKY: The AP's Bernie Wilson noted there will be plenty of "differences between the NFL and the AAF," like a "ninth member of the officiating crew, called a SkyJudge who will be in the press box and can instantly correct 'obvious and egregious' officiating errors." The SkyJudge was "already in place before" the non-call in the NFC Championship. Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira, who is a consultant for the AAF, said that it was "modeled in part after the college targeting rule, which allows replay to step in and call targeting even if was not called on field" (AP, 2/6).

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: USA TODAY's Brent Schrotenboer writes it "might not be long" before the AAF and other new pro football ventures "disrupt and influence the lucrative worlds of college and pro football." This is "new territory for the elite levels of American football, and it’s about to open up even wider." Virtually all prior attempts to launch new pro football leagues in the U.S. have "collapsed in the shadow of the mighty NFL." The difference now "might be timing," as a number of "big-name supporters and partners with deep pockets thinks the market is finally ripe for more football." Part of the attraction "stems from the expected growth of legalized sports gambling." Another reason is the "proliferation and evolution of digital media platforms and technology" (USA TODAY, 2/8). THE RINGER's Danny Heifetz writes history says the AAF "will not survive, but it might be a lot of fun if we accept it for what it is: the junk food that can sustain our appetite until the NFL draft" (THERINGER.com, 2/8). ESPN’s Mike Golic Jr. noted the TV coverage the AAF will have, and said, "People are going to be having a discussion around it. We’re treating it like football, now can the product match that?” (“Golic & Wingo,” ESPN Radio, 2/8).