Spurrier said Dundon's investment shows he believes in the AAF's potential going forwardgetty images
AAF Orlando Apollos coach Steve Spurrier hinted that an initial investor "backed out and put the league’s working capital in jeopardy," leading to Tom Dundon's recent $250M investment, according to Mike Bianchi of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Spurrier during an appearance on WYGM-FM yesterday said, "What happened is an original investor sort of led us into believing he could come up with the money to get us through the first year, and then he sort of bailed out." He added, "We really appreciate Tom Dundon for stepping forward. He believes in the Alliance and now the future looks very good" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/21). San Antonio Commanders GM Daryl Johnston said that Dundon's investment was not connected to players "getting their paychecks a few days later than expected." Johnston added that the league has "not felt any financial strain." Johnston: "We were instructed that the two incidents last week were not connected in any way, shape or form. We had a large infusion of cash in December. We now had another large infusion of cash here last week. ... I don’t think anybody feels any pressure that something is going wrong financially." Johnston noted that Dundon’s investment was "secured before the issue with payroll arose" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 2/21). Memphis Express President Kosha Irby said the timing of Dundon's investment was "more of conspiracy meets coincidence" rather than a bailout for the league. He added, "It just became one of those, ‘Whoa, wait a minute. Slow down. Let’s not get crazy here.’ That’s what happened and some people just went running with misinformation" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/21).
ROAD TRIP: The ORLANDO SENTINEL's Bianchi noted the state of Florida’s "exclusion of professional athletes from receiving workers compensation insurance coverage is forcing" the Apollos to "start practicing in Georgia at the beginning of March." The Apollos "will be housed in a hotel in Jacksonville for a little more than a month while busing 30 minutes over the border to practice at a high school in Kingsland, Ga." AAF officials said that Florida, unlike many other states, "will not cover professional athletes under its workers compensation laws." Bianchi notes other, more established pro leagues with teams in the state have all "managed to find insurance companies that will insure their entire leagues." The AAF "hopes to identify and contract such a company so the Apollos can train full-time in Orlando" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/20).
TIME WILL TELL: In Daytona Beach, Ken Willis writes it is "much too early to render a verdict on the AAF, but going into the venture, there’s hope that it’ll succeed because it’s not designed to overreach and compete with the NFL, but supplement the NFL as a de facto minor-league system." If the league "doesn’t work, however, we’ll eventually add another chapter to our 'third-world football' history" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/21).
