Prize money in the league's winner-take-all format dropped from $1M last season to $200,000 this yearAFFL
The American Flag Football League over the weekend of June 14 completed its second championship game. The Fighting Cancer team again was the champion, but outside of that fact, the AFFL’s second championship bore scant resemblance to its first. Prize money in the winner-take-all format dropped from $1M to $200,000. Additionally, the championship game’s site shifted from the 22,000-seat BBVA Stadium in Houston to the Jets' indoor practice facility in Florham Park, N.J., which has almost no room for spectators. Media exposure was also reduced. During the inaugural season, the AFFL Grand Final championship and 10 other games were on NFL Network, gaining the AFFL considerable credibility. But there were no telecasts this year, and the championship weekend games were streamed live on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitch. AFFL Founder & CEO Jeff Lewis said the Sunday stream drew around 1.5 million unique viewers. He did not have numbers for average viewing time. “We skew so young, compared to any team sport, so we really wanted to stream live,’’ he said. He said viewership peaked at 14,000-15,000 viewers. “Given our very, very minimal amount of promotion, it was an impressive showing.” While there has been some social media and industry chatter questioning the AFFL’s financial stability, Lewis said, “Getting through our second season and seeing meaningful improvements in our social following and our quality of play, I'm very optimistic that we’re going to find all the partners we need to move us forward: brands, investors and fans. I am completely confident we can do that.” As for next season on the field? “We’re looking at women’s bracket and international possibilities,’’ Lewis added. “A World Cup and Olympic competition for this are a certainty in the future.’’
