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Charlie Ebersol The Latest To Try Hand At Spring Football League

Vince McMahon in January announced plans to launch a new XFL by ‘20. At a media event in N.Y. this morning, Charlie Ebersol announced his plans to launch a competing, single-entity spring football league called the Alliance of American Football in February. Longtime NBC Sports boss Dick Ebersol, Charlie’s father and a driving force behind the original XFL, will be on the AAF's BOD. The AAF carries a roster of high-profile investors including The Chernin Group and Founders Fund, which was an early investor in Facebook, Space-X and Lyft. M Ventures, entrepreneur Keith Rabois and former NFLer Jared Allen also are investing in the league. Charlie Ebersol would not say how much he raised or how much the league needs to succeed. “Getting a lot of money was obviously important, but getting the right money was even more important,” Ebersol said. “All of these previous attempts have been based on the idea of a one- or two-year business model. I went out and said, ‘Look, I need money for seven-to-10 years.’ They were the type of people that jumped on board.” The AAF already has a deal in place with CBS Sports, which has committed to show the league’s first game in primetime on its broadcast network on Feb. 9. That is the week following Super Bowl LII, which will be produced by CBS. The broadcast network also has committed to show the league’s first championship game in primetime the weekend of April 26-28. CBS Sports Network will carry a weekly regular-season game. All games will be live streamed for free via the league’s app, which will allow for an in-game fantasy component.

DIGGING INTO THE DETAILS: Ebersol said the league would be a complement, not a competitor to the NFL. “American football is the only sport where, despite the fact that you’ve got more college players coming out who’ve played football than almost every other sport, you only have 1,700 jobs for all of those guys,” he said. “How many Kurt Warners are in grocery stores somewhere waiting to be discovered?” The single-entity league will be made up of eight teams and 50-player rosters. Ebersol said he will announce the home markets in the coming weeks. The landscape is crowded with spring leagues that have not succeeded, like the UFL, AAFL and FXFL. Ebersol believes his league will stand out because of the football experience that is involved, including Pro Football HOF GM Bill Polian, and former NFLers Allen, Justin Tuck, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. That group came up with several rule changes not seen in the NFL, highlighted by the fact the AAF will eliminate all kickoffs. Teams will start on the 25-yard line after a score. In place of an onside kick, teams will get the ball on their own 35-yard line and have to gain at least 10 yards on one play to keep it. The league will have no extra points -- all teams must attempt a two-point conversion. The league will have shorter play clocks and fewer commercial breaks in an effort to have games last no longer than two-and-a-half hours. Ebersol also said that the league will put in several safety measures, including banning the three-point stance, which Ebersol said contributes to head injuries. All players will have bonus structures based on wins, stats and fan engagement. The league will give them post-football career scholarships based on the number of years they play in the league. It also will provide financial wellness programs to players.

QUALITY OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE: Ebersol said his father "repeatedly told me that the most important thing to do -- the biggest mistake he said he made -- was that he undervalued the absolute necessity of quality football.” Ebersol: “For me, if I was going to do this, I was always going to do it with the very best football experts. ... In the last quarter century, nobody has actually put quality football on the field for spring football. It was never open to conversation as to whether or not I would do this with someone like Bill Polian being my co-founder and partner.”

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