The Arena Football League begins its 2015 season Friday with a new commissioner, former gaming executive Scott Butera, and plans to once again expand aggressively.
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The AFL’s Scott Butera wants to add 8-12 new teams over three years.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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The AFL clearly has enjoyed better times. In the early to mid-2000s, its fortunes were considered so good that NFL and private equity firms considered buying into the league. Then the roof fell in. The financial crisis of 2008 hit, the league filed for bankruptcy protection, and its 2009 season was canceled.
Player payrolls, once as high as $2 million a squad, are now about $400,000, said Ivan Soto, the director of the Arena Football League Players Union. But perhaps in a sign that times could be improving, Soto has begun discussions with Butera about changes to the league’s collective-bargaining agreement, which has three years left to run.
“We are talking about a lot of changes,” said Soto, who estimated the league’s 12 teams average about $2 million in annual revenue.
Almost all of that revenue is local, with the AFL boasting no national sponsorships (not counting on-field supplier deals) and buying the time to get on ESPN and CBS Sports Network. The league averaged 8,467 fans per game for its 126 games last year.
Butera, 48, whose résumé includes stops at Wall Street investment banks and major gaming companies, said new attention is being paid to the league’s business.
“The strategic plan wasn’t really well thought through,” said Butera, who started as commissioner last fall.
His first step was trimming the league’s franchise roster, slicing teams that struggled financially. He’s now looking to add eight to 12 new teams over the next three years.
Last decade, the AFL had close to 20 teams on several occasions.
“I would like to grow more in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest,” Butera said. “And we are launching a big ad campaign so people can get to know our players.”
As of last week, an ad agency for the effort had yet to be selected, but Butera said he expected a deal in place this week. The league plans a high-six-figure investment, Butera said.
“We want to create a lot more demand for our product,” he said. “We can drive more revenue through those media arrangements and develop the sponsors.”
