Unfortunate for players trying to make a name for themselves
According to Darren Rovell, the Alliance of American Football will suspend all football operations today. New owner Tom Dundon will lose approximately $70 million on his investment. Dundon makes decision against wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.
The season ends in two weeks, but the league was trending towards this abrupt end. Rumors were flying around late last week that this was coming. Vendors weren’t getting paid. It always felt like this happened too quick. To jump the XFL launch next year.
In January 2018, WWE chairman Vince McMahon announced that he would bring back the XFL—a league that launched almost two decades ago—in name and logo only. This league would be without the “He hate me” gimmicks. It is scheduled t debut in 2020. Charlie Ebersol announced the AAF two months later but leapt ahead of McMahon’s timeline by launching his league right after this year’s Super Bowl.
The TV ratings were a hit the first week. CBS averaged 3.25 million viewers. Attendance? Not so much. League average was right around 10,000 fans per game. Many thought Johnny Manziel would give the league a ratings boost, but it appears to be too little too late.
The players are the ones that suffer the most from this. This was a chance for them to show off their skills in hopes to get to the NFL. The good news is that Vikings GM Rick Spielman believes that several players will be signed to NFL rosters. Let’s hope so.
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