The big move by AAF was signing everyone to 3 year deals. They will have a lot of the talent signed before the other leagues start.
Printable View
The big move by AAF was signing everyone to 3 year deals. They will have a lot of the talent signed before the other leagues start.
I was able to watch a few games this weekend. Solid games. Orlando and Birmingham both look solid and are doing it in different ways.
Fargo Dome would be a good host for a team in the North. Seats 19,000 for football and a pro sport in ND would go over huge. Plus they are not super far from some big MN cities.
An interesting tidbit from Darren Rovell:
I'm curious why the name would even be worth $50M after the league failed so badly. If Vince could have gotten $50M for the name XFL I would have taken it in a heartbeat. I was somewhat surprised Vince didn't go with a brand new name, I mean why associate your new league with a previous failed league especially when "Xtreme Football League" is a somewhat cheesy, early 2000s sounding name.Quote:
Exhibit in lawsuit shows that AAF originally planned to use XFL name & purchase assets from WWE & NBC for $50M. AAF met with Vince McMahon and he decided to start league on his own.
Anyway, it's interesting to learn that this could be why the two leagues started up so close to each other. This makes it seem that Vince only got back in the ring when he learned someone else was doing the same.
AAF in jeopardy of folding, says majority owner
He said he expects to make a decision in the next few days. So this league might be over before the first Championship is even played. Yikes.
Isn't the impetus of Vince making the XFL based off what Fro linked? The fact the creators of the AAF wanted IP of the XFL sparked Vince's renewed interest. More or less...Well, if someone wants to buy this and they're starting a league, there must be an interest in it and I want to make up for my screw up.
If the AAF folds before the XFL even gets going, isn't this like an internal win of some small scale? Granted its extremely minor, but it was seen as a competitor in Vince's eyes, I imagine.
That is my point. Vince promoted the fact that they were going to take an extra year to get everything right instead of rushing out a project. A win for him.
Let's wait and see if the XFL will last longer than it did the first time around.
I really hope this league survives. There are plenty of NFL castoffs to work with, so why do they need rookies? They have lots of guys who were on practice squads or were preseason cuts, and this gives them a second chance. I got imagine it would be easier to get back on an NFL roster from here than it does in the Arena league or Canada.
They can help players rehabilitate their careers, learn from old pros and coaches, and can make smaller money here. Sounds like a minor league to me.
i'm guessing acting as a development league for the NFL comes with some kind of financial compensation.
Reports are coming out that the AAF will shut down operations today. It was good while it lasted! (Actually I'm not sure if it was, I never watched a game).
I didn't wish failure on the AAF but at least we will have clarity for the XFL, meaning they won't have to compete with AAF for players and whatnot. It's their turn now.
It's a win for Vince in that sense, and he can hopefully learn from the AAF's failure, but on the other hand doesn't the failure of the AAF also spell doom for the XFL since it's a similar idea? I mean Vince can fund it as long as he wants to spend his money on it. Does he take losses for several years in hopes that one day the league will be valuable?
He just sold another $250 million in WWE stock to put into this new company.
@darrenrovell
Sources: The AAF 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.
Dude invested like 2 weeks ago and lost $70 million. ouch (I know he's a billionaire but still)
Also big surprise to me, they have a prime time TV slot this weekend in front of the Final Four games. Surprised they were not going to let it ride one more week.
In fact I could see someone taking a shot at floating them some money seeing as the heads of the league want to keep it going. Sounds like this was a Dudnon decision all the way.
who was the aaf mvp
Garrett Gilbert QB Orlando 2152 yards (next closest was 1616) 13 Tds 3 Int
Trent Richardson RB Birmingham 366 yards 11 rushing Tds (next closest was 6), 1 rec Td But only 2.9 yards a carry
They were in very very different styles of offenses. Birmingham was very very good defensively and had no QB so they pounded the ball and chewed clock a lot. Orlando had Spurrier as coach so they threw it all over the yard.
My vote would be Gilbert, especially since his team was 7-1
thank you.
trent richardson sucks
He was the Leroy Hoard of the AAF. If you need a yard he will get you 3. If you need 6 yards he will get you 3.