hahahahahahaha....
Andrew RObinson..... "You SUCK NIGGA"
The Alliance of American Football - (Breaking: The Alliance files Chapter 7 4/17/19) WOW
- Thread starter fonzerrillii
- Start date
I feel for Memphis
They shoulda had the W
They shoulda had the W
Sometimes... the Internet just knows what I need..
Man oh man... That shit needs to be on a T-shirt...
OK I got some details... So Adrien Robinson is the tightend for the Memphis Express.
Also .... the AAF definitely needs to do something about the Mic.... While I find it hilarious and real... this dude does make a point.
Also .... the AAF definitely needs to do something about the Mic.... While I find it hilarious and real... this dude does make a point.
I just don't understand this.... What did Condon think was going to happen!! ... People were starting to show up to the games...
It really looked like it was going to make it...
Why the AAF was always doomed to fail
It does not take a Wharton graduate to surmise that if (and probably when) the Alliance of American Football folds, it will be due to a lack of money. Whether that means the founders didn’t have enough to begin with or failed to develop a sufficient revenue stream won’t really matter. The league received a $250 million investment 10 daysafter its first game and now, a little over a month later, appears to be teetering on ruin. It’s a mess.
There was, it has become abundantly clear, no long-range financial plan. The idea was to launch a football league (with a few interesting quirks) shortly after the NFL season in possibly under-served cities and see if the momentum carried fans into the new league. It did. For one week.
And now we’re here.
Since there are multiple other alternative football leagues in the works — most notably the XFL’s second act, due to start in February of next year — it makes sense to evaluate where the AAF went wrong.
The NFLPA was never going to help
“Control owner” Tom Dundon, the man who injected that quarter-of-a-billion dollars into the AAF literally one day after the founders claimed the money situation was totally fine for real guys, took to USA TODAY earlier this week to explain that the league would fail if the NFLPA didn’t give it players.
…
….
…..
What?
This concept on the whole makes no sense; it’s as if you opened a restaurant and complained that the established chef next store wouldn’t give you his dishes to sell.
It makes even less sense when you consider that one of the primary narratives surrounding the game of football is that it can cause lasting damage to players (specifically their brains) and should, therefore, be played and practiced in a more careful and contained fashion.
The NFLPA has battled to limit the amount of time its players spend getting hit. That last thing it would agree to is letting any of them hop over to a rival league to play another season.
The NFL was never going to help, either
Dundon, who, again, became the head of the new league after the league had started, says he sees the AAF as a development league for the NFL.
This, again, makes no sense whatsoever.
If the NFL wanted to run a development league, it would do so under its own auspice so that it could control revenue. The only reason it doesn’t have such a league is because college football functions as one, and the players there have almost no rights and are not compensated in a way that is remotely fair, thus priming them to enter an NFL machine that will lavish them with phony contracts that aren’t guaranteed before spitting them out in a few years when they aren’t as effective.
When your development league prepares players both physically and mentally (to be subservient and “appreciate the opportunity” to play the game), it’s the best of both worlds!
Besides, the NFL doesn’t need a development league that plays this time of year. It has already wrested attention from average sports fans for the months of February, March and April thanks to the combine, free agency and draft. The NFL definitely aspires to be a year-round product, but this isn’t the weak part of the calendar.
Most football players are mostly anonymous
The average NFL fan can name maybe 10 to 15 players on his or her favorite team, and that’s out of a 53-man roster. The last 25 players on any given NFL team certainly make decent money by any standard and are no doubt important to winning games but they aren’t well known. We barely watch preseason NFL games, which do feature star players (albeit briefly) but are largely used to sort out which fringe players remain. So if you’re making an entire league out of the tier below them you’re going to lack name recognition.
And the guys in a new league who do resonate with fans will often do so for the wrong reason: Johnny Manziel is the AAF’s latest star(though he didn’t even finish out his first game), but only because he failed out of the NFL and then got kicked out of the CFL. Earlier in the year former Penn State star Christian Hackenberg made plenty of news — but only because he was so bad at football that he began swearing a lot even though he was wearing a mic.
Yes, there’s the chance for redemption stories or even unfathomable ones, like when Kurt Warner went from arena football to one of the best players in the NFL, but you can’t build a league around the idea that such a thing might happen. You need players worth watching right now.
The Big 3 concept worked in basketball because there are enough former (and legit) NBA players still willing to play the game and able to do so in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of their heydays. Team them with exciting fringe talent who could ascend to the NBA and you have yourself a league.
Most recognizable NFL players who leave the league do so because their bodies tell them to leave the game entirely.
The pay is lousy
And even if they were inclined to try to keep playing they wouldn’t do it for $250,000 over three years.
Not that $75,000 per year should be laughed at, of course. But for many, many players it’s not going to be worth it to play such a dangerous game for a middle-class salary and the remote chance of working toward the NFL. They’re better off trying to use (or finish) their degree, or to get into the game as a coach somewhere to carve out a longer, more stable career.
So, can the XFL avoid these issues and thrive?
Probably not, but at least the XFL has Vince McMahon, who is inarguably one of the greatest showmen in the history of the country. The XFL will be showy and bawdy and messy in ways that guarantee its run in the spotlight will last longer than a week.
And while television networks crave live content more than ever before, there’s too many top-level sports — from March Madness to playoff chases in the NBA and NHL, to the aforementioned NFL (manufactured) events to MLS and MLB starting their seasons — happening this time of year to warrant the sort of payouts that would be needed to make a second football league sustainable.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/03/alliance-of-american-football-fail
Why the AAF was always doomed to fail
It does not take a Wharton graduate to surmise that if (and probably when) the Alliance of American Football folds, it will be due to a lack of money. Whether that means the founders didn’t have enough to begin with or failed to develop a sufficient revenue stream won’t really matter. The league received a $250 million investment 10 daysafter its first game and now, a little over a month later, appears to be teetering on ruin. It’s a mess.
There was, it has become abundantly clear, no long-range financial plan. The idea was to launch a football league (with a few interesting quirks) shortly after the NFL season in possibly under-served cities and see if the momentum carried fans into the new league. It did. For one week.
And now we’re here.
Since there are multiple other alternative football leagues in the works — most notably the XFL’s second act, due to start in February of next year — it makes sense to evaluate where the AAF went wrong.
The NFLPA was never going to help
“Control owner” Tom Dundon, the man who injected that quarter-of-a-billion dollars into the AAF literally one day after the founders claimed the money situation was totally fine for real guys, took to USA TODAY earlier this week to explain that the league would fail if the NFLPA didn’t give it players.
…
….
…..
What?
This concept on the whole makes no sense; it’s as if you opened a restaurant and complained that the established chef next store wouldn’t give you his dishes to sell.
It makes even less sense when you consider that one of the primary narratives surrounding the game of football is that it can cause lasting damage to players (specifically their brains) and should, therefore, be played and practiced in a more careful and contained fashion.
The NFLPA has battled to limit the amount of time its players spend getting hit. That last thing it would agree to is letting any of them hop over to a rival league to play another season.
The NFL was never going to help, either
Dundon, who, again, became the head of the new league after the league had started, says he sees the AAF as a development league for the NFL.
This, again, makes no sense whatsoever.
If the NFL wanted to run a development league, it would do so under its own auspice so that it could control revenue. The only reason it doesn’t have such a league is because college football functions as one, and the players there have almost no rights and are not compensated in a way that is remotely fair, thus priming them to enter an NFL machine that will lavish them with phony contracts that aren’t guaranteed before spitting them out in a few years when they aren’t as effective.
When your development league prepares players both physically and mentally (to be subservient and “appreciate the opportunity” to play the game), it’s the best of both worlds!
Besides, the NFL doesn’t need a development league that plays this time of year. It has already wrested attention from average sports fans for the months of February, March and April thanks to the combine, free agency and draft. The NFL definitely aspires to be a year-round product, but this isn’t the weak part of the calendar.
Most football players are mostly anonymous
The average NFL fan can name maybe 10 to 15 players on his or her favorite team, and that’s out of a 53-man roster. The last 25 players on any given NFL team certainly make decent money by any standard and are no doubt important to winning games but they aren’t well known. We barely watch preseason NFL games, which do feature star players (albeit briefly) but are largely used to sort out which fringe players remain. So if you’re making an entire league out of the tier below them you’re going to lack name recognition.
And the guys in a new league who do resonate with fans will often do so for the wrong reason: Johnny Manziel is the AAF’s latest star(though he didn’t even finish out his first game), but only because he failed out of the NFL and then got kicked out of the CFL. Earlier in the year former Penn State star Christian Hackenberg made plenty of news — but only because he was so bad at football that he began swearing a lot even though he was wearing a mic.
Yes, there’s the chance for redemption stories or even unfathomable ones, like when Kurt Warner went from arena football to one of the best players in the NFL, but you can’t build a league around the idea that such a thing might happen. You need players worth watching right now.
The Big 3 concept worked in basketball because there are enough former (and legit) NBA players still willing to play the game and able to do so in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of their heydays. Team them with exciting fringe talent who could ascend to the NBA and you have yourself a league.
Most recognizable NFL players who leave the league do so because their bodies tell them to leave the game entirely.
The pay is lousy
And even if they were inclined to try to keep playing they wouldn’t do it for $250,000 over three years.
Not that $75,000 per year should be laughed at, of course. But for many, many players it’s not going to be worth it to play such a dangerous game for a middle-class salary and the remote chance of working toward the NFL. They’re better off trying to use (or finish) their degree, or to get into the game as a coach somewhere to carve out a longer, more stable career.
So, can the XFL avoid these issues and thrive?
Probably not, but at least the XFL has Vince McMahon, who is inarguably one of the greatest showmen in the history of the country. The XFL will be showy and bawdy and messy in ways that guarantee its run in the spotlight will last longer than a week.
And while television networks crave live content more than ever before, there’s too many top-level sports — from March Madness to playoff chases in the NBA and NHL, to the aforementioned NFL (manufactured) events to MLS and MLB starting their seasons — happening this time of year to warrant the sort of payouts that would be needed to make a second football league sustainable.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/03/alliance-of-american-football-fail
Man I just don't get it...
Out of all of the Semi-Pro leagues that I've seen... this was the first one in awhile.. Where it appeared that people gave a shit about.
TNT was moving games off Bleacher to the network..
Same as CBS...
Like I don't get Condon at all on this...
You knew the league was going to lose money that first year.. There was no way that it was going to make a profit..
But it was building goodwill with the fans.... At least finish out the Season and the Championship... Then evaluate after..
In my mind I feel like he Mislead the Co-Founders
As for the XFL..
If I were Vince... I'd buy up the Alliance shit and merge it with the Xfl and have the same people running the TV production side for the alliance in the XFL..
The On the field product was legit...
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Coincidence?
Vince McMahon sells $272 million in WWE stock to fund the XFL
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 2, 2019, 12:56 PM EDT
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...lls-272-million-in-wwe-stock-to-fund-the-xfl/
I think they were trying to put themselves in a position where the Season ended before the Draft... when the second wave of free agency hits... Players on the Alliance had the ability to leave at any time for the NFL
and typically.. teams are most active filling the bottom half of the roster after the Draft. It would also allow people to heal up prior to NFL training camps.
It made sense to start it when they did..
Plus... the period after the Superbowl is the black period for football fans...
great fucking break down
what makes the NFL king is also what makes it impossible for other franchises to duplicate
I think the key is going in knowing that you can't beat them but be an alternative...
There will always be talent on the streets and some no names can blossom into stars with the right system... Alot of these dudes just need an opportunity..
I think you have to have 3 things to make a semi pro league work..
1. GO into it knowing that you aren't competing with the NFL and you are going to lose Millions of dollars for the first 3 to 5 years...
2. PRODUCT... PRODUCT.. PRODUCT..
a. Not only do you have to have a legit product on the field, but your production needs to mimic what people see on the NFL and College.
b. This where the AAF stood head and shoulders above the other semi-pro leagues.. there on the field product and production were at high levels. They also gave fans a pregame and halftime show... They also had highlights on Youtube, Nfl.com, and
their website. They also didn't come down hard on Streamers... who were streaming the games on youtube..
3. Pick cities that recently lost an NFL team or have been chomping at the bit for a NFL for years.. and cities with mid size stadiums. Crowds mean everything for a tv audience. It adds to the game.
a. AAF hit it out of the park with San Antonio and Orlando.... and did a good job with Birmingham and Arizona. But Memphis... (As much as I love them) have been burnt by so many Semi-Pro and Pro football teams that I really feel they don't trust a team enough to show up. Same for Salt Lake City. I would have gone with St. Louis or Oklahoma.
most of what im hearing on radio here in town is that it started at the wrong time. it should have been a spring league... .let people miss football for a while
I can agree with that.... I do think that they really were trying to play it out to give players a chance to make training camps healthy.. they were all about getting Kats back in the league..
You can’t really do that with a spring league unless you are trying to straight compete with the NFl.... like the USFL..
Vince is following a similar model.. his league will also start in February.
I’m really really really that me and the girl didn’t go to last weeks Express game..
That shit was fantastic....
I’m going to try and download the complete games for the AAF... I’ll try to put them in a Mega if I can find them all.
They will be nice to revisit
that's just the thing stop trying to compete with the nfl
do a spring league.. make it the best you can..and if a few player jump to the nfl on their own so be it
1000's of football players don't make it to the NFL this could have been for them.
This is fucked man
Yeah said this shit was going to flop the start, but people wanted to look at first week ratings as if people would continue to watch.
Any person who is serious about starting a football league in the spring needs to have the capital to fund it for up to 5 years.
Any person who is serious about starting a football league in the spring needs to have the capital to fund it for up to 5 years.
I know some people who work for this league in the broadcast industry. They were told to have a contingency plan last week. And it actually lasted one more week than they predicted. What a shame.
That’s they thing.. they weren’t trying to compete... they were too focused on being a development or second chance for players..
I think if they just focued on their own product.. they would have been a spring league.
But they were built around trying to give guys a chance to put film on tape and be free for training camp.... it’s also probably why they got the Kats that they did.
Anybody with any business sense knew the league would lose money the first couple of years. But it’s the long term that makes the niche work. It’s right in a football dead zone. You got the talent available. It goes to show these folks were not try to run a league, but get a quick flip.
Total nonsense
They had the capital at first but I do think that when that initial major investor backed out last minute and they had to rely on COndon to survive they fucked themselves. I think he came on with odd aspirations.... I aslsp found out that he didn’t just give them 250 million in lump investment.. he broke it down into multiple 70 million payments with the goal of quick expansion and partnerships with the nfl.. so when the NFlpa was like we aren’t loaning players... Condon was like what’s the point and closed shop over the other peoples objections. Since he was majority .. there was nothing anyone’s could do to stop him.
That’s the one advantage that XFL has over the AAF... XFL is Vince’s baby and he has the capital to do without an investor... the problem for the xFl is will.. Vince have real football people running this or will he run it like last time.
I honestly think the AAF showed that there is a true demand for a summer or spring league... but you have to go in knowing the first three years will rough... but if you put on a compellingly product ... people will watch..
Prior to the AAF I didn’t know who Galbert Gilbert or Brandon Silvers we’re and now I confident those two dudes will be in someone’s camp... I definitely think Charles Johnson and Reece Horn will be...
Hell I need Reece Horn on a titans roster immediately ...
They lost a major investor prior to the season that fucked it up and forced them to bring in Condon to save them...
I just don’t get what Condons motivations where..... his full 250 million would have paid for the full season but he kind of pull the rug on them..
I would love to read the novel of what happened here.
Exactly
I actually grew to love the shit. My girl got into games and everything
These last 4 weeks had at least one to two classic games.
Attendance and tv ratings for the AAF were trash the last 4 weeks. XFL part 2 will do the same thing. Hope Vince is willing to lose his entire fortune over the next 5-10 years to even get to the point that the XFL breaks even before he dies.
It's a fact that less kids are playing football. The NFL knows it and is trying to prepare for the future drop in fans. There is no need or support for a Spring league.
It's a fact that less kids are playing football. The NFL knows it and is trying to prepare for the future drop in fans. There is no need or support for a Spring league.
Oh snap... this is looking messy...
Steve Spurrier calls out 'not very truthful' AAF leadership
By: Andrew Joseph | April 2, 2019 4:38 pm Follow @andyj0seph
The Alliance of American Football is suspending operations before completing its first season, which would leave legendary football coach Steve Spurrier out of a job.
Spurrier understandably wasn’t pleased with Tuesday’s news, and he criticized how the league’s leadership played off that everything was fine with the AAF when, in reality, the league was on the verge of folding.
The Orlando Apollos coach spoke to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel and pinned his surprise over the league’s collapse on the AAF founders.
He said via sun-sentinel.com:
“Everybody wanted to play out the season and everybody is disappointed. Everyone was led to believe that the Alliance was well funded and we could play three years without making any money and this, that and the other. Obviously, everything that was said was not very truthful.”
The AAF faced its struggles from Day 1. Despite strong promotion and viewership in the opening week, the league needed an emergency $250 million investment from Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon just so it could make payroll. The league’s co-founder Charlie Ebersol spun the cash infusion as a game-changing positive, but Dundon is reportedly the one pulling the plug on the entire operation.
When it came to Spurrier, though, he did hope that the first-place Apollos would be declared the champions.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/04/steve-spurrier-aaf-founders-league-collapse-folding-reaction
I feel fucking sorry for these guys....
Spurrier was out there coaching his fucking ass off...... That team was legit.....
The Way Spurrier was talking....
I wouldn't be surprised if a lawsuit pops up. I mean dude... fucking had back surgery and came out of retirement... right after back surgery to do this.
Steve Spurrier calls out 'not very truthful' AAF leadership
By: Andrew Joseph | April 2, 2019 4:38 pm Follow @andyj0seph
The Alliance of American Football is suspending operations before completing its first season, which would leave legendary football coach Steve Spurrier out of a job.
Spurrier understandably wasn’t pleased with Tuesday’s news, and he criticized how the league’s leadership played off that everything was fine with the AAF when, in reality, the league was on the verge of folding.
The Orlando Apollos coach spoke to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel and pinned his surprise over the league’s collapse on the AAF founders.
He said via sun-sentinel.com:
“Everybody wanted to play out the season and everybody is disappointed. Everyone was led to believe that the Alliance was well funded and we could play three years without making any money and this, that and the other. Obviously, everything that was said was not very truthful.”
The AAF faced its struggles from Day 1. Despite strong promotion and viewership in the opening week, the league needed an emergency $250 million investment from Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon just so it could make payroll. The league’s co-founder Charlie Ebersol spun the cash infusion as a game-changing positive, but Dundon is reportedly the one pulling the plug on the entire operation.
When it came to Spurrier, though, he did hope that the first-place Apollos would be declared the champions.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/04/steve-spurrier-aaf-founders-league-collapse-folding-reaction
I feel fucking sorry for these guys....
Spurrier was out there coaching his fucking ass off...... That team was legit.....
The Way Spurrier was talking....
I wouldn't be surprised if a lawsuit pops up. I mean dude... fucking had back surgery and came out of retirement... right after back surgery to do this.
Even Vince ain't that smart...
They fucked up rushing this shit before the XFL. They should've took their time.