Majority investor: Alliance of American Football in danger of being discontinued without NFLPA help

[GDAWG]

The AAF might have had a chance to survive if they had gone the route of what the CFL is trying to do now and expand the player pool beyond North America. Instead they want to rely on the NFL so that the third string QB of the Kansas City Chiefs can play for Salt Lake in the future.

[MikeMitchell]

The quote from Dundon kind of seems like a request to the NFL. Like he's saying "You want a minor league NFL? Then help us out, because we're in a bad place." Hopefully the NFL will try to help out. AAF spring football is better than no spring football.

NFL won't help out barring a miracle. AAF has no leverage (with XFL coming next year) and a terrible business model. This seems like a desperate attempt to get some cash out of the NFL.

Disagree, the NFL will help out in a heartbeat in order to hurt the XFL.

The NFLPA on the other hand has no reason to help.

The NFL in a strange way, has been helping out without making any sort of financial commitment. They have been promoting the AAF on their website, playing their games on NFL Network and the NFL's partners have been very friendly to the AAF.

The AAF has been staying afloat with Dundon's bankroll. Does the NFL want to start picking up the checks?.... Could they save the business model?.... or..... Would they just keep it up and running for a few years, just to see how it works out. The whole spring football model as a minor league to the NFL is flawed. No smart NFL GM wants to risk his best players getting injured or playing in a different system or playing year round. As long as they are in the spring. The NFL is going to send their fringe players over. Just like they did with NFL Europe.

Hurting the XFL..... That's a very possible strategy. Keeping the AAF on temporary life support with funding, could potentially aid in doing so.

[Tank55]

I think the NFL wouldn't want any part of a proxy war with the XFL. Who does that serve?

[SamTheRam28]

I think the NFL wouldn't want any part of a proxy war with the XFL. Who does that serve?

Exactly. NFL going after XFL only gives XFL attention and makes them seem cooler and anti-establishment. They'd be better off sitting aside and not assisting either league and seeing how it all plays out.

[MikeMitchell]

Interesting quote from an ESPN article on this story.

Dundon said he expects to make a decision about the league's future over the next two days.
The NFLPA had no official response to Dundon's comment, according to USA Today Sports. But an anonymous NFLPA official cited numerous concerns with allowing its players to play in the AAF, including potential injury risk and violations of the collective bargaining agreement.

[Tank55]

What does it tell you when the Apollos essentially fired their radio broadcast team before last week’s game because the AAF hasn’t paid the bill at the local radio station that was broadcasting Apollos games?

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ ... story.html

[Tank55]

The better question is, why wouldn't the NFL want to control spring football?

Because it's super expensive. Notice how NFL Europe no longer exists and how Dundon is bleeding millions by the week.

Why would they allow any unaffiliated football league to get a foothold if they can prevent it?

The point is that it's debatable if engaging in competitive behavior would hurt or help the XFL. Signaling that you view the XFL as a threat lends credibility and drives media interest. If the NFL wants to kill the XFL, their best maneuver is probably just ignoring them, which is the tact they have successfully taken with each venture that has followed the SPFL at a price infinitely lest costly than the WLAF.

[GDAWG]

The only non NFL league that the NFL went to war with on a full scale level was the American Football League, which was by far the most successful rival league the NFL has ever had due to the fact that every single team that was in the original AFL ended up forming the AFC. Sure, the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans, but the Titans still have the history of the Oilers. No original AFL team was left behind in the merger, not like when the NBA only purchased a few ABA teams (Spurs, Pacers, Nuggets, Nets) or when the NHL only added a few teams from the WHA (Oilers, Whalers who are now the Hurricanes, Jets now Coyotes and Nordiques now Avalanche)

[Tank55]

Your entire argument is based on the premise that the NFL should be scared of the XFL. They shouldn't. If I'm Vince, I hope the NFL takes your advice. Every dollar the NFL spends on the AAF is as good as being spent on the XFL's marketing budget.

[Tank55]

Yes, it is. This statement:

Spending a few million bucks (even if it were as much as 10-15 million) per NFL team to prevent competition is a tiny price to pay for a league that makes billions.

defines the XFL as NFL competition. That's a status Vince can't buy with $150 million of his own money. If the NFL wants pay money to confer that on the XFL, bring it on.

The NFL would be wise to be mindful of its existential threats. The XFL's just not one. In the 1960s, the AFL was one. In the 1980s, when the NFL moronically engaged in anti-competitive practices in an effort to destroy the USFL, they faced one. But the barrier to entry is so much higher in 2020. The XFL will have to work for a decade and spend billions just to get to the USFL's level. The potential risks of getting involved vastly outweigh the potential benefits.