Goodbye Friend: AAF likely to Fold

It seems as though the Alliance of American Football is on the brink of running out of steam. Pro Football Talk is reporting that the AAF will suspend operations Tuesday, though it’s not folding entirely. Majority investor Tom Dundon, who put $250 million into the league in February, has been unsure if the project would extend into the weekend.

“It’s pretty fluid. It’s day to day, I would say,” Dundon said on Monday, noting he would know more later in the week. The AAF has now been confirmed as suspending all football operations, with Dundon losing approximately $70 million on his investment. Dundon made the decision to halt operations against the wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.

The original concept was for the AAF to become a farm system for the NFL, much like minor-league baseball is to the MLB. But the NFL Players’ Association has refused to grant the AAF permission to use third- and fourth-string NFL players.

As it stands, the NFL will let players sign “futures” contracts at the end of a given season to play in the AAF, but the players’ association hasn’t agreed to terms that would modify the collective bargaining agreement. The modifications would protect players loaned from the NFL against serious injury while playing in the developmental league. The NFLPA hasn’t responded to Dundon’s claim, but an unidentified union official told USA Today recently the group has “serious concerns” about letting the AAF borrow active NFL members.

This article cites information from ESPN and CBS Sports. Media in this article is courtesy of Heavy and USA Today. For more pro sports like our page on Facebook.