(Photo Credit JManziel2 via Instagram)
Several news outlets are confirming rumors of continued difficulties for the Alliance of American Football League. ProFootballTalk reports the AAF has not folded, but “seems to be moving in that direction” and as of Tuesday, the league has suspended all football operations.
AAF on the Rocks
Darren Rovell, Sports Business Reporter and Senior Executive Producer affiliated with @ActionNetworkHQ and SuperBook USA has written an article, which you can find here. Rovell provides quite a few of the details of investors, investors goals, what went right, what didn’t go as planned and where things stand between league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian along with Tom Dundon (owner of the Carolina Hurricanes).
The major takeaway is that a few weeks back, Dundon became the ostensible the majority owner of the AAF, by investing $250 million which means now he has essentially taken over and is calling the shots, including making the call to suspend operations. According to reports, Dundon seemingly has goals that differ from the original concepts set forth by Ebersol and Polian and is forcing the folding to work a deal with the NFL players league.
PFT also mentioned that the league would need another $20 million to finish the season. There are also reports of scores of vendors who have not received payment, which is disappointing to hear. (Excuse us while we get real here for a second … Is anyone else wondering how a quarter of a billion dollars is gone in the blink of an eye? Would love to see the accounting tallies on this one. Damn!)
The AAF provided great inexpensive (around $10 – $20 per ticket) and great caliber football at a fraction of the price of NFL and during a time when fans typically mourn the lack of American Football. Moreover, the AAF showcased the talent of many high-profile coaches and former NFL players in addition to Johnny Manziel, including Mat Asiata, Christian Hackenberg, Will Hill, Josh Huff, Aaron Murray, Zac Stacy, Trent Richardson, Denard Robinson, Brad Wing, and Scooby Wright. Many of the players delivered dynamic performances.
Yet, the stadiums were largely empty, and America seemed confused on when and where to catch the games, which were broadcast on a variety of channels such as CBS, TBS, and the NFL Channel.
Our thoughts are that we would challenge investors in extraneous NFL-feeder type leagues to find ways to make money other than placing butts in seats. These ventures need the fans and the fans’ interest … so it has to be easy and inexpensive for fans to show up and get interested. More sponsorships? More ads? More partnerships? There has to be some way to facilitate this brilliant concept — Because the concept is indeed good. We watched quite a few of the games. Let’s face it — at least there was no kneeling!
The other angle is robust marketing. The AAF did a lot of things right, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t quite enough. Is a partnership with the NFL even possible? One would think that the NFL would have a vested interest in seeing a league like this succeed. Could they invest some of the riches?
What issues do you think could be contributing to the demise of the AAF? Let us know at #TxLovesJFF via Twitter or on Facebook.
Enter Manziel
Johnny Manziel made the jump merely a few weeks prior to this untimely announcement. Fans were overjoyed to see Johnny back in a scheme that he knew, felt confident in, and that we understood as well. CFL was better than nothing, but it is so odd that it left a lot of us wanting more. Way more than three downs for sure. So it was great seeing JFF back in the states playing “real” football where he had the chance to shine.
Manziel supported the league throughout his short tenure there by speaking positively about the players who conscientiously decided to participate, and talked about the love of the game, which is ultimately the best reason to play, even if it isn’t the biggest motivation for many.
Manziel also took some time to tweet to other players in the league who may be feeling slighted by this demoralizing announcement regarding the future of the
Followed by:
The Hits Keep Comin’
However, for Manziel fans, interest in the league without Johnny in it had already begun to come into question after the announcement today that the former Heisman Trophy Recipient was officially in concussion protocol.
As one fan put it, “Man, he just can’t catch a break … ” but he did catch a kick. Thankfully it wasn’t worse. We were happy to see him up and going about life as usual, eating nachos and cheering on his team from the sidelines. Hopefully, this is a minor hiccup, and as someone somewhere once said, “Everything happens for a reason.” Now if we could get it to happen for a season. 😉
So, we have not heard any news on how long protocol might last … what Johnny’s injuries are (if any beyond concussion symptoms), or what his prognosis is.
Many fans were holding out hope that they would be able to catch their hometown hero in action in San Antonio this weekend, but for all of the reasons above, we may be forced to wait a while longer.
What’s Next?
Also of interest to Manziel fans is the question of “What’s next? Hopefully, a healthy and happy future filled with all the stuff Johnny loves most in a place with an amazing O-Line and Swope and Evans-like receivers!! 😉
The best feeling in the world is truly loving what you do every day of the week. What a week what an opportunity this is to keep getting better #ComebackSZN — Johnny Manziel
Well said, Johnny. Here’s hoping the off-season will be short and an intelligent NFL coach who can see beyond the hype will secure you for next season! (Or perhaps an owner interested in the next marketing bonanza on top of upper-echelon football talent!)
Remember to swing by and let us know your thoughts on this situation at #TxLovesJFF via Twitter or on Facebook.
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