Eight weeks into the Alliance of American Football season, the league is suspending all operations
The Alliance of American Football league chairman Tom Dundon had surprised AAF fans that the league may be in trouble one day after league co-founder Charlie Ebersol mentioned that the league was going to have possible expansions next year.
How did this happen? Here's a short timeline...
It's a bit unclear at the moment, but let's run down what happened starting a few weeks ago.
Back in February, the AAF started it's brand-new season and was watched by more than 6 million people on TV. Tom Dundon, became the new AAF chairman after pledging to invest $250 million, $70 million of which he already put in.
Money was getting tight by the 2nd week of the season. At the time, co-founder Charlie Ebersol had denied the claims about the league's finance problem.
All AAF players were signed to three-year, non-guaranteed contracts worth $70,000 in the first year, $80,000 in the second year and $100,000 in the third year.
A week ago, rapper Eminem tweeted (below) that he believed the AAF should allow players to fight during games. Shortly after, the AAF entertained the idea of bringing a team to Detroit.
The league had to make several changes due to logistics issues
On March 20th, The AAF championship game which was to be held on April 27th was moved from the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas to the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Shortly after that, word about the AAF league folding over a dispute with the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association) began circulating.
Originally, the AAF was shooting to be a league where new, young, and overlooked NFL players could make a name for themselves. The owners felt that they didn't want to be a "development league" for the NFL and started looking into other options. Eventually, Dundon was not able to work out a deal with the NFLPA over the use of NFL practice squad players. This was an issue, because of all the red tape and a collective bargaining agreement that currently prevents NFL practice squad players from going to the AAF.
Photo: SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 31: Shaquille Richardson #35 of the Arizona Hotshots breaks up a pass intended for Alonzo Moore #19 of the San Antonio Commanders at Alamodome on March 31, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes//Getty Images)