Peter B Joneleit/Associated Press
Eight weeks into its inaugural season, the Alliance of American Football may have already played its final game.
Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Darren Rovell of The Action Network, the AAF is expected to suspend all operations Tuesday.
Florio noted the league isn’t folding yet, “but it’s heading that way.”
Rovell added that AAF owner Tom Dundon stands to lose $70 million and made the decision to suspend operations “against wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.”
The AAF has been in financial trouble basically since the season started on Feb. 9.
David Glenn of The Athletic reported on Feb. 18 that Dundon, who owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, was named the AAF’s new chairman after making a $250 million investment to help the league get its finances in order.
Dundon told reporters last week the NFL Players Association could help the league by allowing its players, notably those on practice squads, to play in the AAF.
“If the players union is not going to give us young players, we can’t be a development league,” Dundon said. “We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league.”
The NFLPA declined the request for multiple reasons. Chief among them were that using active players in AAF games could violate CBA rules that restrict mandatory workouts during the offseason and the possibility that injuries suffered in the AAF would stunt accrued service time in the NFL, which has financial implications.
The inaugural AAF campaign was scheduled for a 10-week regular season with a two-week postseason culminating in a championship game on April 27.
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