Death of the Alliance of American Football

[MJWalker45]

2 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

 

If blue-collar unions like plumbers or electricians require you to have many years of apprenticeship in order to really know the craft well, then I don't think having fringe bench players putting in work is so horrible. I think of this more like fall rookie ball in baseball than anything else. As for injuries, my father and I have yet to meet anyone who has been a carpenter that still has functioning knees at 50.

NFL players were loaned out to the WLAF and NFL Europe. Yes they were run by the NFL, but if I get handed an assignment that takes me from where my company works to another company, my insurance moves with me. I don't see why those 3rd and 4th string players have to come up with another insurance partner, their teams should be happy to provide that support. Isn't that what happens in baseball when a player goes down to the minors?

[Red Comet]

4 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

NFL players were loaned out to the WLAF and NFL Europe. Yes they were run by the NFL, but if I get handed an assignment that takes me from where my company works to another company, my insurance moves with me. I don't see why those 3rd and 4th string players have to come up with another insurance partner, their teams should be happy to provide that support. Isn't that what happens in baseball when a player goes down to the minors?

 

You raise a very good point and I believe that would be a big stumbling block. Do we know if the insurance companies would be willing to ensure players for another two and a half months in the offseason while they play full-speed football? Insurance issues have already required the Orlando Apollos to practice in Georgia slightly over half the time and that's one team in one state. 

[dfwabel]

34 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

NFL players were loaned out to the WLAF and NFL Europe. Yes they were run by the NFL, but if I get handed an assignment that takes me from where my company works to another company, my insurance moves with me. I don't see why those 3rd and 4th string players have to come up with another insurance partner, their teams should be happy to provide that support. Isn't that what happens in baseball when a player goes down to the minors?

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In most cases, medical insurance does NOT cover work-related injuries.  In your example, the company you are contracted with is to cover your work injury under your state's Workers Comp Laws.  If you get hurt on the way TO/FROM that job or break your toe at home, then your medical insurance is used, but if you are injured AT the job, then it is Workers Comp.

 

 

That's why the Apollos train 51% of their time in Georgia, to have players protected by Workers Comp as Florida does not cover pro athletes. 

[dfwabel]

31 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

 

You raise a very good point and I believe that would be a big stumbling block. Do we know if the insurance companies would be willing to ensure players for another two and a half months in the offseason while they play full-speed football? Insurance issues have already required the Orlando Apollos to practice in Georgia slightly over half the time and that's one team in one state. 

The issue with the AAF from the start of the year is that they had difficulty in being insured, period.  They are buying Workers Comp within the much more expensive "state-funded insurance pools", which are considered the last option for businesses. 

In many cases, it needs to be paid upfront and that could have led to their immediate cash need after Week 1. 

[Red Comet]

9 minutes ago, dfwabel said:

The issue with the AAF from the start of the year is that they had difficulty in being insured, period.  They are buying Workers Comp within the much more expensive "state-funded insurance pools", which are considered the last option for businesses. 

 

Yes, hence why I referenced the situation with the Apollos (which I believe you brought up when it happened). But, if there is something like an "ever closer union" with the NFL (and hopefully some new investors, maybe have people put money in for franchises?) then insurance issues can only get easier.

[GDAWG]

I would think we will know by Thursday if games will be played.  I say Thursday because then it gives the team enough time to either set their game plans for the weekend or pack up and shut it down. 

[Sec19Row53]

5 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

I would think we will know by Thursday if games will be played.  I say Thursday because then it gives the team enough time to either set their game plans for the weekend or pack up and shut it down. 

If things are getting shut down, convenience and informing everyone are going to be the least of their concerns. This is true of any business - I'm not trying to cast aspersions on anyone.

[dfwabel]

FYI, tickets for the Championship Game in Frisco, TX were originally to go on sale March 28, then today, but now it seems they will be tomorrow.  

[Red Comet]

9 minutes ago, dfwabel said:

FYI, tickets for the Championship Game in Frisco, TX were originally to go on sale March 28, then today, but now it seems they will be tomorrow.  

 

I'm going to take this as a preliminary sign that they're at least going to finish this season and the post-season. Whatever issues Dundon would have from letting the season go on a week longer would pale in comparison to just outright taking people's money for a championship game and then saying "Lolnope. We're done. No refunds."

 

That or we're getting a solid answer tomorrow on the future of the league.

[GDAWG]

7 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

 

I'm going to take this as a preliminary sign that they're at least going to finish this season and the post-season. Whatever issues Dundon would have from letting the season go on a week longer would pale in comparison to just outright taking people's money for a championship game and then saying "Lolnope. We're done. No refunds."

 

That or we're getting a solid answer tomorrow on the future of the league.

 

It should be tomorrow, since today is questionable since it's April Fools

[Pauly]

1 hour ago, GDAWG said:

I would think we will know by Thursday if games will be played.  I say Thursday because then it gives the team enough time to either set their game plans for the weekend or pack up and shut it down. 

The AAF would be foolish to suspend/end the season before this weekend as CBS will be televising the game before the 2 final four NCAA basketball games and what better way to get advertising than with a CBS broadcast. If the game is competitive and close as a  good amount of the games this year have been the AAF might get that bump up in fan interest.

[GDAWG]

1 minute ago, Pauly said:

The AAF would be foolish to suspend/end the season before this weekend as CBS will be televising the game before the 2 final four NCAA basketball games and what better way to get advertising than with a CBS broadcast. If the game is competitive and close as a  good amount of the games this year have been the AAF might get that bump up in fan interest.

 

I am of the opinion that if the AAF shuts down, it will not be until after the championship game. 

[dfwabel]

On 3/30/2019 at 10:02 PM, MJWalker45 said:

I think the biggest takeaway is identifying which general managers actually take this seriously and which guys figured a few free tickets were all they needed to get people in. San Antonio put their name on fundraising efforts for school districts and have been pretty active using social media to show them in the community. I've seen social media from all of the teams but not to the extent I've seen from SA. The league mobile app is missing a lot of functions that other apps have, like tracking the stats of the games, not just the tracking software they use for their play predictor. 

 

Rotogrinders took them to task about the app today.

 

Excerpts:

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The AAF even took on MGM as an official gaming partner and created an app that was supposed to allow in-game betting. By using the MGM app, bettors were said to be able to wager on things like whether the next drive will be a touchdown or who the next player to score will be. We haven’t heard any promotion of these betting options since the season started.

 

What did the relationship with MGM do for the league? Besides hosting a watch party for the first night of games, the AAF has failed to benefit from its partnership with the casino and entertainment powerhouse.

 

The app turned out to be a disaster. It was advertised as a state-of-the-art, interactive app where fans could follow plays live. In reality, it’s a bunch of small dots running around in circles. It looks more like the old Mattel hand-held electronic football game that was popular in the 80s before video games were invented, only not nearly as fun.

 

 

Quote

Where the AAF really failed though is making injury and stats easily available to fans. Being a new league, you would think the AAF would bend over backwards to get information out to the public, especially if its goal was to reach gamblers and DFS players. Instead, its easier to get a realistic injury update from Bill Belichick than it is to find out who is starting at quarterback for Salt Lake.

 

Early in the season when it was vital to make a connection with sports bettors and DFS players, the AAF didn’t even release an official injury report. Injuries came filtering out on Twitter by the PR departments or beat writers covering the team late in the week. However, initially it wasn’t certain where to find injury reports or how accurate the information was being reported.

2

 

Quote

Perhaps the biggest failure by the AAF was not coming to any kind of agreement with DraftKings or FanDuel. You know, the two companies that operate DFS sites and sportsbooks, where it’s legal? Neither place offers AAF fantasy options on their web sites. Heck, DraftKings Sportsbook didn’t offer lines on AAF games until Week 2. The league did a terrible job of establishing relationships within the fantasy community and reaching people who live and breathe football 365 days a year.

 

The AAF simply isn’t resonating with sports bettors and it’s a shame. Many bettors and DFS players embraced the new league early. They wanted to engage with the AAF. The league did little though to build a relationship with what could have been its most loyal followers and biggest fanbase. Now, the AAF may fold if the NFL and NFLPA doesn’t step in to throw it a lifeline.

1

 

[dfwabel]

 

Kaplan replied to numerous tweets following his original Tweet which I've posted.  Those interested may want to go through Kaplan's timeline after 1 PM.

[GDAWG]

So what happened to the former players involved with the AAF anyways?  They have been gone since Dundon took over. 

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, GDAWG said:

So what happened to the former players involved with the AAF anyways?  They have been gone since Dundon took over. 

I think they're still involved because they're still running commercials with them during games. 

[Red Comet]

Looks like threatening to shut down the league increased ratings 

 

Orlando-Memphis had 469,000 people watching. 

 

And in what may be the last game in AAF history, 268,000 people watched the Hotshots-Commanders game.

 

No available ratings for the Salt Lake-San Diego game because if people don't care about the AAF, they care even less for the Stallions. That and the whole "Elite Eight games going on at the same time"

[dfwabel]

[CS85]

Sounds like the league is folding.

 

 

[Sodboy13]

^{And Charlie Ebersol gets himself added to the "People who won't go to prison, but probably should" list.}