Death of the Alliance of American Football

[bosrs1]

23 hours ago, jc... said:

More stuff...
Darren Rovell reporting.....

 

 

And the bombshell.....

 

 

Well that would explain why we have two leagues seemingly doing much of the same thing starting at almost the same time. Still, one has to wonder if McMahon is having second thoughts now that he’s seen there is no more market for a league in spring now then there was 18 years ago. 

[MJWalker45]

3 hours ago, Sykotyk said:

What's worse is the Orlando-Birmingham winner might be clinching a playoff spot. If Memphis and Atlanta remain winless. And the loser might clinch in Week 6. 

 

And the second Orlando-Birmingham game is scheduled for week 10. And the playoffs are the top two in each division playing each other. So week 10 might just be a battle to see who gets to host the third game the very next weekend. 

Which could be a good game if they're tied or boring as heck if one is 2 games up. 

[dfwabel]

1 hour ago, bosrs1 said:

 

Well that would explain why we have two leagues seemingly doing much of the same thing starting at almost the same time. Still, one has to wonder if McMahon is having second thoughts now that he’s seen there is no more market for a league in spring now then there was 18 years ago. 

Deadspin has the full text of the lawsuit.

 

XFL2K has PowerPoints of the initial meeting Ebersol and the plaintiff had with McMahon.

[GDAWG]

I wonder what Tom Dundon is thinking when he found out the league is getting sued. 

[Red Comet]

7 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

I wonder what Tom Dundon is thinking when he found out the league is getting sued. 

Good thing he hasn't committed anywhere near the $250,000,000 he is set to commit and that he can pull out at any time. Probably because of this suit.

[Gothamite]

2 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Deadspin has the full text of the lawsuit.

 

XFL2K has PowerPoints of the initial meeting Ebersol and the plaintiff had with McMahon.

 

Holy , this is good reading, thanks.  Bob Vanech is all over the PowerPoint; if this thing is legit he seems to have a hell of a case.

 

 

Really hard to reconcile that with the texts Ebersol sent Vanech after they made their pitch to the XFL:

 

 

I did love this slide, though:

 

 

Admittedly it's been a while since I've been to Memphis, but when did they move it off the Mississippi River?   

[Red Comet]

13 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Admittedly it's been a while since I've been to Memphis, but when did they move it off the Mississippi River?   

 

Maybe they originally wanted to put a team in Chattanooga and forgot to change the dot to Memphis's location?

[Gothamite]

Just now, Red Comet said:

Maybe they originally wanted to put a team in Chattanooga and forgot to change the dot to Memphis's location?

 

My first thought was they mixed up Memphis and Nashville.  That dot is certainly closer to Music City than the Home of the Blues. 

 

[dfwabel]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

Holy , this is good reading, thanks.  Bob Vanech is all over the PowerPoint; if this thing is legit he seems to have a hell of a case.

 

 

Really hard to reconcile that with the texts Ebersol sent Vanech after they made their pitch to the XFL:

 

 

I did love this slide, though:

 

 

Admittedly it's been a while since I've been to Memphis, but when did they move it off the Mississippi River?   

I've been reading it this afternoon as well and as it reads, it seems that Vanech does have some "receipts" through the emails and texts in addition to the Exhibit of the PowerPoint. I'm really curious on who will be deposed as that could include Vince, Dick Ebersol, former WWE and XFL exec Tom Veit, who now works for the AAF?  

[monkeypower]

""Carrying the torch" of the XFL legacy" What legacy? A single failed season?

 

"Disruptor and Innovator" the Nike-speak of tech bros.

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, monkeypower said:

""Carrying the torch" of the XFL legacy" What legacy? A single failed season?

 

"Disruptor and Innovator" the Nike-speak of tech bros.

 

Yeah, the whole thing is full of self-aggrandizing empty rhetoric. 

[IceCap]

Hate to interrupt the pessimism parade but the tv ratings remain solid and steady...

 

https://awfulannouncing.com/league-networks/after-another-week-of-questions-about-their-finances-aaf-nfl-network-ratings-went-up.html

 

Quote

 

Those numbers represent 16 and 21 percent week-over-week gains respectively, and that’s impressive on a few levels. With new leagues or sports, there’s often some initial interest that then dies away as time goes on. Yes, some of that’s happened here too (the AAF isn’t getting close to the 2.9 million viewers it averaged for its Week 1 debut, but some of that is thanks to the debut being on broadcast CBS, which has much wider distribution than the NFL Network), but there’s a decent audience that’s sticking around, and there seem to be some new viewers tuning in too.

And while these numbers aren’t mind-blowing or anything, they’re pretty good for NFLN, and they’re beating out lots of regular season MLS and even some regular season NHL broadcasts. 400,000-500,000 viewers is a worthwhile February sports audience, and it helps counter the “nobody’s watching” storyline.

 

[Cosmic]

Yeah, honestly I only care about these early attendance numbers in that the league doesn't seem nearly as well-funded as we were initially led to believe. Some cities may be poor fits, but I'd be more concerned about what the attendance is towards the end of the season and for the next year. If I were starting a league, I wouldn't go forward without enough money to pretty much keep things going without revenue for the first two years. The early season will probably always be a tough sell; this isn't unique to the AAF. The Bills have had trouble selling December home games going back to the 90s, and people don't like seeing early season baseball in the snow. The product is pretty decent right now, and hopefully it will get better with time. If people are finding it on TV, then someone will pay for the rights eventually... if they survive that long. If the TV numbers were in the toilet, I would be much much more pessimistic. They're getting NHL numbers right now, and the NHL is getting $200M per year from NBC on an old contract.

[Red Comet]

I want this league to succeed. I want the NFL to have an ethical minor league system. And if ratings are improving and Dundon decides to keep funding the league? Despite the attendance issues and legal :censored:show so far, this league may have a bright future if it can get past the first two things.

[CrimsonBull9584]

On 2/24/2019 at 7:49 PM, GDAWG said:

Imagine if that had been inside Mercedes Benz Stadium

 

If we did, I'd say we'd have more people show up. When I told everyone that the game was at Georgia State Stadium, most needed reminding (or to be told for the very first time) that it was old Turner field. A stadium that everyone instantly recognizes would have helped with attendance. Further, despite the good weather, if we played in a dome (like the Commanders) more people would have wanted to show up because of the controlled environment. There is nothing wrong with Georgia State Stadium, but those two factors could have been mitigated had we played in the dome.

[dfwabel]

Memphis seems to have given up on actually selling tickets for Saturday

 

 

 

[NYC Cosmos]

I would love to see what they had. I scored a San Diego Chargers Starter sideline jacked for $10 at a used clothing store.

[Armorbeast]

The AAF has identities slapped together at the last moment, they didn't have adequate practice time, they didn't give their production teams behind the scenes time to prepare so that their presentation is full of glitches and this isn't actually a Spring League as advertised since it began in Winter and lasts just ten weeks. Spring begins March 20th which means 6 games will be over by the time the first Spring game starts in week 7.

I won't say I like this league and supporting it just because it puts a team in my state is a rather flimsy excuse when they also put teams in Atlanta and Phoenix where they don't even need them. All the teams are located in the South because it's actually a Winter/Spring League and your chances for warmer games are higher in the South. With the warm spell most of us have had in the South, they lucked out big time. But even for that, the stadiums are practically empty and the constant drone of how great the AAF is during the games really wears on you after a bit. 

Ebersols partner in forming the league made a huge gaff on week one saying this league was created to provide opportunities for minorities? What opportunities are needed when the NFL is 63% to 68% black already. There aren't many other minorities in the league and that statement, if made about whites, would be viewed as racist. 

I actually want to support this league and I do watch the games. Overall, they're pretty good if you can get beyond the team names and bad production quality. 

As for Vince McMahon, as long as he stays out of the league as he's promised and if he starts later in the Spring to bring us a Spring/Summer league, I think a second run of the XFL could work as long as he gets backing like the AAF has from the NFL and other supporters. But he can't do like the AAF and ignore what makes teams successful. In Birmingham, we have the Iron. Hard to get behind a team where you inevitably become known as the Ironers and images of cleaning clothes pops up. 

And contrary to what they say, I love kickoffs and the chances for an explosive return. I haven't seen any more injuries during returns than at any other point during the game. The points system is also a flop as we're all familiar with the 6pt td and 1 or 2 pt try afterwards. That add's to the strategy of the game.

if they want innovation, create a penalty point. Something that's so flagrant it warrants punishment, take a point away from the team who caused the violation. Don't give it to the other team as referees sometimes can't tie their shoes let alone getting a call right. But that is an innovative idea much like the goal post in Arena Football keeping the ball in play if there's a missed fg or pat. They changed things that don't need changed and the few changes they did make that I agree with (the league providing medical personnel instead of each team as an ex), it really has nothing to do with the game on the field. 

But, I do sense this league will survive for at least a few years as the backing it has seems strong enough to keep it going. I see the XFL as having room to survive as it could easily take off when the AAF finishes their season and play until the NFL starts it's season. They're promoting that we want year round football even in the NFL now... that won't happen if there's no Spring/Summer league to do it.

[monkeypower]

Something maybe interesting to follow to see if any AAF team will kick the tires because of the publicity, Johnny Manziel has been released by the Montreal Alouettes and it sounds like he is being blacklisted.

 

Quote

Less than a year after signing his first CFL contract, Johnny Manziel’s tenure in Canada has come to an end.  The Montreal Alouettes have released the international quarterback based on the direction of the Canadian Football League after it was found that Manziel had contravened the agreement which made him eligible to play in the league.

 

The CFL has informed all of its clubs that it will not register a contract for the former Texas A&M pivot should any club attempt to sign him.

 

“We are disappointed by this turn of events. Johnny was provided a great deal of support by our organization, in collaboration with the CFL, but he has been unable to abide by the terms of his agreement,” said General Manager Kavis Reed in a statement. “We worked with the league and presented alternatives to Johnny, who was unwilling to proceed.”

 

Quote

A meeting with Randy Ambrosie in September of 2017 resulted in the Commissioner stating that he would not be prepared to approve a contract for Manziel at the time but after conditions were agreed upon and met by the A&M grad, an approval was granted in December.

 

Upon approval of a future contract with Manziel, the CFL issued a statement that said, “Mr. Manziel has been informed he must continue to meet a number of conditions in order to remain eligible. These conditions, while extensive and exacting, remain confidential.”

 

Manziel was also due a $75,000 offseason bonus on March 1.

 

All this after an article earlier in the day taking about he feels there's a lot of options for his football future in speaking about the AAF and the XFL.

 

Quote

“It’s great for football, it’s great for the guys who need more opportunity, need more film and time to play. I don’t know exactly what my exact steps will be for the next years coming up, but at least there’s a lot of options,” Manziel said on Barstool Sports Comeback SZN podcast.

 

“Me and E.B. [agent Erik Burkhardt] are fully committed to playing ball and trying to get into the best situation possible and that’s what it’s all about.”

 

So we'll see how the AAF views Manziel after he failed to do much of anything on the field in, and then got blacklisted by, the first league he played in during his "comeback".

[IceCap]

14 hours ago, Cosmic said:

They're getting NHL numbers right now, and the NHL is getting $200M per year from NBC on an old contract.

The AAF is outdrawing some MLS games. As in “the up and coming next great American sports league that can do no wrong” MLS. 

 

Maybe that speaks to the overwhelming popularity of gridiron football over association football even at this stage, but given how we’ve been conditioned to believe that MLS is growing in popularity and on its way to becoming entrenched in the North American sports landscape? I have to think the AAF is in a good place tv-wise if they’re going toe-to-toe with it in the ratings.