Eric Sorenson
They say where there’s smoke, there’s fire. After eight weeks of existence and several days of speculation, it appears the Alliance of American Football is suspending all football operations moving forward. The business operations were still running as of late Tuesday morning.
Recent AAF majority owner Tom Dundon made it clear recently the league would be in danger of folding without the aid of the National Football League Players Association.
Dundon, who owns the Carolina Hurricanes, invested $250 million back in February and was funding the league on a week-to-week basis. According to reports he already sunk close to $70 million into his investment thus far.
All @TheAAF football operations will be suspended in the next few hours, per source with knowledge of situation. League is not folding, yet. But it’s heading that way.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 2, 2019
The initial blueprint of the league was to establish its product for three years independently before becoming a feeder system to the NFL.
One sticking point was the NFL collective bargaining agreement would not allow NFL practice squad players to participate in the AAF. Dundon agreed to back the league financially but was given authority to make any decisions with the league moving forward, including the possibility of shutting down all operations.
One of the 10 teams impacted by the decision is the Arizona Hotshots who, following a three-game win streak, were tied with the San Antonio Commanders atop in the Western Conference. The ‘Shots were scheduled to host the Birmingham Iron Sunday evening at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
