With the buzz surrounding the new AAFL, is America ready for another football league? Tea All American Football League I think.
What is?
Football by any other name. The AAFL hopes to attract football fans who need an outlet for professional football in the NFL offseason.
What is the attraction?
In addition to a spring and early summer season, the AAFL is partnering with colleges known for football to attract college football fans in their off-season. This is critical to his approach because he intends to recruit players from those colleges. The idea is that if you closely followed a player’s college career and are now playing for the AAFL, you’ll want to follow his pro career as well. Ticket packages and other benefits will be offered to alumni of each university and to the local fan base.
Where will the teams be located?
So far Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas.
Tryouts have already been held for Arkansas, Alabama, Florida and Michigan and, according to his source, some players have already been signed by teams. A regular season and playoff schedule has already been set, though again, depending on your source, not all spots for games have been finalized. Among the sites expected to host at least one game are Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL, War Memorial Field in Little Rock, AR and Ford Field in Detroit, MI.
Is there anyone known associated with the league?
Although the league’s commissioner and operations executives have yet to be hired, the chairman of the Board of Managers is Cedric Dempsey, former NCAA president. There is also representation from former college presidents and university system presidents, as well as Jack Lengyel, best known as the character played by Matthew McConaughey in We Are Marshall.
Wait, isn’t there already football in the NFL offseason?
Arena League Football (AFL) runs from March to June. NFL Europe has retired. The Canadian Football League (CFL) runs roughly from the end of June through November.
It will work?
Many leagues have come and gone. The problem is that it costs a lot to run and maintain a football league. There are player and executive salaries, stadium leases and television contracts just for starters. The AAFL is a for-profit league and if it can’t operate at a profit, it won’t last long. It’s worth noting that the AAFL will not benefit from concession sales like some professional teams do to increase their profits because concessions at games will be operated by and for the host stadium. For what it’s worth, beer won’t be available.
Another hurdle the league faces is keeping costs down for fans. Ticket prices for professional sports are a huge turnoff, and the AAFL will have to find a way to keep ticket prices affordable and attractive. Ticket prices have been announced to be around $13 and there will be a big push for locals to purchase “memberships” that give them special perks like VIP parking and special screenings of out-of-town games.
The AAFL has said it will televise the games nationally, but there is national televised coverage and then there is national television. Just ask the NHL who is effectively buried on Versus, a channel most people have never even heard of.
The league can get a big boost if the quality of the game is high. So, you have a good chance of getting through the first season.
The real question is whether the AAFL model can work if it stays local, and whether it even needs the support of a national fan base. And you might also be wondering, why bother at all? Is there really a void in the football world that would be filled by a new league? The AAFL thinks so. If not, it will be just another football league that comes and goes in the blink of an eye.
