Alliance of American Football

Alliance of American Football
Most recent season or competition:
2019 AAF season
ClassificationHigh-level minor league
SportAmerican football
FoundedMarch 20, 2018 (2018-03-20)
First season2019
CeasedApril 17, 2019 (bankruptcy)[1]
No. of teams8
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California[2]
TV partner(s)
Official websiteAAF.com

The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league.[3][1][4] The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan areas with at least one major professional sports franchise.

Founded by Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian in 2018, the AAF began play on February 9, 2019. The league was scheduled to have a 10-week regular season and conclude with a championship game on April 27. After eight weeks of play, however, the league's football operations were suspended by controlling owner Thomas Dundon on April 2.[5][6] Two days later, the AAF allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.[7] The AAF filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019, with the league's sole season left incomplete.[1][8]

The AAF positioned itself as an "upper-level minor league" serving as a transition between the college game and the NFL.

  1. ^ a b c "AAF files for bankruptcy, officially closes down", USA Today, April 17, 2019, retrieved April 17, 2019
  2. ^ "Media". Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Allen, Kevin. "AAF suspends football operations with two weeks left in regular season". USA Today. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference espnpostmortem was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Kercheval, Ben (April 2, 2019). "AAF operations suspended, league's future in doubt after eight games of first season". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "AAF suspends operations; Polian 'disappointed'". ESPN. ESPN. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  7. ^ Schwartz, Nick (April 4, 2019). "AAF star Keith Reaser becomes first player to sign NFL deal after league shutdown". USA Today. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chapter7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).