The Alliance of American Football lasted just one regular season before they shut down operations on Tuesday.
It’s a sad ending to what was an interesting concept. It also didn’t came without drama from those involved.
Following Tuesday’s news, another soon-to-be startup — the XFL — released a statement regarding AAF’s demise.
“We have said all along the success or failure of other leagues will have no impact on our ability to deliver high-quality, fast-paced, professional football,” the league said in a statement, via its official website. “The XFL is well-funded, we have time before kick-off to execute our business plan, and we will soon announce a national broadcast and cable TV schedule that makes it easy for fans to find our games consistently every weekend when we launch next February.”
Led by the venerable Vince McMahon, the XFL also noted that it’s interested in buying assets from the shuttered AAF.
Alternatives to the NFL have been failing left and right since Arena Football League and old NFL Europe were in their primes. It remains to be seen whether the XFL will follow suit.
However, we certainly expect a different business model from the XFL. That’s primarily true when it comes to NFL players potentially suiting up in the spring league starting next February.