Alliance of American Football reportedly plans to suspend operations
It’s not officially dead, but the Alliance of American Football seems to be destined for the same fate as the USFL and the XFL.
Pro Football Talk and Darren Rovell of Action Network HQ both tweeted that the AAF will suspend operations on Tuesday.
The move comes not long after former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel joined the Memphis Express in the middle of March. Manziel, who played for the Cleveland Browns and in the Canadian Football League, appeared in two games for the Express. On Saturday, he suffered a head injury and left Memphis’ game after throwing three passes.
Manziel brought some attention to the league. His first game, which was up against the NCAA Tournament, drew 250,000 viewers. The rapper Eminem was watching Manziel’s debut and tweeted that the AAF should allow players to fight and hoped a team would be put in Detroit.
Expansion seems unlikely as the eight-team league has plans to suspend play just eight weeks after it began in February.
Rovell tweeted that new owner Tom Dundon, who will lose roughly $70 million, made the decision against the wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.
Dundon, who owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, reportedly made a $250 million investment in the league after just the first week’s games so the AAF would make its payroll.
