News Article: Dundon New Chairman of AAF

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I guess I'm still struggling to see a business model unless the hope is that the NFL eventually takes over it. There is so much pageantry, history, marketing, team loyalty, etc...with the NFL that attracts fans. Most fans I know are passionate about their team (Packers, Bears, Cowboys, etc..) or like other aspects of the NFL (football pools, fantasy football, superbowl, etc..)

Like I said though, I know nothing about this league and Tom Dundon is certainly better at making money than I am, so I'm sure there's a plan here. Would be interesting to know what it is.

Their stated goal is to become the NFL feeder league within 5-10 years. It's basically an attempt at the XFL but it's still football instead of pro wrestling. If you look at the rosters, they actually have recognizable player names. Legit football names are a part of running the league as well (I believe Bill Polian is a founder, Steve Spurrier is a coach, etc.). Unlike the XFL, they aren't positioned as competition but instead are attempting to cooperate.

I bet Dundon is hoping that he just invested in the equivalent of the NBA D League or the AHL. I have no idea if it'll work, but it sounds like people are giving it some credibility so we will see.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Their stated goal is to become the NFL feeder league within 5-10 years. It's basically an attempt at the XFL but it's still football instead of pro wrestling. If you look at the rosters, they actually have recognizable player names. Legit football names are a part of this. Unlike the XFL, they aren't positioned as competition but instead are attempting to cooperate.

I bet Dundon is hoping that he just invested in the equivalent of the NBA D League or the AHL. I have no idea if it'll work, but it sounds like people are giving it some credibility so we will see.

Unlike the XFL however it is not trying to compete with the NFL. Also the rules are pretty much a dumbed down version of the NFL rules that would make it easier for developmental players, yet still translate to the NFL level.

 

[Chrispy]

I think the biggest thing is the schedule. I'm pretty much done with watching football after the Super Bowl. I'd be much more interested in a pre-season type league that starts mid to late summer, or one that plays during the NFL season but on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I get that they want to capitalize off of being before baseball and any remaining interest in football after the Super Bowl but it just doesn't work for me.

I think this schedule is part of the "NFL cooperation". Part of what the NFL saw with bringing in Arena League players was that they hit a wall. Hard. Playing Arena league in the summer, then getting an invite to an NFL training camp, making a team, and playing an NFL season is a long grind.

Especially using NFL reserves, the NFL would prefer to see this league play well before training camp to give time off to recover.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Their stated goal is to become the NFL feeder league within 5-10 years. It's basically an attempt at the XFL but it's still football instead of pro wrestling. If you look at the rosters, they actually have recognizable player names. Legit football names are a part of running the league as well (I believe Bill Polian is a founder, Steve Spurrier is a coach, etc.). Unlike the XFL, they aren't positioned as competition but instead are attempting to cooperate.

I bet Dundon is hoping that he just invested in the equivalent of the NBA D League or the AHL. I have no idea if it'll work, but it sounds like people are giving it some credibility so we will see.

Makes sense. Even though the names are recognizable in the sense that they aren't "He Hate Me", I still don't recognize any of them. I'm not a big college football fan though, so I wouldn't recognize many. I'm guessing people that are even casual NCAA fans would probably will recognize many of them.

 

[kinglazybones]

It should be noted also that this league is being used to test betting on pro football. That's a facet that I'm not sure has been touched on publicly. I didn't read the article, though.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Makes sense. Even though the names are recognizable in the sense that they aren't "He Hate Me", I still don't recognize any of them. I'm not a big college football fan though, so I wouldn't recognize many. I'm guessing people that are even casual NCAA fans would probably will recognize many of them.

They aren't superstars (obviously if they were they'd be in the NFL), but you're right that it's guys that casual college fans would know.

A quick look at the rosters shows 1-3 recognizable names per team to even the most casual college fan like me. Arizona's got Scooby Wright (I believe at one point slated as a top 10 pick before injuries derailed his college career), Atlanta's got Denard Robinson of Michigan fame as well as half the Georgia Tech defensive roster of the last 4 years, Birmingham has Trent Richardson and a bunch of former Alabama players, etc. It looks like from a roster construction perspective it's already exactly what a feeder league should be.

 

[Canes]

I think this schedule is part of the "NFL cooperation". Part of what the NFL saw with bringing in Arena League players was that they hit a wall. Hard. Playing Arena league in the summer, then getting an invite to an NFL training camp, making a team, and playing an NFL season is a long grind.

Especially using NFL reserves, the NFL would prefer to see this league play well before training camp to give time off to recover.

I guess we'll see how it works out. I'm just not sure if people will have the long term appetite for league playing right after the Super Bowl. It may work decently the first season or two but what will happen when the novelty wears off? But I understand this rationale if they're truly trying to be a developmental league that wants to play nice with the NFL.

 

[GindyDraws]

I mean, it's possible but I don't think the AAF would do well here. MLS is a more likely option, and frankly I think Raleigh would support a franchise better than Charlotte.

The only problem is that MLS is already at 27 teams and once they reach the 28th market (which is in an arms race between Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, Indianapolis, and several other markets of varying success), they could pull the plug and USL Championship would the highest those markets could attain. And USL Championship's best deal for TV, for example, is ESPN+.

Anyway... I'm confused. Like, I supported the AAF because I'm all "More football is good", but if the AAF is already in dire straits this early on, I'd be worried. The true concern is if players' checks bounce. Like Superball bounce. ECW Paul Heyman paying you bounce.

 

[GindyDraws]

I've only heard good things about this league and it drew more viewers than the Primetime Saturday NBA game between the Thunder and Rockets.

This is a bit of a misnomer. The Saturday night games in Week 1 of the AAF were on CBS, but the remainder of the games are on varying limitations of access. Only one game was on TNT this season (a Saturday game in Week 2), a good chunk are on CBS Sports Network (a network whose anchor tenants include the Arena Football League, the Major Lacrosse League, and PBR Bull Riding), and a few unlucky games are on B/R Live, that PPV streaming service. If you happened to chose Salt Lake as your team to follow, four of their five home games are on B/R Live.

The good news for the league is that the NFL Network is covering the remainder of their games, which allows them more coverage by the NFL, considering that they were pushing themselves as a developmental league, although based upon what I've seen, most AAF players have been NFL washouts.

 

[RodTheBawd]

I hope the dude makes another billion off this.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I hope the dude makes another billion off this.

Going to be tough. Probably not as many people he can take advantage of like in the subprime lending business.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Going to be tough. Probably not as many people he can take advantage of like in the subprime lending business.

Are you kidding?

If there's one sports business that has proven its absolute ability to take advantage of the American public, it's foobaw.

I mean, Dundon isn't stupid. I don't get it because I haven't been evaluating it. I'm sure he has. He didn't make his money by being stupid.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Going to be tough. Probably not as many people he can take advantage of like in the subprime lending business.

Football players that couldn't cut it in college or after? Sounds like the perfect prey for this league.

 

[GoldiFox]

Going to be tough. Probably not as many people he can take advantage of like in the subprime lending business.

Not as many, but washed out NFL/NCAA talent desperate for a 2nd chance could be just as easy a pool to take advantage of. Especially coming in with a decade of head injuries.

 

[Wolfpuck]

Football players that couldn't cut it in college or after? Sounds like the perfect prey for this league.

Whether it's guys chasing the dream or just chasing whatever paycheck they can get their hands on.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Guys, I was kidding.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Your wasn't clear enough. You've lost your touch, old man.

 

[Tony1028]

The dude craps money...He can spend it any way he wants to.

 

[FreshSeabass]

I thought this was interesting. I really didn't think he had that much free time. Or he is trying to keep up the facade he isn't that involved with hockey ops.

Hurricanes owner Dundon takes over new football league

How will it affect the Hurricanes?
“It won’t at all,” Dundon said. “Although I talk to (general manager) Don Waddell and I’m involved, I don’t have a day-to-day responsibility and therefore I have lots of excess time. If I didn’t do this, I was going to go buy a company and start running a company again. I needed more to do. I feel like the Hurricanes are in good hands, the business is running well. It’s still something I love and have conversations about and want to keep improving, but it’s not a full-time job. It never really was. It definitely isn’t at this point.”

 

[Legionnaire11]

This is a bit of a misnomer. The Saturday night games in Week 1 of the AAF were on CBS, but the remainder of the games are on varying limitations of access. Only one game was on TNT this season (a Saturday game in Week 2), a good chunk are on CBS Sports Network (a network whose anchor tenants include the Arena Football League, the Major Lacrosse League, and PBR Bull Riding), and a few unlucky games are on B/R Live, that PPV streaming service. If you happened to chose Salt Lake as your team to follow, four of their five home games are on B/R Live.

The good news for the league is that the NFL Network is covering the remainder of their games, which allows them more coverage by the NFL, considering that they were pushing themselves as a developmental league, although based upon what I've seen, most AAF players have been NFL washouts.

Correct

Week 1
Apollos vs Legends: CBS
Commanders vs Fleet: CBS
Iron vs Express: CBS-SN
Hotshots vs Stallions: NFLN

Week 2
Iron vs Stallions: TNT
Express vs Hotshots: NFLN
Commanders vs Apollos: CBS-SN
Fleet vs Legends: NFLN

And the rest of the season will have:
Game 1: B/R Live
Game 2: NFLN
Game 3: CBS-SN
Game 4: NFLN

Plus streaming on the Alliance app.

Total games broadcast (40):
NFLN: 19
CBS-SN: 10
B/R Live: 8
CBS: 2
TNT: 1

Games on B/R Live:
Stallions: 4
Apollos: 4
Express: 3
Commanders: 2
Hotshots: 1
Iron: 1
Legends: 1
Fleet: 0

As for the "NFL Washouts" this is year one, these are the worst rosters that we should ever see in this league. It's also kind of the point of the league, this is a place where the emphasis is on developing players. Most of these guys have some NFL experience, even if just in preseason. But never had the chance to work on fixing their flaws. Alliance won't be like the AHL to NHL where most players will get a look at some point, I think only a handful of Alliance players will earn another shot in the NFL.

In the future however, if they come to an agreement with the NFL I think we see expansion to 16 teams, each with two NFL affiliates. The NFL team will send practice squad players and futures contracts to their Alliance affiliate, which would make up half of the active roster and the quality of player will be much higher. This is the league's stated 5-10 year goal. If Dundon's investment buys them that five years, advertisers and fans would see the league as stable and viable, putting more money into it and then the NFL gets involved, that's a pretty feasible plan in my opinion.

 

[Svechhammer]

I thought this was interesting. I really didn't think he had that much free time. Or he is trying to keep up the facade he isn't that involved with hockey ops.

Hurricanes owner Dundon takes over new football league

but it’s not a full-time job. It never really was. It definitely isn’t at this point.

Well thank goodness for that. As long as he keeps his focus on the big picture and works to keep us going in the right direction, I'm happy if he's now got the trust in the organization to do things the way they want. So far, its been working well, especially this season.

 

[Chrispy]

I thought this was interesting. I really didn't think he had that much free time. Or he is trying to keep up the facade he isn't that involved with hockey ops.

Hurricanes owner Dundon takes over new football league

Reading this makes me think the idea of a Raleigh franchise isn't as obvious as I previously thought. Dundon seems to like the idea of acting as commissioner of this league, and not caring about just one team's performance.

That said, he could bring someone in to act as commissioner and take over a Raleigh expansion franchise with part of his investment. The location and market make sense.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Reading this makes me think the idea of a Raleigh franchise isn't as obvious as I previously thought. Dundon seems to like the idea of acting as commissioner of this league, and not caring about just one team's performance.

That said, he could bring someone in to act as commissioner and take over a Raleigh expansion franchise with part of his investment. The location and market make sense.

Haha so he bought a 250mm football league because he was bored. I could definitely see a franchise coming to Raleigh - particularly Carter Finley. If the Canes to downtown was flat out rejected I could see him trying to turn the PNC area into more of a hot spot.

 

[FreshSeabass]

Haha so he bought a 250mm football league because he was bored. I could definitely see a franchise coming to Raleigh - particularly Carter Finley. If the Canes to downtown was flat out rejected I could see him trying to turn the PNC area into more of a hot spot.

As someone who purchased a new home 3-5 minutes from PNC i would welcome that. They have been talking about revitalizing blue ridge corridor because the state wants to sell off the property they have along blue ridge road and move it to where they built newer facilities. The k-mart on western and blue ridge is finally out of business so i'm excited to see what is done with the property. Dundon stated in a article in triangle business journal that he is all for building around PNC arena so i 'd imagine they want something similar to a north hills type area(shopping, movie theater, hotels, restaurants). West Raleigh is ripe for something like that with the crazy amount of new development going on.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Another article that portrays the situation in a much more positive light. Not like the doom and gloom of The Athletic.

Hurricanes owner Dundon invests $250 million in Alliance