OT: Assessing a New League, the Alliance of American Football

[BKIslandersFan]

Who’s going to do that when the business office is closed? They’re not going to pay someone to sit around spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on airfare, when the league has already folded. Cutting them a check was a fair way to handle it.

Send them home and then shut down the office maybe?

 

[tarheelhockey]

Send them home and then shut down the office maybe?

We're talking about a league that was losing money at a rate of about $1.6 million per day.

There were over 400 players in the league. That's over 400 flights which need to be booked, and you don't know where those flights are going or when they need to leave until you ask all 400+ players. How much time do you think that takes, even if you devote more than one person to doing it? A week? Two weeks? More?

It's absurd to think they were going to lose $1.6M/day + hundreds of thousands in flights + employee salary + rent/internet/phone/accounting costs just for the sake of P.R. for a league that wasn't going to exist anymore. If they had left the players COMPLETELY in the lurch it would be one thing, but the extra bonus check changes the narrative a bit.

It's the reality of a business closing. You don't continue to get favors from a non-existent employer even after you get your severance check and pink slip.

 

[Kane One]

Or they could have flown them back home. Don’t know why that’s so hard to organize.

Not sure why it’s so hard for grown men to book the flights themselves.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Not sure why it’s so hard for grown men to book the flights themselves.

Its not even that, they are not even covering medical bills for injured players.

 

[Hoser]

Of course they're not paying to fly players home and cover medical expenses: the company's gone TU!

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

the NFL should fund them to keep the league alive...that's what we do with dying leagues, right?

 

[Bookie21]

If the company you work for goes tits up, do you expect them to keep paying you , and fly you home.....not freaking likely, welcome to the real world, this happens in business every day

 

[BigZ65]

If the company you work for goes **** up, do you expect them to keep paying you , and fly you home.....not freaking likely, welcome to the real world, this happens in business every day

They didn't go bankrupt though and doesn't sound like they plan to.

I know in the CFL there is provisions in the standard player contract for a flight home for all players who do not live in the city they play in. That's pretty standard across pro sports. It would all depend on what the AAF had negotiated into contracts. One would assume that at the end of the season they had plans to provide travel home for the players. Essentially they just moved up the end of the season. They still have to live up to their contracts and pay creditors in full. Players would fall in that category.

If they had proper health insurance that should not expire immediately either. Sounds like they weren't paying the bills for some time, including insurance premiums and player housing.

 

[Bookie21]

It's actually the players/agents fault for trusting that this fly by night league had their insurance premiums paid up in full. Trusting these shysters with your health and well being is a gamble I would never take

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

this league needed a cash injection week 2. I know that wasn't the spin at the time, but it's clear in hindsight that's what happened.

How do you set up a league and only afford two weeks of salary?

 

[oknazevad]

For an article that was added as a source to the Wikipedia article on the league, apparently one of the original backers backed out just as the season began. When Stuff like that happens, stuff happens

 

[BigZ65]

For an article that was added as a source to the Wikipedia article on the league, apparently one of the original backers backed out just as the season began. When Stuff like that happens, stuff happens

The downside of the single entity model. Since MLS everyone seems to think it's a viable option. MLS is by far the exception. The franchise model has provided more stability and more capital in many cases.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

The downside of the single entity model. Since MLS everyone seems to think it's a viable option. MLS is by far the exception. The franchise model has provided more stability and more capital in many cases.

MLS single entity model is very different. Its essentially franchise model. Owners who hold shares in the league hold equal shares and control individual teams.

 

[BigZ65]

MLS single entity model is very different. Its essentially franchise model. Owners who hold shares in the league hold equal shares and control individual teams.

Hasn't that kind of evolved? I thought when they started up there were not many "owners."

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Hasn't that kind of evolved? I thought when they started up there were not many "owners."

I believe when they first started all teams had individual investor/operator like they do now, but they got in to financial trouble and the richest owners took over multiple clubs to keep the league going. And then eventually MLS found more investors and these owners were able to sell those stakes and just keep right to operate one team.

 

[LadyStanley]

Former AAF employees allege defunct pro football league violated labor law
Former AAF employees allege defunct pro football league violated labor law - The Mercury News

Seeking class action status. Gist of suit is that they violated WARN law which requires 60 days notice of closure/layoffs of large # of folks.

 

[shmglsky]

Former AAF employees allege defunct pro football league violated labor law
Former AAF employees allege defunct pro football league violated labor law - The Mercury News

Seeking class action status. Gist of suit is that they violated WARN law which requires 60 days notice of closure/layoffs of large # of folks.

What could they do? Their lead investor backed out at the last minute, not wanting to lose his own money. So what are they going to do? Go after Charlie Oversol, um I mean Charlie Ebersol for fraud???

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Holy cow, talk about dirtbag behavior. League folds and is still holding the ex-players to contracts and not letting them sign with the CFL?

 

[Roadrage]

Holy cow, talk about dirtbag behavior. League folds and is still holding the ex-players to contracts and not letting them sign with the CFL?

The players were notified that they are able to sign with NFL teams though. Don't know why CFL would be excluded.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The players were notified that they are able to sign with NFL teams though. Don't know why CFL would be excluded.

Probably because the CFL has a lower barrier to entry talent-wise, meaning that there'd probably be more players that could theoretically make team rosters, and less resources to duke it out if they tried to fight such an exclusion.

 

[Mightygoose]

The difference is AAF contracts allowed players to sign with the NFL after each season. Since the season is effectively over, plyers are able to use this clause. No such arrangements existed with the CFL.

Only players that can go to the CFL are ones who we're released prior to the league folding. Terrell Sinkfield of the Orlando Apollos is one example of this.

Still, a very underhanded tactic by AAF IMO.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I don't understand how a player's contract can be an asset for bankruptcy purposes. What are they going to do, auction them off to another league?

 

[BigZ65]

Probably because the CFL has a lower barrier to entry talent-wise, meaning that there'd probably be more players that could theoretically make team rosters, and less resources to duke it out if they tried to fight such an exclusion.

If they are no longer paying players nor employing them in any fashion they can't restrict them from earning a living. Hard to know what court that battle would be fought in, tbh hard to imagine the AAF wanting to fight for the contract of a no-name football player, but they would definitely lose where I'm from (Manitoba) if a player signed with the Blue Bombers in this circumstance and it went to court here.