Tag: Tebow AAF

The AAF Apparently Needed a $250M Investment Just to Make Payroll in Week TWO

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Yahoo – For all the good publicity the Alliance of American Football received early on, it’s still a startup business. Like plenty of other startup businesses, the AAF might have been underfunded to start. The Athletic’s David Glenn, citing multiple sources, reported that the league was in danger of not making payroll last week, just the second week of the league’s existence.

The crisis was averted. Glenn wrote that Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon will be introduced as the AAF’s new chairman after investing $250 million to the AAF. The NHL owner’s investment allowed the league to meet its financial obligations...

“Without a new, nine-figure investor, nobody is sure what would have happened,” one source told Glenn at The Athletic. “You can always tell people their checks are going to be a little late, but how many are going to show up on the weekend for games when they don’t see anything hit their bank accounts on Friday?”

Isn’t this the first thing they teach you in business school? How to fund your business and keep the doors open? Thats like Day 1 stuff.

Look I am all for capitalism and people trying to make money and I really want the AAF to succeed, but without any big names like Tim Tebow playing, the only chance this league ever has of making it is if the NFL acquires it. The NFL would have to decide after over a decade of having no minor leagues (RIP NFL Europe) that they want to buy the AAF as a talent pipeline.

But I also find it hilarious that they’re almost going out of business in Week TWO after the peacocking about beating a regular season NBA game in the ratings on a random Saturday night and after Mattes faced the wrath of AAF Reddit (yes its a thing) for saying he wasn’t watching.

 

It’s a decent concept, but not exactly anything groundbreaking. I’d be curious to see the market specific TV ratings as it compares to competitors’ programming in the same time slots. Because not to sound like a complete arrogant dickhead, but we watch the New England Patriots up here. They have the greatest quarterback and the greatest coach of all time. So I’m not exactly fighting over the remote to watch Christian Hackenberg throwing ducks for 2 hours.

My point being, the smartest thing the AAF did was put these teams in cities where there isn’t established NFL competition. I know they’ve said they’re not competing with the NFL; they’re complimenting it. But even if they’re not competing with the NFL directly, they’re still competing for the attention of the NFL fan, which is why I’d be curious to see the TV ratings in those non-traditional football markets. Markets that are starved for the sport. It’d be like putting a Big 3 League residency in Seattle. There’s an appetite for it.

So while I wish the AAF all the best, aside from watching a few minutes of a game at the bar, this whole story doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Not to mention they got Vince McMahon licking his chops with the XFL closer to kicking off every single day.

Tim Tebow Turned Down a Chance to Play Football in the AAF. Likes His Chances to Make the Mets

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Yahoo – Tim Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy-winning college and NFL quarterback, is happily ensconced in the New York Mets minor league system, and eyeing a possible promotion to the majors in 2019. But there’s always that lingering question: could he ever return to football?

While we don’t know the final, definitive answer to that question, we do know that Tebow is so committed to baseball right now that he turned down an offer from Steve Spurrier, the coach of the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football, to join his team.

Spurrier, the former Florida and South Carolina football coach, confirmed to “PFT Live” that he reached out to Tebow in 2018 about playing for the AAF, but Tebow passed. And Spurrier understood why.

“No, and I don’t blame Tim,” Spurrier said. “Tim’s got a chance to go to Major League Baseball. I think Tim’s probably headed in the baseball direction. I don’t blame him. If I were in his situation I’d probably do the same thing.”

At least we’ll always have that Fantasy Football championship you won me in 2011, Tim. But hey in all seriousness if I had the opportunity to maybe get called up and play for the New York Mets (warranted or not) vs the opportunity to play in the illustrious AAF? Ummmm probably sticking with the Mets, even if they are run by dopes in the Wilpons.

I really do hope to see Tim Tebow playing Major League Baseball, even if it is a sham so the Mets can sell tickets. I mean whats Tebow supposed to do? Say no? Build that brand baby. While he has a career .244 batting average in the minors, in true Tebow fashion, he’s actually gotten better the closer he’s gotten to the big time. After hitting .220 in A ball, he then somehow got promoted and proceeded to rake with a .273 avg in AA. Now he’s been invited to spring training by the Mets and as we all know, AA is where all the prime prospects come from.  Granted you don’t see a lot of successful players making their MLB debut at 30-years-old, but I’ll never doubt a guy that has Jesus in his corner.

PS – I still wear my Tebow Patriots t-shirt jersey with pride. Top 5 piece of obscure memorabilia that I own.