Tag: XFL

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.

So Apparently the Alliance of American Football is Getting Good Reviews?

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Well, I did not see this coming.

Back in November, I presented my pretty frank thoughts regarding the upcoming, brand-new “professional” football league, the Alliance of American Football, which made its grand debut this past weekend. (Quick recap: I was NOT all that excited about it).

But all eight teams in the league saw their first round of action over the past few days, with varying degrees of success. And according to the numbers, people actually watched it:

Some reports even stated that close to three million viewers were tuned in at one point on Saturday night. A lot of things factor into those numbers, and it’s tough to pin down an exact total, but regardless: color me completely shocked.

ESPN’s Ben Cafardo responded by saying that the Houston/OKC game did peak with a rating of 3.2 from 11 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. that night, but the fact that they were lagging behind the AAF at any point on a Saturday night is still noteworthy.

Now, much of the initial interest could be due to simple curiosity. It’s new. It’s (slightly) different. And it was another way to get a football fix after the high from last week’s Super Bowl wore off. But, if we’re being honest, the XFL was the talk of the town when it first debuted in 2001 before flaming out in a flash, lasting just ONE season.

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So while there is some reason for optimism for the AAF – much more so than I thought there would be – let’s all still pump the brakes here. Everyone has also been pointing out the “high quality” of football that was featured, but they fail to mention the following:

  • All four road teams lost.
  • One team was shut out entirely, and another two could only muster up six points.

Sure, these teams could still be trying to jell and work out the kinks, and I will admit that I did not watch one blessed second of any of the games this weekend. So how can I really say anything, right? OK. That’s fair. But maybe, just maybe, the level of talent in the league actually runs the full spectrum – from really bad to really good – and we could be seeing the first signs of a big competitive imbalance issue. (Remember, the league is made up of a bunch of NFL castoffs or former college players who couldn’t make it at the pro level.)

Or, maybe I’m just speculating too much and trying to save face for what I said in November. Only time will tell, but even after all the positive reviews I’ve seen over the past couple of days, I’m still not ready to dive in.

Also, let’s not forget that the aforementioned XFL will be making its comeback in 2020. The AAF has only this season to solidify its place in the hearts of fans throughout America until they will be squaring off against entertainment legend Vince McMahon, who will be determined that the league does not see the same fate it saw during the first go-round. Either way, it will be just one more obstacle this league will need to overcome not so far down the line.

Still, in an effort to be as unbiased and objective as possible, I want to point out a few things I liked upon perusing through roundups of the league’s inaugural weekend. It’s going to take a lot more than the following to rope me in, but without further ado:

(The Game is Much Quicker): As much as I love the NFL, some games, especially those in prime time, can have you in for quite the long haul. With all the commercials and replays, it can actually drag at points. Only Major League Baseball comes with comparable length times, and both leagues have been trying to do everything in their power to speed things up over the past few years. I don’t have the exact numbers for each AAF game this weekend, but most of the games wrapped up in just under 2.5 hours. Much of this has to do with less advertisements, but eliminating kickoffs, extra points, and shortening the play clock to 35 seconds (from 40) were also big factors as well.

 

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You won’t be seeing any of this in the AAF.

(The “Sky Judge”): No, this is not some cool new Marvel character. It’s actually just the nickname for the ninth member of the officiating crew who sits up in the press box and has the ability to overrule bad calls made by their peers in real time. There is no stopping of the action, going to the hood, painstakingly analyzing some still shots, deliberating as a unit afterward, and THEN finally announcing a decision after a few painful minutes. Coaches do still receive two challenges, but the hope is that the sky judge will catch most of the bad calls and head off most disputes. (This is just another way to help speed up the game, too.)

(Everyone is Mic’d Up): Over the past few years, the NFL has started to provide fans with a few opportunities to listen into some of the action on the field. But in the AAF? Fans will be treated to that type of stuff all game long, even getting some on-the-spot insight into the mind of some officials:

As well as other cheeky shenanigans:

Pretty cool stuff there.

So, look, while the AAF had a great kick-off weekend and has I guess some potential, it’s still got quite a long way to go. While I’m not ready to go out and buy my Orlando Appolos jersey yet, I will be keeping a tepid interest in it for now, just in case.

What do you guys think? Have any of you watched it? We’d love to hear your thoughts on the AAF in the comments or on Facebook.

The Alliance of American Football is Apparently Coming This Spring, and I Couldn’t Care Less

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Raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Alliance of American Football league, which is set to kick off its inaugural season this spring…

Don’t worry; I will fully admit I had ZERO idea what the hell it was either.

Apparently, it will be an eight-team, ten-week spring league, which will begin play just one week after the Super Bowl in February. The league will feature a mix of former collegiate players AND still-able-bodied ex-NFL castoffs, which promises “high-quality professional football” for hungry fans during the offseason.

Each team will have a roster of 50 players, with each player getting a three-year, non-guaranteed, $250,000 contract loaded with incentives. As of right now, the championship game will be aired on CBS, with CBS Sports Network airing at least one game per week during the season. At least for now, it will consist of eight teams in the following cities: Atlanta, (GA); Birmingham (AL); Memphis (TN); Orlando (FL); Salt Lake City (UT); San Antonio (TX); San Diego (CA); and Tempe (AZ).

The league was founded by producer Charlie Ebersol – son of the legendary Dick Ebersol, who is also involved – and former Colts GM Bill Polian. OH, and former Steelers legends like Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward will also be involved, as well as former Giant Justin Tuck.

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As much as I absolutely despised his team growing up, I absolutely loved watching this man play. Good to know he’s still trying to do big things.

No seriously, guys. This is a REAL thing that’s coming.

But wait, Mattes, didn’t the XFL announce that it’s coming back in 2020? So we’re going to have two brand-new alleged “professional” football leagues competing against each other at the very same time out of freakin’ nowhere?

Yes, they did. And yes, we certainly are.

Why? I have absolutely no idea. And anyone who thinks either, or both, has even a remote chance of being successful is absolutely delusional.

First, there’s the fact that the players being selected are – sorry to say it – ones that people simply don’t want to watch; otherwise, they would have been drafted or stuck around on their NFL teams! Seriously, though, here’s a full look at the first round of guys who were drafted on Tuesday night in the league’s “Protect or Pick” QB draft:

  • San Diego Fleet: Josh Johnson (protected)
  • Atlanta Legends: Aaron Murray (protected)
  • Memphis Express: Troy Cook (protected)
  • San Antonio Commanders: Dustin Vaughan (protected)
  • Birmingham Iron: Luis Perez
  • Arizona Hotshots: Trevor Knight
  • Orlando Apollos: Garrett Gilbert
  • Salt Lake Stallions: Josh Woodrum

Besides the first two on the list, I could not even begin to tell you where any of the other six came from or what business they have playing in a “professional” football league. Perhaps even more insane is the fact that guys like Christian Hackenburg (former Jets second-round bust), Zach Mettenberger (started 10 games for the Titans from 2014-2015), and Scott Tolzien (former backup to Aaron Rodgers and 10-game-NFL starter) SOMEHOW went after the nobodies listed above.

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Scott Tolzien DID once pass for 339 yards in an NFL game five years ago. So watch out for Birmingham, folks!

I hate being Skeptical Stan, and I guess I applaud anyone for trying to bring more football to the table, but do we really need it? We already get professional football for pretty much 50 percent of the year anyway. Yes, it’s true: four preseason weeks, 17 regular-season weeks, and then another four weeks in the playoffs. That’s 25-out-of-52 weeks of the year. If you include offseason, draft, and training camp coverage, the NFL pretty much dominates the airwaves all year long. There’s simply no need for even one more pro football league, let alone two.

At least the XFL promises a different brand of football with more intense, fast-paced action and less focus on player safety (e.g. opening scrums instead of kickoffs; no touchbacks; bump-and-run coverage after five yards; no fair catch; etc.). I’m not saying that’s a good thing; I’m just saying that at least it offers something unique. It’s the same reason why the BIG3 basketball league – which ya boy wrote about months ago – has a chance to be successful as well; unlike the NBA, it offers fans a chance to watch a 3-on-3, backyard style of play that gives them a break from the hardwood action we’re used to seeing throughout the rest of the year.

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Vince McMahon may be a loud-mouthed buffoon, but he sure does know how to entertain.

The AAF will get rid of kickoffs entirely, and they will also be eliminating PATs, forcing teams to go for two every time. But, other than that, it seems as though it will just be a bunch of bad to mediocre guys playing a quicker game of football. The ONLY thing that may get me to watch is the fact that Starter – yes, THAT Starter – has agreed to a multi-year deal to be the league’s official jersey sponsor. (Any 90s kid who was anybody remembers those incredible, magical jackets, and it’s so awesome to know they might have a chance to make a comeback.)

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So effing fresh.

So please forgive me for being so negative – and I’ll eat a giant piece of crow pie if I’m wrong – but until I see something better than Aaron freakin’ Murray and Christian Couldn’t-Hack-It-Burg, I think I’m out on this one.

The Son of Dick Ebersol is Launching a Pro Football League to Rival the XFL

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ESPN – “While Vince McMahon promises to bring back a revamped XFL in 2020, a son of McMahon’s partner in the original short-lived XFL venture said his football league will come first. And some big NFL names will be involved. Charlie Ebersol, who directed a documentary on the XFL that aired last year as part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, announced Tuesday that his league, the Alliance of American Football, plans to debut Feb. 9, 2019, the week after Super Bowl LIII. The season will run 10 weeks and will have 50-man teams.”

Look at Charlie Ebersol go! Dude just got the jump on Vince McMahon and the WWE commish must be furious. Vince made the mistake of announcing a brand new football league and then buried the lede that it wouldn’t begin play until 2020. Ebersol on the other hand just came out and announced his new league, the Alliance of American Football, will begin play in February 2019.

AND he’s already got games lined up to be aired on CBS with legitimate NFL names like Bill Polian, Troy Polamalu, Jared Allen, and Hines Ward behind it. Ebersol also has Barstool Sports parent company, The Chernin Group, already on board. You know Portnoy is just salivating at the potential for content with a brand new football league that won’t shun him like the NFL has done for years. That my friends sounds like a goddamn plan.

If you didn’t watch the XFL announcement press conference, Vince basically did a one man conference call to announce the league and then refused to really answer any actual questions about how the league would operate, how it would be different from the NFL, where players would come from, or where we could watch games. Not exactly ideal for building excitement. I think its safe to say Charlie Ebersol one upped Mr. McMahon here.

To be totally honest, what I’m about to say, I say a lot so take this with a grain of salt. I am a junkie for football and will watch just about any football game you put on TV. I’ve watched DII college football, Arena Football, the United Football League, the CFL, NFL Europe, the FXFL. Hell I even texted my buddy last night saying that we have to go check out a Massachusetts Pirates game out of the world famous National Arena League.

BUT, I can’t recall really watching more than a handful of these games. It was awesome watching an out of the NFL Daunte Culpepper run around in the UFL in cities like HARTFORD.

After realizing he was playing against guys that couldn’t start on my high school team though the novelty wore off. So as usual this sounds like a great idea, but it will come down to the quality of play. The NFL has been a monopoly for a long time and its not because there haven’t been challengers. Remember the USFL? The goddamn President of the United States owned a team.

But without the talent people won’t care enough to watch. So I know there are tons of D1 players that don’t make the NFL; what happens to them? I guess if you cut all the fat from the NFL like Ebersol plans to do (no TV timeouts, shorter broadcasts, no kickoffs etc.) then you could create a supplementary product that I will likely watch with a 6 pack of beer on a cold March night. Because I’ll tell you, I am dying for some football right now and Madden can only satiate that appetite for so long. Give me all the football leagues.

NOT SO FAST – Joey B’s XFL Dream Team: A Rebuttal

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So the XFL is back, it’s football re-envisioned, no thongs or concussions yadda yadda ok great.

As I told Dougie earlier the novelty has already worn off and it’s been two hours. HOWEVER, coming up with a dream team? Brotha, I’m your man. As a recovering draft nerd, I still dabble in discovering fringe pro players who may be looking for work. Here’s how my team would play out:

QB1: Dominique Davis

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Davis was a HUGE recruit for BC. A dual-threat QB, he failed at school in Chestnut Hill and then failed at football at East Carolina. I think he’d venture down from the CFL for the right opportunity.

 

Clipboard Holder: Brady Quinn

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The pride of Dublin, OH. He knows the game. He’s good looking. He likes being on TV. Done deal.

Emergency QB: JaMarcus Russell

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Someone has to throw the hail mary.

 

RB1: Peyton Hillis

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Over-muscled and ill tempered, Hillis once graced the cover of Madden. I have no doubt he’d jump at the opportunity to grace the bargain bin of Game Stop as the poster boy for XFL 20′.

RB2: Denard Robinson

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Shoelace himself. The fastest guy I’ve ever watched. a college QB turned RB. Great 3rd down guy, get the ball in his hands and let him fly. Or watch his shoes come off. Entertainment is the name of the XFL game.

 

FB: Glenn Gronkowski

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Sticking with Dougie’s pick here. You need a Gronk in the league.

 

WR1: Adarius Bowman

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My dream comes true. Adarius Bowman playing under the bright lights on US soil. Another CFL guy, Bowman was a draft crush of mine wayyy back when. He was a specimen (6’3 220ish) of a WR coming out of OK ST and then….well then he ran a 4.8 at the combine. No bueno. It’s comeback season baby.

WR2: Chad Jackson

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Ole Action Jackson. The first in a long line of Bill Belichick WR draft busts comes to seek his revenge.

WR3: Armanti Edwards

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The QB who led App St’s upset over Michigan actually showed enough promise to be drafted in the 3rd round by Carolina as a WR. He too, is now in Canada.

TE: Zak Sudfeld

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MINIIIII GROOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNKKK. The greatest preseason player ever comes back as the greatest XFL TE ever.

The XFL is Back! Lets Start Constructing Our Dream Team

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“What would you do if you could reimagine the game of football?”

Vince McMahon always has been and always will be the ultimate showman. Oh that ill conceived football league I launched in 2001 that only lasted one season? Well guess what, we’re doubling down and bringing it back! Vince said he’s here to “give the game of football back to fans.” What does that mean? Nobody knows! But it sure as shit fuels the hype machine.

Vince made the announcement on Twitter dot com because he’s savvy like that before taking questions from reporters. Highlights from the #XFL2020 press conference below:

  • 8 teams, 40 man rosters, 10 game regular season, and a 4 team postseason with a Championship Game
  • “In the XFL the quality of the human being is going to be as important as the quality of the player.”(Soo you can sit down now, Greg Hardy.)
  • “There will be no crossover whatsoever of talent from the WWE.” (Thank god. Somebody get Gus Johnson on the line STAT.)
  • “As far as our league is concerned it will have NOTHING to do with politics and nothing to do with social issues….whatever our rules are, are what everybody will abide by….we’re here to play football.” (Sounds like Vince was not a fan of the kneeling.)
  • “It will just be a better game than what people are accustomed to.” (Sure!)
  • “There may not be a half time, sitting and watching a 3-3 1/2 hour game is laborious…we’re going to try to get to 2 hours.” (Now we’re talking.)
  • “Not sure about the individual of the He Hate Me…whether or not we do that we’re going to listen to football experts and what the fans want.” (If you don’t allow nicknames on jerseys don’t even bother, Vince.)
  • The season will begin at the end of January/early February (Fill that crippling void post-Super Bowl.)

So Vince was super dodgy about giving any actual details on the league, why he’s bringing it back, what exactly will be different etc. but it seems like he’s going to be giving himself more time to actually get something quality in place. Rather than rushing it, the XFL will begin play in 2020, so thats a 2 year window for Vince to get it together. Vince referenced the quality of play as the No. 1 thing that was lacking the first time around so we’ll see if 2 years is enough time to get some decent talent together.

I’m sure plenty of details and rumors will flood in over the coming days. But for now, lets get to whats really important. Whats my starting lineup for my first game in the XFL? This is assuming nobody is going to leave the NFL unless they hate money, so we’re going to have to dig deeper with some castoffs or guys that may be on their way out of the NFL.

  • QB1: Tim Tebow
  • QB2: Vernon Adams
  • RB1: Reggie Bush
  • RB2: Toby Gerhart
  • FB: Glenn Gronkowski
  • WR1: Terrell Owens
  • WR2: Ocho Cinco
  • WR3: Wes Welker
  • TE: Tim Wright

I had Money Manziel and Adrian Peterson penciled into my starting lineup, but then Vince dropped this line:

“You want someone who does not have any criminality whatsoever associated with them. In the XFL even if you have a DUI you will not play in the XFL so that would probably eliminate some of them…If Tim Tebow wants to play, he could very well play.”

So that probably eliminates Manziel, Peterson and basically half the available players out there. We’ll go with my guy Tim Tebow instead because they will let him do whatever the hell he wants. The first coach since Urban Meyers that will be willing to build an offense around Tebow. But in case he doesn’t want to leave his cushy job at ESPN/hitting cleanup for the Mets, then we’ll smuggle former Oregon QB Vernon Adams out of the CFL and let him do his damn thing. I cannot imagine anyone other than a running QB will have any success in the XFL.

Running the ball we’ve got old school thunder and lighting with my man Reggie Bush, who should have no problem carving up the scrub DII linebackers he’ll be playing against, and Toby Gerhart backing him up because…well…hey man slim pickings for running backs not on an NFL roster these days. The Pats have 5 running backs for christ’s sake.

We got Baby Gronk at fullback because how are you going to have the XFL without a Gronkowski in it?

Who are my go-to receivers? Easy. The first two guys I’m calling are T.O. and Ocho Cinco because ya just know those guys are rearing to go and would probably play for minimum wage at this point. T.O can still play, he’s just insufferable so nobody wanted him on their team….in the NFL. Then we got old reliable Wes Welker working the slot. Unless Vince is afraid of someone getting diagnosed with CTE in the first week of the season then he might not get cleared to play.

Then we got that bum Tim Wright playing TE because he’s another athletic freak that just has not been able to make it work in the NFL so to the XFL for you, Tim.

I’m sure theres plenty of names that will become available, but with Vince throwing a wrench into everything with his morality clause we could be seeing a lot of CFL or college players roaming the field.

2020 is so close, yet so far away. The XFL is back baby!