LOST WAGE BANKRUPTCY NOTICES REPORTEDLY BEING SENT TO FORMER AAF PLAYERS

Before we had the XFL, USFL, FCF and The Spring League; we had the Alliance of American Football (AAF). This was the first spring league in a long time that seemed to have some promise. Unfortunately, it fell to the same fate as many of it’s predecessors when the AAF folded just eight weeks into its inaugural season.

That’s not to say there wasn’t hope.

Charlie Ebersol and the AAF struggled early on, but were seemingly saved by Tom Dundon when it looked like he had put in enough money to keep the league afloat for their inaugural season. When Dundon came in, he came with a promise of major funding. But, when the writing was on the wall, Dundon pulled the plug on the league to save his wallet.

Since then, Tom Dundon has even argued that he is owed compensation over the players from the AAF bankruptcy.

Well, it looks like we have some information on the bankruptcy payments, and it’s good news.

Former AAF player Logan Tuley-Tillman tweeted out to his former teammates telling them to check their email for bankruptcy notices to collect lost wages.

Guys that played in the @TheAAF & were on a team when it folded check your email! They are sending out bankruptcy notices on how to get the lost wages they are going to send out.

— Logan Tuley-Tillman (@LoganTillman) December 1, 2021

UPDATE: Another former AAF player, Kenneth Farrow has tweeted about the settlement notices as well now.

If you played in the AAF you should be getting or already have gotten your class action notice via email from
AAF SETTLEMENT. @UnitedFBPlayers

— Kenneth Farrow II (@KennethMFarrow) December 1, 2021

It’s been over two years since the AAF hit the field, but better late than never when it comes to over-due payments to players. If you played for the AAF, or know anyone who did, better check those inboxes. We hope everyone gets their just payments from the ordeal, but I would expect it will be less due to the way the settlements will rollout.

With the AAF dead and buried and the XFL working towards a 2023 relaunch, all eyes are now on FOX and the USFL. The new USFL should have the funding in order, and considering they’re owned by FOX; broadcasting should never be an issue.

The AAF was trying to beat the XFL to market, but in turn beat themselves in the process.

We’ll keep you posted as we learn more on the AAF bankruptcy.

WWE NXT Analyst Pat McAfee Joins XFL Commentator Team

WWE NXT analyst Pat McAfee has been announced as one of the members of the XFL commentator teams when the season re-debuts in February.

The former kicker for the Indianapolis Colts will serve as a field analyst along with play-by-play voice Tom Hart and analyst Joey Galloway for the weekly Sunday games on ESPN and ABC, beginning with the St. Louis BattleHawks vs. Dallas Renegades on February 9th at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Play-by-play voice Steve Levy, analyst Greg McElroy, field analyst Tom Luginbill and reporter Dianna Russini will call the Seattle Dragons vs. DC Defenders XFL kickoff game on February 8th at 2 p.m. ET, the West Final on April 19th, the XFL Championship on April 26 and weekly Saturday games on ABC in 2020.

McAfee spoke with Wrestling Inc. on their WINCLY podcast earlier this year and had expressed interest in being a part of the XFL. He revealed that he received an offer from the now-defunct AAF, but turned them down because it would be in competition with the XFL.

“The AAF offered me a commentating spot for their league and it was literally the day after I signed my deal with the WWE… I said no because I knew that the XFL would be launching in a year from now. So I didn’t want to help launch a new league that would be in competition with the XFL,” said McAfee.

While the original XFL only one season, McAfee said that he is confident that this version will succeed.

“I think the XFL has a good chance,” stated McAfee. “With the way sports gambling is coming to be and the people they have running that league, I think Vince does not want to fail again. I’ll be a fan of the XFL and if they want me to do something, then I’d love to… not to play. I’m not gonna play. I’m done with that but everything else is fair game.

“…With the XFL, I think the engagement with the fans is something that could really help out. There’s gonna be an active fan base but there are some things you could do to be a little more engaged with the fans, but also self-awareness is a big deal.”

McAfee made his first WWE SmackDown appearance this past Friday, joining a guest commentary team to fill in for Michael Cole and Corey Graves, who were not able to make the show due to flight issues from last Thursday’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

Dundon wants AAF to return his $70M investment

Tom Dundon has made a legal filing against the now-defunct Alliance of American Football seeking the $70 million he invested into the league, as relayed by Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic.

Dundon, the majority owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, joined the AAF in February after making the financial investment into the league. He now claims he was induced into doing so by “misrepresentations.”

The league suspended operations on April 2, before the completion of its first season, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy weeks later. 

A legal filing made Monday reads: “Even though AAF executives told DCP (Dundon Capital Partners) its contribution would get the AAF through the first season, those executives knew at the time of the execution of the term sheet that the AAF would likely need an additional $50,000,000 (including league revenue) on top of DCP’s investment of up to $70,000,000 to get through the first season. The AAF and its executives never disclosed this information to DCP.”

The AAF was founded by Charlie Ebersol. His company, Legendary Field Exhibitions, is the primary debtor in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, according to Kaplan. The league reportedly claimed assets of $11 million and owns liabilities of $48 million.

AAF files for bankruptcy

The Alliance of American Football filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Wednesday.

“We are deeply disappointed to be taking this action,” the league said in a statement obtained by Action Network’s Darren Rovell. “The AAF was created to be a dynamic, developmental professional football league powered by an unprecedented alliance between players, fans, and the game. The AAF strove to create new opportunities for talented players, coaches, executives, and officials while providing an exciting experience for fans. We are proud of the fact that our teams and players delivered on that goal.”

The AAF suspended operations April 2 due to a lack of funds. The association attempted to turn itself into an NFL affiliate but encountered little cooperation from the NFL or NFL Players Association.

AAF players received permission to begin signing NFL contracts April 4.

The league failed to complete its first season. The inaugural championship game was supposed to be played April 27 in Frisco, Texas, after it was relocated from Las Vegas.

The Orlando Apollos held the best record in the AAF at 7-1 when operations were suspended.

Former players, employee file separate class-action lawsuits vs. AAF

Former Alliance of American Football players Colton Schmidt and Reggie Northrup have filed a class-action lawsuit against the league after it shut down operations in its first season, ESPN’s Michael Rothstein and Kyle Bonagura report.

In a separate motion, James Earnest Roberson Jr., the former director of community relations for the Birmingham Iron, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the AAF and a number of its investors.

Schmidt, who was a punter for the Iron, and Northrup, who played linebacker for the Orlando Apollos, maintain that they would not have joined the league had they known it was not financially stable.

The players allege breach of contract, breach of implied good faith and fair dealings, failure to pay wages, and fraud and false promises by the AAF. They’re suing for damages and requesting that each person who joins the suit, which has generated interest among other players, receive three times the damages endured.

Roberson, meanwhile, alleges the AAF violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which mandates employees receive 60 days’ advance written notice ahead of mass layoffs.

The AAF kicked off the weekend after Super Bowl LIII and suspended operations April 2 with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Vince McMahon Rejected The AAF’s Request To Merge With The XFL

The experiement known as the AAF lasted all of eight weeks before the league suspended operations last week. It got a year head start on the XFL, American Patriot League and all of the other pro football leagues that are due to start up in 2020.

But it turns out that the AAF could have formed a merger with one of those other leagues had that league been willing to accept a deal. Sports Business Daily reports that the AAF approached the XFL about a merger in December 2018 that Vince McMahon rejected.

The AAF season didn’t start until February 2019 so it was clear that the league was in dire straits dating back to late last year. Per the report, the AAF “was already running out of money” and “was on life support.”

XFL representatives did not immediately return a request for comment on the report per Fox Business.

That was because the league’s primary investor, former USFL player Reggie Fowler, did not come through with a $28 million payment around Christmas. The league needed Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon to then come aboard as the primary investor and save the league after its first week of games.

Dundon pledged $250 million in funding and also became the league’s chairman. But Dundon wasn’t enough to keep the AAF afloat and they were reportedly losing $10 million per week before pulling the plug.

AAF co-founder Charlie Ebersol, whose dad Dick Ebersol was a partner of the original XFL, has not publicly commented on the demise of the AAF. Right when the AAF season started, Charlie said he had enough funding for a multi-year run but it ended up being just a multi-week run.

The XFL revival is slated to begin play in 2020 and McMahon is self-funding the league by selling hundreds of millions of dollars of his WWE stock.

AAF suspending operations in anticipation of folding

The Alliance of American Football suspended its operations on Tuesday, according to NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala.

The league isn’t folding yet, but it’s “moving in that direction,” sources told ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio.

Majority owner Tom Dundon said last week the AAF could only continue with the cooperation of the NFL and its players’ association.

“If the players union is not going to give us young players, we can’t be a development league,” Dundon said. “We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league.”

Dundon invested $250 million into the league last month and was given the option to pull the funding as he wished. He will lose approximately $70 million of his investment, and his desire to fold the league opposes the wishes of co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian, sources told Action Network’s Darren Rovell.

League officials were surprised by the decision and are still hoping that outside funding could save the AAF, sources told Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr.

Perception inside the AAF is that Dundon made his initial investment in order to acquire the technology and IP rights of a gambling app the league is developing, a source told SI’s Albert Breer.

The AAF just completed Week 8 of its 10-week season. The championship game was scheduled to take place in April at one of the Dallas Cowboys’ facilities.

AAF majority owner could fold league without support from NFLPA

A month after investing $250 million into the league, new Alliance of American Football majority owner Tom Dundon says the start-up is in danger of folding.

Dundon told USA Today Sports’ Kevin Allen and Mike Jones that the AAF desperately needs the co-operation of the NFL and its players association to continue.

“If the players union is not going to give us young players, we can’t be a development league,” Dundon said. “We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league.”

One players’ union official said it would violate the terms of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement if active players are lent to the AAF.

Dundon expects to reach a decision in the next two days.

The AAF just wrapped up Week 7 of a 10-week inaugural season. The championship game is scheduled to take place in April at one of the Dallas Cowboys’ facilities.

Manziel signs with AAF, joins Express

Johnny Manziel has played in the NFL, CFL, and The Spring League. Now he’s signed an agreement to join the Alliance of American Football, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The AAF team with the lowest win-loss percentage held the first crack at Manziel through the league’s waiver process. As a result, he’s landed with the 1-5 Memphis Express, CBS Sports’ Ben Kercheval confirms. He’ll be immediately eligible to play with his new team.

“We are pleased to welcome Johnny Manziel to Alliance of American Football, which we’ve always described as a league of opportunity for talented players to launch or revitalize their pro football careers,” league co-founder Bill Polian said in a statement.

“We completed extensive background work to determine whether it would be appropriate for Johnny to play this season,” Polian added, “and after consulting with many people familiar with his situation, we concluded that it would be good for him to resume his pro football career here at The Alliance.”

The 2012 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback is the third high-profile passer on the team’s roster, slotting in alongside Zach Mettenberger and Christian Hackenberg. Brandon Silvers replaced Mettenberger after he suffered an injury during Saturday’s loss.

Manziel spent 2018 in Canada, playing five games with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and 11 for the Montreal Alouettes following a midseason trade. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,290 yards, with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The CFL directed the Alouettes to release Manziel in February due to an agreement breach.

The AAF’s San Antonio Commanders initially held the first dibs on Manziel, but they released his college allocation rights.

AAF offers Manziel workout opportunities after CFL release

Johnny Manziel‘s next football opportunity may already be taking shape.

Just one day after he was released by the Montreal Alouettes – a surprise move directed by the CFL on Wednesday due to a breach of agreement – the 26-year-old quarterback is eyeing the AAF.

League chairman Tom Dundon told Kevin Allen and Tom Schad of USA Today Sportsthere’s been contact from Manziel’s representation and that the AAF has offered him a chance to work out for teams.

“Right now, it’s a decision of the GMs and they can decide what they want to do,” Dundon said Thursday. “If talent-wise this is close, the negative of him is that there is drama with him and you are trying to win games and build a team. The positive is that he brings in fans and attention.”

Because Manziel played at Texas A&M, the San Antonio Commanders hold his rights under the league’s college allocation system, Dundon explained. All other teams would have the chance to sign him should the Commanders decline to do so.

As is the case for all AAF players, any deal for Manziel would be a three-year, $250,000 pact.

A Heisman Trophy winner and a first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, Manziel played just two seasons in the NFL before being released at the end of the 2015 campaign.

He got a chance north of the border after a few years away from football, but his CFL stint ended this week after just one season split between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Alouettes.