The first-year Alliance of American Football’s inability to secure cooperation from the NFL Players’ Association to use young players from NFL rosters has put the AAF in danger of folding, Tom Dundon, the league’s majority owner, told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday.
“If the players union is not going to give us young players, we can’t be a development league,” said Dundon, who in February committed to invest $250 million into the league. “We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league.”
The NFLPA had no official response to the accusations that their lack of cooperation is prompting the AAF to fold.
However, a players’ union official did express serious concerns about the risks of lending active NFL players to the AAF. The official requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
The person said the players’ union is founded on the belief that using active NFL players and practice squad members for the AAF would violate the terms of the CBA and the restrictions that prevent teams from holding mandatory workouts and practices throughout the offseason. The limitations set in place are designed to ensure the safety and adequate rest and recovery time for football players. But there’s a concern that teams would abuse their power and pehaps force young players into AAF action as a condition for consideration for NFL roster spots in the fall.
The additional concern on the NFLPA’s part is that if an NFL player played in the AAF and suffered serious injury, that player would face the risk of missing an NFL season and lose a year of accrued experience, which carries financial ramifications for players.
Sorry, San Antonio. As For The Win notes, if the plan was to depend on NFL players to supplement the league, that plan was never going to work. The NFL might have an interest in having a feeder league available to it, but given the health risks of football, it’s not at all clear why any players that have a legitimate shot at playing in the NFL would go for that. What you’re left with is a bunch of lower-level players plus the occasional Johnny Manziell, and that adds up to a league that not many people have paid any attention to since their opening weekend. Even with better players available, you’ve got March Madness, the NBA and NHL gearing up for their post-seasons, and now MLB is back. That’s a lot of competition for a fledgling league. I figure as long as they have some TV money they can probably continue, but I don’t see much hope for their long term future.