In the wake of the announced return of the XFL, another football league is coming to the United States. Charlie Ebersol, director of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about the original XFL, announced Tuesday plans to launch a football league, the Alliance of American Football, on Feb. 9, 2019, with many details available from Darren Rovell of ESPN.
Alliance of American Football will try to fill the post-Super Bowl void in 2019
Not positioned as a competitor to the NFL, the Alliance of American Football has names liked Bill Polian, Jared Allen, Justin Tuck, and Troy Polamalu involved.
Photo by Michael Adamucci/Getty Images
Ebersol is the son of Dick Ebersol, a longtime NBC Sports executive as well as a partner in the original XFL. The NFL is the dominant league in the sport, while the Vince McMahon-owned and backed XFL is set to make its return in 2020, specific details about network partnerships, scheduling, and many other important things are still unknown.
As a contrast, the Alliance of American Football announced its exact start date, and the fact its initial game will be broadcast on CBS, along with its championship game. Other regular-season games will be available on the league’s forthcoming app, while one game per week will air on CBS Sports.
That doesn’t automatically give the eight-team league a leg-up on the XFL by any means, but it’s the one that will arrive first, and it’s backed by some interesting people. Ebersol brought in former NFL executive Bill Polian to help lead the league, while Troy Polamalu, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and J.K. McKay, formerly a USC player and executive, will help manage the player and team sides of the business, respectively.
According to the report, former NFL players Hines Ward and Justin Tuck are also considered advisers to the league, while former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is mentioned as being among those financially backing the league.
With play taking course after the Super Bowl and ending before NFL training camps get underway, the league is being positioned as a place for younger players to get a chance at playing professional football. It isn’t being talked about as a competitor to the NFL, but a compliment. Fantasy football is mentioned in the report, and it’s no secret the fantasy market is a huge one, so leaning on that initially should be expected.
The only other notable details include Ebersol saying there will be no TV timeouts and there will be “60 percent fewer commercials, as well as an innovative approach to broadcasting.” There will also be no kickoffs in the league, as they are among the more dangerous plays in football, with teams starting at the 25-yard line automatically.
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