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ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL "If people don't support this thing. It might not make it"

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One thing about AAF is all the players get paid 75k then get incentives by how well the team and their side of the ball plays.

I have to figure Kaep got payed a huge settlement from the NFL to not disclose it. 75k was never going to be worth it for him and asking for 20 million probably was just a nice way of saying no.

The AAF isn't really designed for guys that got paid in the NFL. It more about the hungry players who want to make it back to that level. The middle level between college and NFL. Like Denard Robinson and Jalen Marshall are perfect for this league.

It’s a pretty nice concept. It’s widely thought that the worst pro team would wax the best college team, and at the next level, some guys who could make get the short end of the stick because of roster composition, injuries, etc.

This will really help both the AAF and NFL quite a bit. I would hope the Browns are utilizing some tracking data, game data, and pretty much every other kind of data to comb the league.

How is this going to work? Do you draft these guys or are they FAs? Can you draft a slew of 6th round picks, say, and send them there? Really interesting to me.

I haven’t seen the product but I have a good feeling about this. You can think of a billion reasons why a player might not work out well at the age of 20-22, and this is a great outlet. There should be pretty good depth. Just imagine guys drafted in the top 3 rounds who make some money but then fizzle quickly because of the fame & fortune. This gives them a pretty good outlet to mature and rededicate themselves.

Very cool concept. If anyone has more info on the system between the NFL and AAF, please share.

@AZ_ @CBBI @The Wizard of Moz
 
Ok so I did a quick internet search. Some items to note:
-can only rush 5 defenders on any given play.
-OL is apparently weak. Not sure I buy this. Perhaps QB read times are weak?
-players get 3 year, $250k contracts.
-players who play a year get an education stipend. I think that’s great.
-these guys can get tryouts for nfl. It’s expected.
-all teams are scouting the AAF.

Will be interesting (to me?) to see how this affects supply/demand economics of late round picks and also the salary cap:
-let’s say you have 5 picks in rounds 6-7... would it make more sense to trade them all for a high 5th and then spend the extra $ on poaching a bunch of AAF all stars? Sure but how much is that “extra $”? Where will that demand equilibrium be?

Fun stuff to consider.
 
It’s a pretty nice concept. It’s widely thought that the worst pro team would wax the best college team, and at the next level, some guys who could make get the short end of the stick because of roster composition, injuries, etc.

This will really help both the AAF and NFL quite a bit. I would hope the Browns are utilizing some tracking data, game data, and pretty much every other kind of data to comb the league.

How is this going to work? Do you draft these guys or are they FAs? Can you draft a slew of 6th round picks, say, and send them there? Really interesting to me.

I haven’t seen the product but I have a good feeling about this. You can think of a billion reasons why a player might not work out well at the age of 20-22, and this is a great outlet. There should be pretty good depth. Just imagine guys drafted in the top 3 rounds who make some money but then fizzle quickly because of the fame & fortune. This gives them a pretty good outlet to mature and rededicate themselves.

Very cool concept. If anyone has more info on the system between the NFL and AAF, please share.

@AZ_ @CBBI @The Wizard of Moz

I think within the early stages of the league, I'm not sure teams will have any interest in sending their draft picks to the league to play a full season before embarking on some sort of 20 game slate at the big league level.

To begin, I think teams may begin sending players with futures contracts or spent the previous season on the practice squad to play there and get live-game reps that could help develop their talent.
 
I think within the early stages of the league, I'm not sure teams will have any interest in sending their draft picks to the league to play a full season before embarking on some sort of 20 game slate at the big league level.

To begin, I think teams may begin sending players with futures contracts or spent the previous season on the practice squad to play there and get live-game reps that could help develop their talent.

But does that NFL team have suspended rights to the player? E.g. - I draft a guy, he doesn’t make the final roster, I send him there for 2 years, he is an all-star. Do I now bring him back and still control his rights or no?
 
But does that NFL team have suspended rights to the player? E.g. - I draft a guy, he doesn’t make the final roster, I send him there for 2 years, he is an all-star. Do I now bring him back and still control his rights or no?

A player who doesn't make the final roster or practice squad would be free to sign wherever.

I believe a player could presumably sign a futures contract and still play in the AAF while under that contract. No reason to believe otherwise at this point, but again I'm not totally sure.
 
But does that NFL team have suspended rights to the player? E.g. - I draft a guy, he doesn’t make the final roster, I send him there for 2 years, he is an all-star. Do I now bring him back and still control his rights or no?

There isn't a true league affiliation between the two leagues. I actually think it's better that way at least for now. The AAF is really about getting the practice squad guys who want to play and guys who fell out of the NFL to regain traction to the NFL.

I'm not sure sending down second and third string players is a good idea for the players with the structure of NFL contract. Getting injured in the AAF and then getting cut off a multi-million dollar NFL contract would be real bad.

2nd string players get into NFL games all the time. 3rd string players do too especially late in the season. I think the NFL still gives a good path to developing and showing what you got.

Jalen Marshall is a prime example of a player well suited for the AAF. He came out of college too early and needed to develop as a WR more. He looked good as a special team player but didn't have the route tree to be a NFL receiver. Being a special team player and not having a job is razor thin in the NFL. AAF gives him the path to develop and work his way to being a more long term NFL player.
 
I'm not sure sending down second and third string players is a good idea for the players with the structure of NFL contract. Getting injured in the AAF and then getting cut off a multi-million dollar NFL contract would be real bad.

I don’t think it’s a good idea for the players but am looking to speculate on the phenomena once we lay out what the rules are. For example, if you still have a player’s rights once you draft him, you might want to acquire a ton of lower picks. If you don’t, it might altogether devalue lower picks. I am just looking to understand how this could shape the draft and GM strategies that could arise from the rules.
 
I don’t think it’s a good idea for the players but am looking to speculate on the phenomena once we lay out what the rules are. For example, if you still have a player’s rights once you draft him, you might want to acquire a ton of lower picks. If you don’t, it might altogether devalue lower picks. I am just looking to understand how this could shape the draft and GM strategies that could arise from the rules.

NFL draft rights aren't like the NBA. If the player is drafted and doesn't sign a contract with the team within a year, they reenter the draft and the team loses their rights. I don't see that changing. Once they are cut from the 53 man roster then their rights are relinquished. It's now on the player to decide where they want to play after being released. NFL teams don't even hold any rights to practice squad players, they are free to sign with whoever they want if the opportunity comes.

The way the AAF set up when their schedule, I don't think they want to be the farm system like in MLB. Being after the NFL season and before the draft, makes it's really for second chance guys. The pay doesn't rival being on a 53 man roster pay. A full season practice squad player make almost 1.5 times as much as AAF players.
 
NFL draft rights aren't like the NBA. If the player is drafted and doesn't sign a contract with the team within a year, they reenter the draft and the team loses their rights. I don't see that changing. Once they are cut from the 53 man roster then their rights are relinquished. It's now on the player to decide where they want to play after being released. NFL teams don't even hold any rights to practice squad players, they are free to sign with whoever they want if the opportunity comes.

The way the AAF set up when their schedule, I don't think they want to be the farm system like in MLB. Being after the NFL season and before the draft, makes it's really for second chance guys. The pay doesn't rival being on a 53 man roster pay. A full season practice squad player make almost 1.5 times as much as AAF players.

So being a practice squad player and then also joining the league is a 66% pay increase as well as good advertising for a much larger group of scouts, and they get to see you in real games. As long as you don’t have a severe injury, you should still be healthy for your next ps contract.

It sounds to me like the real play here is to sign many AAF all-stars to guaranteed NFL contracts. The question is where the market sets that value. In an extreme example, let’s play this out: first, for some context, the last NFL pick makes $69k guaranteed. Let’s say you signed 10 AAF All-Stars to $250k guaranteed contracts (signing bonus) and then whatever each year, call it $1M for 4 years, which is dependent on them making the team. For context, a 4th rounder gets $500k guaranteed, and the min salary for making the roster is $400k...

It seems to me that you can “buy” draft picks this way. So of our 10 all-stars, if even 1 becomes a quality starter and the rest are cut, we have $2.5M guaranteed and a team friendly deal.

So the guaranteed amount will likely go higher for the all stars, and the $/year that isn’t guaranteed will likely go higher as well. If not, then hopefully the moneyball browns will be all over this.
 
So being a practice squad player and then also joining the league is a 66% pay increase as well as good advertising for a much larger group of scouts, and they get to see you in real games. As long as you don’t have a severe injury, you should still be healthy for your next ps contract.

It sounds to me like the real play here is to sign many AAF all-stars to guaranteed NFL contracts. The question is where the market sets that value. In an extreme example, let’s play this out: first, for some context, the last NFL pick makes $69k guaranteed. Let’s say you signed 10 AAF All-Stars to $250k guaranteed contracts (signing bonus) and then whatever each year, call it $1M for 4 years, which is dependent on them making the team. For context, a 4th rounder gets $500k guaranteed, and the min salary for making the roster is $400k...

It seems to me that you can “buy” draft picks this way. So of our 10 all-stars, if even 1 becomes a quality starter and the rest are cut, we have $2.5M guaranteed and a team friendly deal.

So the guaranteed amount will likely go higher for the all stars, and the $/year that isn’t guaranteed will likely go higher as well. If not, then hopefully the moneyball browns will be all over this.

There are limits to practice squad players in the NFL. You can only be on a practice squad for two years and a year is accrue if a player is on the practice squad for 6 weeks or more of the NFL season. Also if you have been on the 53 man roster of any team for more than 6 games you can't be on the practice squad.

I'm not sure if rookies on practice squads will look at the AAF after their first season. I think this now gives those guys a clear path after their second season though.

I think this might just be a way for GMs to make better decisions on depth. I'm not sure it will be like buying draft picks. It will just give better decision making on those end of roster guys. Teams already hand out alot of future contracts. With the AAF only having 8 teams, the All Stars are pool will be pretty small.

Like Jalen Marshall and Greg Ward Jr look like they will get alot of attention from NFL teams. There are probably a handful more that will be in that top tier but I think most will just get their second chance with a couple of teams calling them to offer them a chance at camp.
 

That headline is incredibly misleading. They didn't need this guy's 250M just to make payroll this week.

They needed about 2.5% of that 250M to make payroll. The 250M investment makes them financially viable for 3 or 4 full seasons at this point.

Other than the somewhat alarming fact it appears they went full speed ahead into their first season without a sturdy financial foundation, I fail to see how someone investing 250M dollars in their product can somehow be seen as a bad thing overall.
 
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That headline is incredibly misleading. They didn't need this guy's 250M just to make payroll this week.

They needed about 2.5% of that 250M to make payroll. The 250M investment makes them financially viable for 3 or 4 full seasons at this point.

Other than the somewhat alarming fact it appears they went full speed ahead into their first season without a sturdy financial foundation, I fail to see how someone investing 250M dollars in their product can somehow be seen as a bad thing overall.

Yeah who would have thought that a new business needs lots of capitalization so it has time to grow despite losses early on?

Generally speaking members of the media are hopelessly ignorant when it comes to financial matters. This applies even more to political correspondents / opinion writers. Sensationalizing headlines for clicks just makes it worse.
 
The only thing I could maybe argue against for the AAF is that some of these markets are relatively weak.

For whatever reason? Memphis doesn't seem to care, while San Antonio, Orlando Birmingham and SLC seem quite excited about having a pro football team.
 
The only thing I could maybe argue against for the AAF is that some of these markets are relatively weak.

For whatever reason? Memphis doesn't seem to care, while San Antonio, Orlando Birmingham and SLC seem quite excited about having a pro football team.

I think they will have to reassess their cities next year. Atlanta doesn't seem to care either.

They seem to want to be in warm weather or a dome. I feel like Columbus, Louisville, etc without alot of major pro sports would embrace it.
 

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