RUINED by a BILLIONAIRE'S GREED... (The Fall of the AAF)

When the Alliance of American Football league launched in 2019, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the league and fans showed up in the teams home cities to watch teams that could turn into NFL minor league teams down the road. From the outside, things looked great for the Alliance of American Football league, aka the AAF, and there looked to be a bright future. But below the surface, everything was falling apart which led to them ending the season abruptly leaving players, coaches, and fans confused. This is the story of the collapse of the AAF. This is the story of how a greedy billionaire ruined a promising league.
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[@JoseJimenez-cx2ms]

The San Antonio Commanders were awesome to watch. Seeing that logo again took me back. Hope the UFL and Brahmas stick around this time

[@FrankScorpio-do7hd]

i lived close to san antonio, when the AAF started, they already had a great fanbase, i was hoping to go when they played memphis, only to see it go under that week

[@Juice1984]

Well, we got the Memphis Showboats vs San Antonio Brahmas. So at least the match up happened in spirit.

[@PrideT2D]

AAF was awesome, I miss the San Antonio Commanders and San Diego Fleet

[@fate8718]

Honestly I do feel like the Fleet are going to be back in the form of a UFL team sooner or later

[@juliansmith1951]

The AAF felt was very rushed

[@isaiahharris1998]

Also don't forget about the The experimental fall league and MLFB 🏈...

[@PlaylistProleteriat]

It was incredibly rushed. I think if the AAF waited a few more years and had d better initial funding they would have lasted. Cause if they could have gotten 2 years on before COVID hit, they could have paused the league for a year, focused on funding and future operations procurement and then continued 1-2 years later

[@steventomasi5557]

Yeah for all the shit they talked about how this wouldn't be like the XFL 1.0 they sure as hell repeated a lot of mistakes of it primarily playing games only a year after announcing the league. Say what you want about XFL 1.0 but at least they did something the AAF never did, finish their season

[@tvac200]

it was rushed. it had to get out the door before the new XFL or else no one would have watched.

[@michaelwalker7400]

@@PlaylistProleteriat just waiting one more year could have helped. but knowing the XFL was coming, Ebersol rushed this league out as a way to beat Vince to the punch.

Vince learned from the original XFL. He understood to take a step back, let football people handle the operations, and make sure you give yourself enough time to get all the franchises together to put a quality product on the field. I felt so bad for 2.0 because it didn't end because of anything they did. It seems like Charlie didn't learn from what Vince and his pops went through with the XFL. Honestly when the UFL expands, I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of AAF franchises resurrected. Orlando Apollos would be great to see comeback.

[@bb-double-yuh]

The first week of AAF was so fire. When I first heard that payrolls were missed, I knew it was over before it could really get started. I still watched as many games as possible until the series folded. Edit: Dundon is investing in pickleball now? That just sealed his name in total douchebaggery.

[@McCantJustin]

I miss my Orlando Apollos! I still have my Apollos Starter Jacket 🔥🔥🔥

[@Skyblaze137]

You should do a video on the European League of Football

[@RubensBarrichello.]

Once called NFL Europe

[@Skyblaze137]

@@RubensBarrichello. Tho theres some old nfl europe teams there is actually some new teams.

[@caliii9419]

@@RubensBarrichello.nah different leagues

[@RubensBarrichello.]

@@caliii9419 all they did was change the name lol. Same league

[@kear8225]

Nope bro...​its a pretty new one ...majority of players are not Americans...most teams get old nfl europe nicknames but teams structure is different...@@RubensBarrichello.

[@CalledTurnAGundam]

There was something so serenely powerful about the "FLEET! FLEET! FLEET! FLEET!" Chants at old Qualcomm.

[@texasscifi3431]

I love the uniforms and everything AAF. So sad it was a fake leauge

[@tylertrex2123]

I was a Orlando Apollos fan and it was sad the the season ended when we were undefeated

[@christiankallio8586]

I miss this league was a big fan of it. Hopefully the UFL can expand to San Diego in the near future. My favorite Spring league team is the St Louis Battlehawks

[@RealJayG]

This has me looking at ebay for Commanders merch 😂

[@phaze29]

Still have my jersey😂

[@ease-l5330]

This was my intro to spring football. I saw the Orlando game in week one and instantly fell in love. I’ve been a huge advocate for spring and minor league ball since. The AAF could’ve been a great farm league for the NFL and the play on the field was pretty good for what it was and how rushed it was. I was furious with Dunden when he shut it down. Greed killed this league and a lot of guys’ jobs.

[@PrideT2D]

Present favorite team is St Louis Battlehawks , second DC Defenders

[@ZakJJ1]

Wearing my Memphis Express shirt and socks as I watch this. Hurts man.

[@AntiContradiction]

I don't know if I agree with sentiment that it was all Dundon's fault and he shut it down due to greed. Part of the issue was that they were bleeding cash way faster than anyone expected. You gotta remember they were paying their players much more than the UFL is currently. So while $250M sounds like a lot, I think the AAF was doomed the second he bought it because beneath the surface everything was already falling apart. Dundon may not have known the full extent of the problems when he invested.

[@PlaylistProleteriat]

Not everything but quite alot of it can be placed on Dundon. - Before making such a strong financial commitment he should have had enough financial experts around him giving him all the proper with cash flow in the new league. (The man owned other sports teams and should have heavily considered the financial feasibility of it all) - He wanted the AAF to be a feeder league into the NFL when it never was initially supposed to be that at inception. - He expected a quicker return on investment than what was projected and scrapped the entire thing before he lost out completely. Seems like he wanted to gamble but was afraid of losing everything so canceled it before it could fully produce anything.

[@thehaunted8055]

Wish this league would've succeeded it was fun to watch

[@futureproducer03]

It was special no doubt, too bad it went bad fast. I loved the theme as well it was so football

[@SortaNonymous]

I was literally just rewatching UTree's AAF postmortem video and thinking, "I wonder if any retrospective videos will come out in a few more years."

[@DioChicken]

As always another 🔥 video

[@phaze29]

I still have my San Antonio Commanders Jersey. Now, there is a Washington Commander's 😂

[@davidbuswa9425]

Dude, you can't blame Dundon for the failure of the AAF. It all rests on Charlie. Why do you think the guy isn't seen in public in years or has address the folding of the league with the media

[@thescotslair]

Roughnecks my beloved

[@PlaylistProleteriat]

Short documentary video on the different Spring and Alt leagues aside from the NFL would be interesting. Use the samw energy and research as with you video on the divisions od collehe football.

[@Jbum26]

It was exciting while it lasted, loved going to the few home games we had. I still wear my Apollos jersey!

[@shackdaddy7106]

To say that the Arizona Hotshots were not going to a city where there was an NFL team. Is BS. Both Glendale and Tempe is a part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. I know that because I lived there for 25 years.

[@Bigdaddyweese]

St Louis Battlehawks have been my favorite spring football team

[@speedy6743]

the start of that season felt so exciting, watching that big hit while San Diego played San Antonio felt like we were getting real hard nose professional football back... even today's spring football league the UFL feels less exciting, having watched both the XFL and USFL and having my favorite teams stripped away for the merger just gives me a bad taste in my mouth. Every spring football league has started with excitement and ended with disappointment.

[@mitchanderson55]

The aaf was so cool. The teams and the branding was just so solid

[@Vikingsfan-hn1ds]

The AAF did feel really rushed, but I remember watching all the highlights of all the games on YT and thinking how impressive it was. Maybe it’s nostalgia speaking, but I feel like the level of play overall was much higher than the XFL, USFL, or the UFL up to this point. I absolutely feel like it could have survived given different circumstances, or at the very least could have eventually merged with one of the other leagues like the UFL. There were definitely fans willing to see games, and the teams catered largely to markets untapped by the NFL, which isn’t entirely true of the other spring leagues. A sad waste of

[@michaelstallings5824]

the expectations were way to high for this league,and it was'ent given time to succeed,

[@j.r.bladorn4120]

I enjoyed watching the Commanders. They actually had a decent amount of fans show up to games.

[@Sapienite1]

They had the best uniforms. And I miss Garret Gilbert.

[@isaiahharris1998]

RIP AAF 😢🏈.... Sidenote: what's your thoughts on The Experimental Fall League 🏈?

[@moms_spegetti8604]

I missed my fleet 😢

[@bumsinblue5624]

Love this video knew it was bad thought covid killed it. Dunedin thought covid would wash the criticism away but not so fast my friend ETG grindin for the truth. Dunedin infamous now

[@Cordex]

We need the AAF to merge with the UFL, 24 teams total, spanning to the West Coast would be elite

[@Mrwillie95]

This is a Prime example of greedy ruining a good product

[@leihamada4672]

I seriously doubt that if the AAF had survived its first season it would have still been around. You forget that same year the 2nd run of the XFL happened, regardless of the AAF's financial situation. The AAF would have hit the same roadblock that the 2nd XFL did, Covid. McMahon was able to sell the team to The Rock, most likely because he knew what was coming and he needed to get those assets out of his name as quick as he could. Even then the USFL had a strong showing and finished its inaugural season so even if the XFL had wholesale imploded the AAF would have still had to work with the USFL. The UFL was going to happen the question was will it be the XFL Conference or the AAF Conference. What we can hope for is in an expansion we get two AAF owners to bring their teams and iconography to the UFL. Seeing as they have a team in Birmingham, Memphis, and three teams in Texas my hope would be Orlando and Arizona

[@bumsinblue5624]

Also wish xfl ufl combined all 16 teams instead of cutting to 8. Pittsburgh would of got 35000 if marauders were here

[@waltsoph3]

Me as well. You could have had a really competitive environment.

[@TrestinMeacham80]

If they had merged with the XFL I think spring football would be much more strong. The AAF collapse hurt the perception of spring football in the public mind. The league also took many Markets that the XFL 2.0 would have had more success in.

[@joeldrewwaldengrounds6931]

The AAF should return 2025 on CBS . With two hub cities and merge with German Football League.

[@joeldrewwaldengrounds6931]

1) San Diego Fleet. 2) Arizona Hot Shots . 3) Utah Jazz 4)Oakland Invaders 5) Seattle Dragons 6) Oregon Vipers 7) Omaha NightHawks 8) LA Xtreme

[@MrXHemingwayX]

I loved the AAF and was so sad the way it ended. Big fan of The Arizona Hotshots, and live close to salt lake and be able to actually go watch some games! So stupid. Hope The UFL keeps going strong.

[@GreenPartyHat]

AAF had the best team names

[@kingmo8789]

I was a fan of the AAF, and it's a shame that it didn't complete the season. IMO, I think that the product was too rushed and Charlie Ebersol is the one to blame (and I'm not letting Tom Dundon off the hook). Charlie didn't have enough investment money to keep the league stable, trusted the wrong people, and butchered the product. It's unfortunate how the league ended the way it did, but at least their games were better to watch than the super bowl that year. Tom Dundon pulling the plug is very sinful. I really hope that the UFL will buy the rights to some of team names and bring them back.

[@fate8718]

Yeah nah this aint on Dundon there is a reason the Hurricanes are doing good and Charlie hasnt seen the face of the earth since this popped off They were bleeding cash too fast, they needed to hub system it for a year or two before actually playing and just didnt They didnt have the networks backing that the XFL did and they still hubbed the players all in Arlington Hell the UFL still does that They all live and practice in Arlington as we speak Why? To not go bankrupt If we bein honest they are gonna have to do that for a few years until each franchise is stable enough to go live in their home city They didnt here And UFL players get paid less(not significantly and some players like Ta'amu and McCarron get paid more for star power) as they are payed 5k a week for a starting roster, 2.5k for a inactive roster and 850 a week for training camp in short at a maximum, they will get paid $63,400 if they make the Championship game Take off 10k for not Sure they have a BaH system but like its Texas it could be worse(shoutout LA) In short The UFL has SIGNIFICANTLY better backing And still does a lot more things not directly harming the players but kinda to cut costs to make sure the league stays afloat hince why they merged and cut 4 teams apeice(RIP the Breakers, Dragons, Stars and Guardians) No Charlie was the fuck up Dundon just saw the ceasepool he invested in until it was too late

[@maverickhunter24]

Honestly, Jerry jones should have bought the league. Use it as a development group and have the title game in dallas for more money.

[@Tampafan33]

Miss the apollos

[@Jwkendall]

Rip Iron but go stallions

[@josmith213]

Coulda shoulda woulda

[@cainman5807]

It was at least promising but like father like son, natural born failure. I think Charlie felled and fooled us all and so did that hockey owner. Screw em all

[@ChristianKoonce_]

Seattle

[@manzac112]

I feel like XFL and USFL should have gotten the AAF along with them.

[@CBG19]

Bad idea that would've set the xfl and usfl up for failure because they would've wanted to get paid the amount the aaf players were getting paid

[@manzac112]

@@CBG19 Not the players and salary. Just the team names and branding, along with ownership being more patient and having a stable financial foundation.

[@petertrudelljr]

@@manzac112 Someone owns that IP and they'll want a lot for it based on how much money they sunk in the AAF to begin with. At this time it's best just to remember what was and hope for something new.

[@RedneckOgre9000]

The AAF was a complete shitshow from the very beginning and didn’t need to be “ruined” by anything.

[@Mike-aka747]

Would’ve been fun for a minute to have an XFL v AAF head to head. Covid hits but maybe they have a merger and ready to go for the 2022 season. And the USFL never exists.

[@steventomasi5557]

Please I beg of you mr.Rock and all other UFL higher-ups after the teams that missed the merger are brought back please bring in some AAF teams into the league specially the Fleet and Apolos

[@johnpaulstrobel2547]

I really want to see the San Diego Fleet verse the Virgina Destroyers. The Navy Bowl lol

[@allanross611]

Interesting how many ask for things knowing it will never happen. Further, those names and logos might be under TM. I don't think anyone at UFL wants to be associated with a loser fail operation like the AAF

[@prestonhunter45]

I miss my team 🥲

[@iaminevitable2755]

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we STAND with Tom Dundon ✊

[@somericanguy]

Billionaires shouldnt' exist for this reason alone

[@user-my5my2qz8x]

Put aaf I ufl and the rest of the xfl and usfl teams and we're set😂😂😂

[@tomservo75]

I'm not following where the greed part comes in.... looks like you've got a general beef against billionaires. The way the league folded was disappointing but I don't see where you're getting the greed part. It sounds to me like he regretted the investment and was pulling out.

[@ethanmx2]

Let's be real... if Tom Dundon didn't buy control of the AAF, the league woulda collapsed after Week 2 or 3. There's no way players would put their bodies on the line for no pay. Dundon only delayed the inevitable. From what I recall, Dundon decided to fold the league after finding out the AAF was PAYING CBS to air their games, as opposed to a typical broadcasting deal. More akin to the late night "paid programming" infomercials, than a hopeful football league. That's what happens when you hitch your wagon to a shady crypto investor (fuck you Reggie). And it sucks eggs big time. I was a big Fleet fan, and no joke, was going to go get tix for their final home game, and the next day the league folds... figures.

[@joshuawhitekettle4852]

>Boats