AAF fallout *update* players now getting medical bills for team labwork done in mini camp

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AAF confirms end of operations, bankruptcy

Bankruptcy trustee will try to sell those contracts to the CFL before cutting the players loose.

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All of this per sources…

The plan: Share advertising revenue with radio/TV networks to establish a proven, viable product in year one. Then sell the rights to TV/radio networks in year two...

Rights deals were projected to cover league operations costs. Franchises would eventually be sold for $10-$20 Million. +When the AAF lost a major investor, Tom Dundon was taken to a game “to seal the deal” as a potential investor. He was sold after viewing the product.

Team level executives were repeatedly reassured that there was “3-5 years worth of secured funding” and “any unpaid invoices would eventually be settled” they were coached to explain, “bear with us…we’re a start-up.” The widely publicized week 2 payment “glitch” was explained away by placing blame on the third party payroll company the league was using at the time. The AAF switched to a new payroll company for the remainder of the season.

Within the league there was a rumored power struggle between Charlie Ebersol and Tom Dundon (when Dundon bought into the league and acquired control of the board). Team executives were asked to find new investors during the final 2 weeks of the league's existence. Dundon didn’t know Ebersol was shopping new investors. The last investor who bought into the league at a certain rate (speculated to be $20 Million) would become acting chairman of the board, seizing control from Tom Dundon.

Ebersol appeared at the final game in San Antonio with wife, children and his parents. No entourage. Ebersol addressed the AZ Hotshots team in the locker room post-game. He complimented the team and thanked them for their energy. Some players felt as though the end was near.

All team level employees first learned that the league was ending “like everyone else… through social media.” The first “official” notice team employees received that the league was ending was when “team credit cards were zeroed out." On the day the league shut down, Tom Dundon was golfing. Some team level employees were "enraged and wanted to publicly criticize Dundon's lack of empathy as hundreds of people were losing their jobs."

It was estimated that the league needed roughly $20 Million to finish out the final 2 weeks of the season. Dundon was apparently willing to contribute $10 Million more dollars (on top of the $70 Million invested) to keep the AAF solvent through the end of the season... He pulled the plug on the league before new investor(s) could match that contribution. There were 4 to 6 investors interested up until 0 hour to keep the league afloat. Some team level employees felt Dundon cancelled the league, in part, to spite Ebersol.

Team employees traded on pre-existing relationships in their markets to secure vendor services in short order… many of these vendors still remain unpaid. Many of those relationships are strained or ruined. There is a faction of team level executives who feel "completely mislead" and may attempt legal recourse, potentially pursuing criminal charges.

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