Rival startups to the National Football League have all met a similar demise. Splashy on opening day, then an all too predictable limp to the finish and ultimate shuttering. The Alliance of American Football might be the one who not just survives, but succeeds as a tandem partner to their would be big brother.
For those who have tuned out football until free agency and then the NFL Draft, I can tell you the AAF has been a nice fix. It is quality football played by more than a few you'll recognize, and coached by veterans of the game most if not all will know.
More simply put, the template for the AAF is a smart one. It's not trying to be like the NFL, beat the NFL, or replace the NFL.
Ultimately, it's set up to help them.
The league, which began play the weekend after the Super Bowl, exists to be a second chance and even a first for players who were on the fringe of the league. Players like running backs Trent Richardson and Zac Stacy,or quarterbacks Christian Hackenberg and Trevor Knight have another opportunity to show they can still play at the next level. It may also serve as a last stop before hanging them up for good.
Bottom line, it's a win-win situation.
The National Football League desperately needs something resembling a farm system. Roster restrictions and limited practice spots aren't designed to grow a player much less provide them an opportunity to develop via playing time. For example, quarterbacks have to hit the ground running while their organization hopes it pans out sooner rather than later.
Those can be staggering odds against any player.
The AAF is designed to operate in that space, and the chief benefactors are players and ultimately the NFL.
Many fans have seemed either skeptical or downright arrogant about the new league. They're idea that if you aren't watching the NFL you simply aren't watching football, is misguided. No one, especially the AAF, is looking to sell you what the league is not.
The more open-minded fan who has been willing to read what the product ultimately aims to be will be satisfied with what they see on the field. Further, for those who see the shortcomings in the NFL product where player development is involved, the AAF will be a worthy watch and follow in the years to come.
It's worth remembering the NFL has been down a similar road. When league owners ultimately bailed on NFL Europe, a league which provided a roadmap for players like Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, James Harrison, Dante Hall, and even Adam Vinatieri, it effectively ended a viable and successful developmental league.
In the AAF, an opportunity exists for the two to help each other out.
Already the two leagues are exploring an opportunity where the NFL would loan players to the AAF. Co-founder Bill Polian recently said that “talk is ramping up” where such a scenario could have quarterbacks and other players from the fringes of NFL rosters getting valuable playing time in his league. Daryl Johnston, general manager of the AAF's San Antonio Commanders spoke to this issue recently.
“As a broadcaster for almost 20 years, and talking to [NFL] coaches, one of the things they have been frustrated with on this latest [collective bargaining agreement] is the reduction of meeting time and practice time.”
“They just don't think the guys are getting enough repetition.”
In eight cities, the AAF exists as a vehicle for castoffs to earn a second chance at Sunday's in the fall. If NFL Europe demonstrated anything, it's that an opportunity to play can have a significant payoff.
Kurt Warner is an excellent example of that.
The AAF is providing the National Football League an opportunity to get better in a way free agency and the draft simply don't provide. Die-hard fans would be smart to pay attention.
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