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The AAF Thread


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7 minutes ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

 

Any chance this league eventually gets a partnership with the NFL that allows younger players with NFL contracts play to develop skills, while still being on their NFL roster? 

And risk catastrophic injury? I don’t see it but that’s the only prayer of seeing year 2.

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The thing I'll be keeping my eye on is the fact that THREE DIFFERENT football leagues are getting set to kick off.

The AAF, kicking off this weekend, has the advantage of starting first. In the months to follow, the XFL and Pacific Pro League will also be starting. That's a lot of competition for potential non-NFL football players. The AAF wants to become a minor league to the NFL. The XFL DOESN'T want that, they want to compete with the NFL. The Pacific Pro League wants to give college-aged kids an alternative to the NCAA where they can actually get paid for their services. Three different "mission statements", but all non-NFL football starting up around the same time. Will be interesting to see who sticks.

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23 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

That’s the league with Brady’s agent? That’s at least a novel idea but it has no prayer. The Big 10 Media Deal is worth $2.64B over 6 years. How can some minor league EVER compete with that? These minor leagues generate 1/1000th of a percent. It’s just never going to happen. I’d bet every dime that I have that all of these league’s fail. In 3-5 years some other former league exec will start the next one, rinse, wash, repeat. 

Not a replacement and not within 37,000,000,000 miles are not the same though. It’s like saying, “I’m not Josh Allen’s replacement, yet.” I never will be and none of these leagues will ever touch college sports (or come within 37,000,000,000 miles). 

 

International ale is a chance at a functioning minor league (and that’s already failed a few times). 

 

I dont disagree with you.  These leagues usually dont have much of a shot.  However, with this one allowing players to go straight from High School we will at the very least see if College can survive without recruits, or if the recruits finally figure out they arent the ones driving college football.  My guess is CFB will just find other players and move on.

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1 minute ago, thenorthremembers said:

 

I dont disagree with you.  These leagues usually dont have much of a shot.  However, with this one allowing players to go straight from High School we will at the very least see if College can survive without recruits, or if the recruits finally figure out they arent the ones driving college football.  My guess is CFB will just find other players and move on.

The weird thing is that’s been an option in basketball for a long-time and hasn’t put a dent in the game. At the same time basketball players only have to stay a year at this point. Maybe if it was like football and 3 years we’d see more players go the LaMelo Ball, Brandon Jennings route? 

 

I just don’t see them ever getting the top guys. Even if they get a guy like Tua or Trevor Lawrence the Birmingham Irons don’t have the same rabid following as Alabama or Clemson. That’s how these guys become an entity. They become and entity by people knowing them and caring about them. Zion is going to be filthy rich in a couple of months. He’s a brand now. That wouldn’t be the same if he was playing for the Maine Red Claws instead of the Duke Blue Devils.

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4 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

Definitely. I really want a minor football league to succeed and this seems like the best one so far.

 

...pretty sad commentary that the cash flush, omnipotent and arrogant NFL has no minor league system, relying solely on the NCAA....and the NCAA no longer grooms to fit the NFL mold, versus doing what puts butts in the seats, grabs mega Bowl dollars and keep boosters happy happy....MLB, NHL and even NBA to some extent all have minor league systems....ANY similar semblance in the NFL would certainly cast all 32 Owners into Chapter 11..........just not affordable....

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9 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...pretty sad commentary that the cash flush, omnipotent and arrogant NFL has no minor league system, relying solely on the NCAA....and the NCAA no longer grooms to fit the NFL mold, versus doing what puts butts in the seats, grabs mega Bowl dollars and keep boosters happy happy....MLB, NHL and even NBA to some extent all have minor league systems....ANY similar semblance in the NFL would certainly cast all 32 Owners into Chapter 11..........just not affordable....

I think it's really on the NCAA, actually. There's so much money being made with college football.

 

Can you imagine if blue chip prospects skipped college to go pro right away?? 

 

How dare they...

 

Seriously, though, that is why this minor league has to succeed. The NCAA's exploitation of these kids needs to stop. They should have a legitimate option to go pro right out of high school.

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1 minute ago, LeGOATski said:

I think it's really on the NCAA, actually. There's so much money being made with college football.

 

Can you imagine if blue chip prospects skipped college to go pro right away?? 

 

How dare they...

 

Seriously, though, that is why this minor league has to succeed. The NCAA's exploitation of these kids needs to stop. They should have a legitimate option to go pro right out of high school.

 

 

...as Barry Switzer once said....." the only difference between coaching the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma was I didn't have a salary cap at Oklahoma".....hmmmm.....

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7 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

 

...as Barry Switzer once said....." the only difference between coaching the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma was I didn't have a salary cap at Oklahoma".....hmmmm.....

Yep...

 

College football is such a huge American pastime. Hard to imagine it sharing the spotlight.

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I have said for many years that the NFL needs a minor league. A lot of guys playing college ball have absolutely no interest in higher learning or getting a degree. Let them focus on what they want to do and make money doing it, and let them pursue their NFL dreams without taking a scholarship away from someone who does want a college degree.  

    

Edited by Turk71
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19 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I don't think you need one minor team per NFL team. It's not like hockey or baseball, where you have entire rosters of development players.

 

there should be

 

i would definitely go watch the Syracuse Slayers  in a spring league if i knew future Bills would be on it.

 

 

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20 hours ago, Logic said:

The thing I'll be keeping my eye on is the fact that THREE DIFFERENT football leagues are getting set to kick off.

The AAF, kicking off this weekend, has the advantage of starting first. In the months to follow, the XFL and Pacific Pro League will also be starting. That's a lot of competition for potential non-NFL football players. The AAF wants to become a minor league to the NFL. The XFL DOESN'T want that, they want to compete with the NFL. The Pacific Pro League wants to give college-aged kids an alternative to the NCAA where they can actually get paid for their services. Three different "mission statements", but all non-NFL football starting up around the same time. Will be interesting to see who sticks.

I don't see the Pacific League even starting, or if so, lasting more than one season. First, they're playing in the LA area only. They're the second biggest city in the nation, and can't support either of their top level pro football teams. Second, what kind of talent are they gonna draw? Even with the promise of a salary, they're not gonna get looked at by scouts even as much as they would at a D-II school. The only way it MIGHT work, is if they allowed them to opt out of collecting a salary, therefore they'd still have amateur eligibility to hopefully be picked up by a NCAA team.

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On 1/31/2019 at 1:56 PM, End The Drought said:

I’ll definitely tune in to a game or two just to see the level of competition. I’m genuinely interested to see if it’s going to be watchable or just a complete **** show 

I wonder about that myself.

 

I lived n Rochester for a year and got to see, in person, a lot of Amerks games.

 

I was always amazed at the drop in quality between the NHL and the AHL.  The AHL is the next league down, but man, the gap is freaking gigantic.  It's huge.  For me, AHL play is borderline not interesting enough to actually watch.


Back then, there was still a ton of rough stuff/fighting in AHL hockey, so that made up for it in spades...but the hockey itself was terrible, for the most part.

 

I feel the same way about this new football league; might be played on a level not worth watching.

 

 

 

 

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41 minutes ago, Southern Bills Fan said:

You keep going into the injury risk. If the NFL was that concerned with injuries to younger prospects their wouldn't be 4 preseason games.

Sure there would because of the revenue associated with it. The NFL makes TONS of money on preseason games. They have no problem throwing out the bottom of the roster for the money that it brings in. They would certainly have no interest in exposing them to that without $$. It’s all risk and minimal reward for NFL teams.

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Interested to see the "Sky Judge" in action.

 

https://aaf.com/notable-rule-differences-for-the-alliances-inaugural

 

"If you get a helmet-to-helmet spear and it’s not called on the field, it can be picked up by the ninth official,” Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating who is a consultant to the AAF, told the Associated Press. “He has the ability to do it in real time. It doesn’t go to replay. ... He can call down to the field and say, ‘Hey, spearing on No. 33 of Birmingham, 15-yard penalty, let’s go.’

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