Hurricanes owner invests big in AAF

[Jmac]

Interesting.....maybe a team coming to the Carolina's one day ? Two hundred and fifty million to be exact...will also be on the board of the league.The triangle could definitely support one.

[MillionDollarCam]

Dundon has spent nearly $700M in just athletic endeavors this year with the purchase of the Canes and now with his large investment in the AAF.

Not to mention he’s already the primary investor in TopGolf.

It’s no surprise he’s best buds with Mark Cuban, apparently his pockets are lined with gold.

[TheCasillas]

Isn't the AAF out of money?

[Jmac]

They are struggling out of the gate....but who knows what other fat cats may roll the dice and invest. Will take time to gain momentum. 

[mc52beast]

Since I live in Chesapeake I wouldn’t mind a team coming here. All we have in “Hampton Roads” is a minor league baseball, hockey and soccer team. We’re actually one of the biggest areas without a pro team of some kind

[d-dave]

29 minutes ago, TheCasillas said:

Isn't the AAF out of money?

I hadn't heard that.  Where did that come from?  I thought they were doing well, but it's only been two weeks.

[Unbreakable Split Glass]

Wish he was the owner of the Panthers and Hornets

[MtnJax]

1 hour ago, d-dave said:

I hadn't heard that.  Where did that come from?  I thought they were doing well, but it's only been two weeks.

Apparently this investment kept them from missing the payroll last week. They kefir just started, but they've been building up to it for a year. I would bet the coaching salaries are killing the budget

[Anybodyhome]

https://healthytopic.org/aaf-had-reported-financial-crisis-before-week-2-yahoo-sports/

For all the good publicity the Alliance of American Football received early on, it’s still a startup business.

Like plenty of other startup businesses, the AAF might have been underfunded to start. The Athletic’s David Glenn, citing multiple sources, reported that the league was in danger of not making payroll last week, just the second week of the league’s existence.

The crisis was averted. Glenn wrote that Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon will be introduced as the AAF’s new chairman after investing $250 million in the AAF. The NHL owner’s investment allowed the league to meet its financial obligations. 

It’s a reminder that, while the AAF isn’t necessarily competing with the NFL, the previous pro football leagues that tried to go head-to-head with the NFL could never come close to competing with the established league’s vault of money.

From the Athletic’s story, the AAF’s situation last week sounded tense.

“Without a new, nine-figure investor, nobody is sure what would have happened,” one source told Glenn at The Athletic. “You can always tell people their checks are going to be a little late, but how many are going to show up on the weekend for games when they don’t see anything hit their bank accounts on Friday?”

That’s a stark contrast to the good feelings surrounding the league after its debut. Ratings were good, and a lot was made of the AAF’s first set of games drawing more viewers than an NBA game on ABC between the Rockets and Thunder. Overall the reception to the league was positive, which is rare for anything in the social media age.

The league clearly has done some things very well, but it was in trouble financially out of the gates. Dundon’s infusion of cash should help.

The Athletic reported that Dundon could be positioning himself to get an AAF team in Raleigh, N.C., though a source told Glenn that while Raleigh is an option for an expansion or relocated franchise, it wouldn’t happen until 2020 at the earliest.

The new league will have its struggles. There was far less buzz about the league in Week 2, which is what happened with the XFL in 2001. Everyone knew that Week 1 interest and ratings didn’t mean the AAF had arrived, though they were promising signs. Now the challenge is to try to keep the momentum going through the rest of the inaugural season.

Hopefully for the league, the financial bumps of the first couple weeks were averted due to a large investment. It’s a reminder what the AAF, or any new league, is up against as it tries to establish itself.

[d-dave]

Thanks, I did not realize that!

[DeeJay]

I thought this company had all the backings of former NFL players.....

[MtnJax]

15 minutes ago, DeeJay said:

I thought this company had all the backings of former NFL players.....

I think it does, but how much are they backing it with? Apparently it wasn't much

[Dilla]

48 minutes ago, DeeJay said:

I thought this company had all the backings of former NFL players.....

This guys are starting a whole new league, backing from a few NFL players is just a drop in the bucket with what is necessary.

[Dilla]

I also want to mention, this is one of the things that annoys me about the NFL. You have this promising league that wants to compliment the NFL. It gives players an out to join the NFL mid-contract. NFL league officials talk on and on every year about needing a developmental league to further assist players on adjusting from college spread to the pros (and they do need it, especially QBs and OL). They get one in the AAF. NFL coaches and GMs verbally express the usefulness. Hell, Sean McVay referred Luis Perez to the league. Now, there were a quarter of the league inquiring about plucking Perez from the Iron and there were NFL scouts on the sidelines of games. Garrett Gilbert will also likely be a one-and-done. Yet through all that, the NFL doesn't want to put anything into the league financially themselves. I hope that changes if this season remains a successful, but the NFL expects better players for free.