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81-500: AAFL may refer to: All American Football League , a professional league of American football Auckland Australian Football League , an Australian rules football competition in Auckland, New Zealand Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title AAFL . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

162-1414: A 10-game season for 2008, from April 12 to June 14, with all six teams to have played in one division during the first season. The teams with the second and third best records in the regular season were to meet in a playoff for the right to face the number one team in a championship game to be played on July 3, 2008. The AAFL released its schedule in October, 2007, with the April 12, 2008 games consisting of Alabama at Florida (at Jacksonville), Arkansas at Texas, and Michigan at Tennessee. The AAFL held its kickoff tryouts on July 2–3, 2007, in Orlando, Florida . On July 26, tryouts were held in Birmingham, Alabama ; more followed in Little Rock, Arkansas (August 18); Detroit, Michigan (September 13); Tampa, Florida on October 12; Houston, Texas on October 24 and 25; and Knoxville, Tennessee (December 6 and 7). The AAFL had announced partnerships with New Balance , official supplier of on-field AAFL team apparel; Schutt Sports , official supplier of helmets and protective equipment; Baden , official supplier of AAFL footballs; Rogers Athletic Company, official supplier of football equipment; and

243-548: A coin toss in other leagues). The XFL's first injury infamously resulted from the opening scramble; Orlando free safety Hassan Shamsid-Deen suffered a separated shoulder prior to the Rage's 33–29 season-opening win over the Chicago Enforcers at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium on February 3. He ended up missing the remainder of the campaign. After every touchdown scored, no extra point after kicks were done, due to

324-450: A division of Turner Broadcasting ." Keenan Davis, vice-president of league operations and Chief Operating Officer said that "We are so very fortunate to have built partnerships with companies who are partners in the truest sense of the word. We sincerely appreciate their support as we progress toward our new goal of a 2009 inaugural season." The league press release added that "All fans who have purchased tickets to 2008 AAFL games will receive

405-542: A few players got around these restrictions ( Los Angeles Xtreme players Noel Prefontaine , the league's lone punting specialist , and Matt Malloy, a wide receiver) by having themselves listed as backup quarterbacks. Players on a winning team received a bonus of $ 2,500 for the week, $ 7,500 for winning a playoff game . The team that won the championship game split $ 1,000,000 (roughly $ 25,000 per player). Players did not receive any fringe benefits, and had to pay for their own health insurance . The XFL allowed its players to wear

486-411: A full refund. Credit cards will be credited and any checks received will be returned." The Houston Business Journal reported that Team Texas had sold only 250 season tickets, and that team president Mike Pede had announced that the ten employees of Team Texas would be laid off and would "receive severance depending on their length of time with the organization". In 2008, The league had announced it

567-589: A full season (in Giants Stadium's case, two full seasons, since the Giants and Jets shared the stadium; the Giants also hosted two playoff games following the 2000 season ) caused significant damage to the playing fields; at Chicago's Soldier Field , the wear and tear on the field was such that by midseason, the midfield logo of the NFL's Chicago Bears was clearly visible amid a stretch of dirt and dead grass. At

648-509: A history of notorious "blasts", including the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 and Eric Rudolph 's 1998 bombing of a local abortion clinic, the XFL changed the name of the Birmingham team to the more benign "Birmingham Thunderbolts" (later shortened to "Bolts"). Contrary to popular belief, the "X" in XFL did not stand for "extreme", as in "eXtreme Football League". When the league

729-472: A large grass stadium in 2001. In the league's two northernmost markets, Chicago and New York/New Jersey (the latter of which played in Giants Stadium during a brief window in which the stadium's usual artificial turf had been replaced by natural grass), the combination of the all-grass requirement, midwinter playing season and the fact that the XFL followed shortly after the NFL had used both fields for

810-406: A major problem across the league: only three of the league's eight Opening Day starting quarterbacks—Los Angeles's Tommy Maddox , San Francisco's Mike Pawlawski and Memphis's Jim Druckenmiller —were still starters by the end of the season. Birmingham and Las Vegas were both on their third-string quarterbacks by the end of the ten-week season. The XFL postseason format was essentially identical to

891-502: A nickname on the back of their jersey, as opposed to the legal last name most professional sports leagues have required since the 1960s. Players could change the nickname any time they wanted, and a few players chose to change the nicknames on a weekly basis depending on their opponent. The league's use of backfield camera angles gave these nicknames even greater exposure. Nevertheless, two teams, Orlando and Birmingham, imposed policies that forbade players from using nicknames. Orlando's ban

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972-404: A number of "protected" players from schools within their area. Thus, Team Florida listed, as protected, former Gators' quarterback Chris Leak , as well as players from Florida colleges. Team Texas could put players from Texas schools on its list. The downside to listing a large number of players as "protected" was that they forfeited a few picks early in the draft. Each team had a total of 50 picks;

1053-508: A radio broadcast deal for all games produced by Touchdown Radio Productions (a college football syndication service) and distribution through the American Forces Network and Sports Byline USA . Even after the cancellation of the 2008 season, the league still said they had reached an agreement in principle with NFL Network to carry games once play commenced. A diverse group of leaders from within intercollegiate athletics

1134-421: A running back who played in the first XFL nationally televised game, was the first player to gain notice from his nickname, "He Hate Me." Although the XFL was not the first football league to feature the " sky cam ", which enables TV viewers to see behind the offensive unit, it helped to popularize its unique capabilities. For the first several weeks, the league used the sky cam and on-field cameramen (nicknamed

1215-625: A single game before the league announced it was relaunching. The league was unveiled at a press conference in New York City on July 26, 2006, with Cedric Dempsey , former president of the NCAA , as its chairman. Before that, Dempsey was the longtime athletic director at the University of Arizona . The rest of the league's Board of Directors included various well-known sports and private industry individuals. The league signed agreements from

1296-572: A specific, manageable target list of football tradition-rich universities and prominent stadiums which would host games during the spring months. Each team drafted and/or signed players that graduated from the host state's universities. The AAFL draft took place on January 26 and 27, 2008. An AAFL release stated that a player "must, without exception, have earned a four-year degree or more advanced degree to be eligible to play in League games." The release added that other players would be invited to try out "in

1377-405: A three-day period from October 28 to 30, 2000. A total of 475 players were selected initially, with 65 additional players then selected in a supplemental draft on December 29, 2000. Eastern Division Western Division The XFL's opening game took place on February 3, 2001, one year after the league was announced, less than one week following the NFL's Super Bowl XXXV . The first game

1458-454: The Kingdome and prior to the completion of what is now Lumen Field ). Giants Stadium would have a next generation artificial surface installed in 2003; Soldier Field was renovated extensively in 2002 but retained its grass field. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and Legion Field have also installed next-generation turf fields since the demise of the original XFL. Replacing the coin toss at

1539-727: The Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium ) had previously hosted NFL games; the NFL would return to the Coliseum when the Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2016. The remaining fields were in regular use as college football venues at the time. The home team in every stadium was required to occupy the sideline opposite the press box in order to be visible to the television cameras. Due to the odd field dimensions in San Francisco, teams playing there were permitted to occupy

1620-798: The National Football League (NFL) season ended, to take advantage of the perceived lingering public desire to watch football after the NFL and college football seasons conclude. It was promoted as having fewer rules to encourage rougher play than other major leagues, while its telecasts featured sports entertainment elements inspired by professional wrestling (and in particular, the WWF's then-current " Attitude Era "), including heat and kayfabe , and suggestively-dressed cheerleaders . Commentary crews also featured WWF commentators (such as Jesse Ventura , Jim Ross , and Jerry Lawler ) joined by sportscasters and veteran football players. Despite

1701-588: The San Francisco Demons , on April 21, 2001, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . Despite its short-lived existence, the XFL did pioneer several on-air technologies that would later become commonplace in football telecasts, such as aerial skycams , and on-player microphones. WWE owner Vince McMahon maintained control of the XFL brand after the league ceased operations, despite many, including McMahon himself, considering

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1782-594: The United States Football League in the 1980s; Las Vegas, along with Birmingham and Memphis, had hosted short-lived CFL teams in the 1990s. The XFL chose unusual names for its teams, most of which either referenced images of uncontrolled insanity ( Maniax , Rage , Xtreme , Demons ) or criminal activity ( Enforcers , Hitmen , Outlaws , and the Birmingham Blast ). After outrage from Birmingham residents who noted that Birmingham had

1863-640: The United States Football League , the original World League , or the Canadian Football League (Memphis, Orlando, Birmingham, Las Vegas); or was the largest market without a professional franchise (Los Angeles). Co-owner NBC served as the main carrier of XFL games, with UPN and TNN also carrying selected games. The first night of play brought higher television viewership than NBC had projected, but ratings exponentially plummeted for subsequent games, with criticism directed toward its overall quality of play, on-air presentation and connection to

1944-511: The "Bubba Cam" after WWE's cameraman, Bubba, who couldn't get medical clearance to cover the XFL) extensively, giving the television broadcasts a perspective similar to video games such as the Madden series. During player interviews, particularly later in the season as attendances declined, the television crews took extensive efforts to avoid capturing the empty stands on camera. When they did show

2025-478: The "guaranteed point" concerns by moving the extra point kick back to the 15-yard and 25-yard lines, respectively, thus making the length of the kick the same distance (taking into account the NFL's position of the goalposts on the end line, and the CFL's goalposts being positioned on the goal line). The Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019 adopted this "no extra point kick" rule from the original XFL, albeit making

2106-587: The $ 30,000 minimum then paid by the Arena Football League. Moreover, the league, rather than the franchise owners, would pay the players and coaches in order to control spending. Later, however, the league announced that "During its initial season, most players will be paid $ 5,000 per game plus benefits, slightly higher than the salaries of the now defunct XFL . Six players on each team will be designated as franchise players, who will be eligible for an additional $ 50,000 per year." The league announced

2187-515: The March 2008 announcement. The only action known to have been taken by the league was a March 2009 announcement on the league Web site (the previous version of which was taken down at that time) stating that the league was aiming for a spring 2010 launch, with new host markets. In February 2010, after another prolonged silence from the league, the league's Webmaster changed the number 2010 to 2011 but left everything else unchanged. There were no updates on

2268-483: The NFL Officiating Department, which will provide officiating support. On March 13, 2008, the league announced that the 2008 season would not take place and expressed hope that the league might play in 2009. The AAFL website issued a statement that "The All American Football League (AAFL) announced today the postponement of its inaugural season until 2009. The League will continue to build upon

2349-465: The Record as the league was in decline, an interview that the 2017 documentary This Was the XFL portrayed as being an omen of the league's collapse. The Citrus Bowl, which had a total capacity of 65,438 at the time, had its upper decks closed off for XFL games. Despite boasts of a "rules-light" game and universally negative reviews from the mainstream sports media early on, the XFL played

2430-438: The WWF was "100% (scripted) entertainment" the XFL would be "100% sport" i.e. the winners of its games would be determined on the field. XFL games were to feature players and coaches with microphones and cameras in the huddle and in the locker rooms . Stadiums featured trash-talking public address announcers and scantily-clad cheerleaders who were encouraged to date the players. Instead of a pre-game coin toss, XFL officials put

2511-536: The WWF, prompting NBC to pull out of the venture after one season. While plans were made to continue without NBC (with plans for expansion teams as well), UPN allegedly made inordinate demands of the league, which hastened its demise. The league ceased operations entirely in May 2001. Its closure was announced just a few weeks after the league's season championship game , in which the Los Angeles Xtreme defeated

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2592-428: The XFL's perception that an extra-point kick was a "guaranteed point." To earn a point after a touchdown, teams ran a single offensive down from the two-yard line (functionally identical to the NFL / NCAA / CFL two-point conversion , but for just a single point as it had been before the two-point conversion was adopted). By the playoffs, two-point and three-point conversions had been added to the rules. Teams could opt for

2673-554: The ball on the ground and let a player from each team scramble for it to determine who received the kickoff option. The practice was dubbed "The Human Coin Toss" by commentators, and one player ( Orlando Rage defensive back Hassan Shamsid-Deen ) famously separated his shoulder on the first scramble, missing the rest of the season. The XFL featured extensive television coverage, with three games televised each week on NBC , UPN , and TNN . To accommodate this, it placed four of its teams in

2754-445: The beginning of each game was an event in which one player from each team fought to recover a football 20 yards away in order to determine possession. Both players lined up side by side on one of the 30-yard lines, with the ball being placed at the 50-yard line. At the whistle, the two players would run toward the ball and attempt to gain possession; whichever player gained possession first was allowed to choose possession (as if he had won

2835-553: The bonus points by playing the conversion farther back from the goal line. However, touchdowns were still worth 6 points. This rule, as originally implemented, was similar to the WFL 's "Action Point", and was identical to a 1968 "Pressure Point" experiment by the NFL and the American Football League , used only in preseason interleague games that year. In 2015, the NFL, CFL and other professional leagues would address

2916-474: The company name "XFL, LLC", the XFL was created as a " single-entity league ;" instead of the franchise model used by the NFL and other major leagues, or the hybrid model where investors in the league are given operations over teams (as used in Major League Soccer ), the XFL uniformly owned and operated all of its teams as one corporation, with no individual owners. Vince McMahon 's original plan

2997-462: The foundation that has been established, and will continue to discuss opportunities with potential investors. AAFL sponsors have committed to remain on board for the 2009 season. Currently, the League has corporate partnerships with New Balance, Baden Sports and Rogers Athletic. Also still in place for the 2009 season are a national radio partnership with Touchdown Radio & SportsDay Productions, and an internet broadcast partnership with PlayOn! Sports,

3078-625: The four largest U.S. media markets: New York City/North Jersey , Chicago , the San Francisco Bay Area , and Greater Los Angeles (this was during the NFL's 21-year absence from the Los Angeles metro area ). The remaining four teams were placed in markets that had previously hosted teams in second-tier and/or rival major leagues: Birmingham, Memphis, Las Vegas, and Orlando. All of the XFL's markets except Las Vegas had hosted teams in

3159-480: The front or the side. Following the fourth week of the season, bump and run was restricted to the first five yards from the line of scrimmage (similar to NFL and CFL) in an effort to increase offensive production. Unlike the NFL , but like the World Football League and Arena Football League before it, the XFL allowed one offensive player to move toward the line of scrimmage once he was outside

3240-594: The hopes that the opportunity will inspire them to complete their education". With the demise of NFL Europa, the AAFL would have had to have competed with the Arena Football League and the then- af2 for talent among spring football leagues. According to the Associated Press report of the league's formation, Dempsey had stated that AAFL players would earn about $ 100,000 a season, as compared to

3321-436: The initial weeks of the season, the XFL forbade all players on the kicking team from going downfield before a kick was made from scrimmage on that down, similarly to a rule the NFL considered in 1974. For the rest of the season the XFL modified it to allow one player closest to each sideline downfield ahead of the kick, the same modification the NFL adopted to their change just before their 1974 exhibition games started. Allowing

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3402-490: The kick and Los Angeles returned it for a touchdown). The XFL used a play clock of 35 seconds from the end of the previous play, five seconds shorter than the contemporary NFL play clock of 40 seconds (but still longer than the CFL's 20 seconds, timed from the spotting of the football), in an effort to speed up the game. The XFL limited each team to an unusually low 38 players, as opposed to 53 on NFL teams and 80 or more on unlimited college rosters. This

3483-537: The kicking team to recover a punt did encourage noticeably more quick kicks over the course of the XFL's lone season than was typically seen in the NFL over the preceding decades, including a quick kick during the Million Dollar Game (that particular kick, executed by San Francisco on a third-and-31 play, succeeded in taking Los Angeles off-guard, but the kick also backfired as the Demons could not recover

3564-404: The league after the season. A further problem was that the XFL itself was the brainchild of Vince McMahon, a man who was ridiculed by mainstream sports journalists due to the stigma attached to professional wrestling as being " fake "; many journalists even jokingly speculated whether any of the league's games were rigged , although nothing of this sort was ever seriously investigated. Ebersol

3645-417: The league's highest QB rating at 99.9 during the 2001 XFL season, soared to first place, winning its first six games before Brohm suffered a career-ending injury and the team regressed (the team went 2–2 in his absence). Birmingham started the season 2–1 before a rash of injuries (and tougher competition, as its two wins were against New York and Chicago) led to the team losing the last seven games. Injuries were

3726-406: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AAFL&oldid=544505120 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages All American Football League The All American Football League

3807-490: The one adopted by the AFL for its final season in 1969. The top two teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. To avoid teams having to play each other three times in a season prior to the championship game, the league set up the semifinal round of the playoffs so that the games would feature teams from opposite divisions: the east division champion (Orlando) hosted the west division runner-up (San Francisco), and likewise for

3888-431: The original league to be a "colossal failure." Interest in the league was revived when ESPN Films released a 30 for 30 documentary surrounding the league, and shortly after the film debuted, McMahon began preparing for a new iteration of the league in 2020. The new XFL was run by a new McMahon-controlled company independent from the present-day WWE , and did not utilize the sports entertainment elements featured in

3969-497: The previous incarnation. The second iteration of the XFL's inaugural season was aborted due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and the league suspended operations and filed for bankruptcy in April 2020, with McMahon relinquishing the XFL brand in a sale to his former WWE wrestler Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia that August. Created as a 50–50 joint venture between NBC and WWE-owned subsidiary WWE Properties International, Inc. under

4050-509: The protected players counted against this number, and were counted as having been selected in the middle rounds. XFL (2001) The XFL was a professional American football league that played its only season in 2001. The XFL was operated as a joint venture between the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and NBC . The XFL was conceived as an outdoor football league that would begin play immediately after

4131-461: The rights to the pre- merger NFL, also to CBS). Prior to McMahon's announcement, NBC was moving ahead with Time Warner to create a football league of their own. The concept of the league was first announced on February 3, 2000. The XFL was originally conceived to build on the success of the NFL and professional wrestling . It combined the traditional game of American football with the kayfabe and stunts of professional wrestling. As WWF was, at

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4212-407: The rules of college football overtime). The process would be repeated until a winner was determined; unlike the CFL and NFL, but like college football, games could not end in ties even in the regular season. The XFL allowed full bump and run coverage early in the season. Defensive backs were allowed to hit wide receivers any time before the quarterback released the ball, as long as the hit came from

4293-550: The same sideline (a similar arrangement existed in the NFL when the Green Bay Packers played home games at Milwaukee County Stadium and in stadiums previously used by the Chicago Bears , Detroit Lions , Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings ). The all-grass field stipulation caused the league to skip over several of the country's largest markets, including Houston and Philadelphia , since they lacked

4374-459: The scrimmage play conversion two points as in other levels of the game. The revived XFL kept the conversion system used during the playoffs. Ties were to be resolved in similar fashion to the NCAA and in the CFL today, with at least one possession by each team, starting from the opponent's 20-yard line. There were differences: there were no first downs and thus teams had to score within four downs, and

4455-487: The situation afterwards, and the spring 2011 mark remained on the AAFL Web site into 2012, with no other actions or updates—by March 2013. The AAFL draft was broadcast live on the league's website, and on several stations. A national radio contract with Sirius Satellite Radio was announced. The league president confirmed a deal with Sirius Satellite Radio and even talked talks about possible TV deals, along with

4536-472: The sport. In an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in February 2001, after the league's second week of play, Costas joked: "It has to be at least a decade since I first mused out loud, 'Why doesn't somebody combine mediocre high school football with a tawdry strip club ?' Finally, somebody takes my idea and runs with it." Costas interviewed a defiant McMahon for an episode of his HBO show On

4617-513: The standard brand of 11-man American outdoor football that was recognizable, aside from the opening game sprint to determine possession and some other changes, some of which were modified during the season as it progressed. The league's coaches vetoed a proposal to eliminate ineligible receivers (allowing any player to receive a forward pass) midway through the season, on account that the change would be too radical. The league's game balls were made by Spalding , and were unique in that instead of being

4698-513: The standard brown, the ball was black with a red "X" going across the sides of the ball. The balls were later found to be slippery and difficult to handle, and the balls had to be rubbed with sandpaper to make them usable. The league deliberately avoided placing teams in stadiums with artificial turf , which at the time had a bad reputation both for being unsightly as well as being more hazardous to play on compared to natural turf. The league's requirement for grass fields automatically ruled out

4779-470: The stands, it was just mostly close ups of individual sections that were full. Player interviews at sparsely-attended games were often shot from a camera angle in close proximity and low to the ground pointed upward, giving the perspective of the camera being operated by a little person. After the XFL's failure, the sky cam was adopted by the NFL 's broadcasters; the device has subsequently come into use on all major networks. NBC in particular switched back to

4860-408: The tackles. The XFL imposed a number of restrictions on punting that are not present in most other leagues' rules, the net effect of which made punts in the XFL operate under rules more akin to kickoffs . The purpose of these provisions was to keep play going after the ball was punted, encouraging the kicking team to make the ball playable and the receiving team to run it back. To this effect: For

4941-413: The team that had possession first in overtime could not attempt a field goal until fourth down. If that team managed to score a touchdown in fewer than four downs, the second team would only have that same number of downs to match or beat the result. If the score was still tied after one overtime period, the team that played second on offense in the first OT would start on offense in the second OT (similar to

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5022-535: The time, "next generation" artificial surfaces (which much more closely mimicked grass in appearance, feel and player safety) were slowly being introduced in professional football. In 2000, the Seattle Seahawks were the first professional team to play on next-generation artificial turf at the University of Washington 's Husky Stadium , where the Seahawks played in 2000 and 2001 following the demolition of

5103-468: The time, has continued to worsen. Despite the fact that the Federal Reserve has repeatedly lowered interest rates during this financial crisis, their efforts have not yet restored liquidity in many asset backed markets, including municipal bonds and student loans." All players signed to AAFL teams were immediately released and were free to sign elsewhere. The league remained largely silent since

5184-485: The time, in the midst of its " Attitude Era " (which marked a shift in a mature and provocative direction for its content), the XFL's presentation likewise would reflect that approach toward football. It was hyped as "real" football without penalties for roughness and with fewer rules in general. Keen to avoid any perception that XFL games would somehow be predetermined in the sort of manner long established in professional wrestling, McMahon repeatedly emphasized that whereas

5265-407: The use of domed stadiums since no such stadium capable of accommodating a grass football field existed in the U.S. in 2001 (the only retractable roof stadiums complete at the time were used exclusively for Major League Baseball ; the first retractable roof stadium for NFL use was not completed until Reliant Stadium opened for the expansion Houston Texans in 2002 ). Furthermore, every XFL field

5346-573: The west champion and east runner-up (Los Angeles and Chicago, respectively). Los Angeles and San Francisco each won their playoff games to advance to the XFL championship . The opening game ended with a 19–0 victory for the Outlaws, and was watched on NBC by an estimated 14 million viewers. During the telecast, NBC switched over to the game between the Orlando Rage and the Chicago Enforcers , which

5427-504: The wrestling influence, the games and their outcomes were legitimate and not based on scripted storylines. The XFL operated as a single entity with all teams owned by the league, in contrast to most major professional leagues, which use a franchise model with individual owners. The league had eight teams in two divisions, and each franchise was based in a market that either currently had an NFL team (New York/New Jersey, Chicago, San Francisco); had previously supported other pro leagues like

5508-475: Was a closer contest than the blowout taking place in Las Vegas. The opening night drew a 9.5  Nielsen rating . The opening-week games actually delivered ratings double those of what NBC had promised advertisers (and more viewers than the 2001 Pro Bowl ). The audience declined to a 4.6 in week 2, still an acceptable rating for NBC, but further ratings declines eventually led to the network abandoning

5589-400: Was also organized in 1999, merged with the Arena Football League 's minor league AF2 before ever playing a single game. In a much later article describing the origins of the league's name, Sports Illustrated stated: "The F and the L act to indicate, if only indirectly, a football league. But the X is a variable. It could mean anything." The only main draft for the league took place over

5670-630: Was between the New York/New Jersey Hitmen and the Las Vegas Outlaws at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada . The league's regular season structure was set up so that each team played teams in its own division twice in the season, home and away (the same as the National Football League ) and played against teams in the other division once. The season ran ten weeks, with no bye weeks . The league's western division

5751-410: Was considering a postponement of its season, stating that "Since inception, the League's finances have been indirectly tied to the $ 300 billion federally guaranteed student loan asset backed securities market. In August, the sub prime mortgage crisis began spreading into other sectors such as municipal bonds and federally guaranteed student loans. The situation, which was considered to be temporary at

5832-689: Was designed identically, with no individual team branding on the field. Each end zone and 50 yard line was decorated with the XFL logo, with the endzones also being painted black. Most of the league's stadiums were football-specific facilities, the only exception being San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park (home of the San Francisco Giants ) which was built primarily for baseball , but (unlike many newer baseball-specific stadiums) can accommodate football. Two XFL stadiums ( Giants Stadium and Soldier Field ) were also then-current NFL stadiums, while two others ( Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and

5913-480: Was disappointed with the opening game's poor quality of play. Even longtime NBC sportscaster Bob Costas joined in the mocking of the league. Ebersol purposely allowed Costas and other NBC Sports veterans to opt out of the network's coverage of the league (hence with the exception of former NFL on NBC analyst Mike Adamle , its coverage was helmed mostly by younger unknowns and professional wrestling figures), and Costas in particular did not like McMahon's approach to

5994-600: Was effectively voided when the league canceled that season. For its proposed 2008 season, the AAFL established six franchises, all but one of which were located in the Southern United States (Team Michigan being the lone exception). One of the more unusual features of the league was that the teams had no nicknames, being referred to as "Team Florida", "Team Texas", etc. The teams, which had hired coaches, drafted players, and contracted with stadiums to host games for 2008 were: None of these teams actually played

6075-496: Was far more competitive than the east, with the four teams' records ranging from 7–3 (for eventual champion Los Angeles) to 4–6 (Las Vegas, who finished last after losing its last three games to end up one game out of a playoff spot). In the East, New York and Chicago both were hampered by slow starts and ineffective starters before making personnel changes that improved their play, while Orlando, under quarterback Jeff Brohm , who owned

6156-455: Was first organized in 1999, it was originally supposed to stand for "Xtreme Football League"; however, there was already a league in formation at the same time with that name, and so promoters wanted to make sure that everyone knew that the "X" did not actually stand for anything (though McMahon would comment that "if the NFL stood for the 'No Fun League', the XFL will stand for the 'e x tra f un l eague'" ). The other Xtreme Football League, which

6237-587: Was similar to the CFL , which had a comparable 40 man roster limit in 2001. This was partly to limit payroll costs, and partly because the XFL wanted to curb the use of "specialists," something which the NFL has sometimes come under criticism for. To comply with roster limits, most teams only carried two quarterbacks and one kicker who doubled as the punter. The XFL paid standardized player salaries. Quarterbacks earned US$ 5,000 per week, kickers earned $ 3,500, and all other uniformed players earned $ 4,500 per week, though

6318-522: Was to be a professional american football league premised on the rule that all of its players had to have a four-year university degree, as employees of the AAFL rather than of the franchises, with the league to pay each player an average compensation of approximately $ 100,000 to year-round player employees and $ 50,000 to season-only players to attract the best non-NFL players. Also that the former college players would play in college stadiums. The AAFL's inaugural draft took place on January 26, 2008, though it

6399-462: Was to have served as the board of directors: The AAFL Draft took place in Atlanta on Saturday, January 26, 2008. The first player selected overall was Zarah Yisrael, offensive lineman from Troy University , who was picked by Team Arkansas. The 2001 Heisman Trophy award winner Eric Crouch was selected with the third pick by Team Texas. Under the draft rules, each team was permitted to designate

6480-591: Was to purchase the Canadian Football League (after the CFL initially approached him about purchasing the Toronto Argonauts ) and " have it migrate south ," which was quickly rejected by the CFL. NBC had lost their broadcast rights to the NFL's American Football Conference (AFC) to CBS in 1998, ending a business relationship that had its origins with the AFC's predecessor, the American Football League (this having also come about after NBC had previously lost

6561-424: Was voted upon by the players, although Jeff Brohm objected. Birmingham's players were banned from doing so by coach Gerry DiNardo , a notoriously strict disciplinarian more accustomed to coaching at the college level. DiNardo previously alienated players at Vanderbilt and LSU and later did so at Indiana with his iron-fisted rule. The Thunderbolts were the only professional team he would ever coach. Rod Smart ,

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