The All American Football League 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.[2] The AAFL's inaugural draft took place on January 26, 2008, though it was effectively voided when the league canceled that season.
Teams
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:
- Team Alabama – (Birmingham, Legion Field), coached by Mike Jones, former head coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europa. The team includes former Alabama Crimson Tide players Reggie Myles, Alonzo Ephraim, and Marcus Spencer, Auburn Tigers players Karibi Dede, Tre Smith and Kendall Mack, Troy Trojans players Rob Austin and Franklin Lloyd, Princeton player Ben Brielmaier, as well as UAB players Ernest Respress and Shamar Abrams
- Team Arkansas – (Little Rock, War Memorial Stadium), coached by Ron Calcagni. Signed players include former Razorback stars Clint Stoerner and Zac Tubbs.
- Team Florida – (Gainesville, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium), coached by Shane Matthews. Signed players include former Gators quarterback Chris Leak and former FSU standout and 1st round draft pick, Peter Warrick. The two final home games would have been played in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville and Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.
- Team Michigan – (Detroit, Ford Field), coached by John Fontes, former assistant coach of the Detroit Lions. Players have been signed from Central Michigan University, Ferris State University, Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Western Michigan University.
- Team Tennessee – (Knoxville, Neyland Stadium), coached by Andy Kelly. Signed players included former Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler, former XFL star and NFL player Rod Smart, better known as "He Hate Me", and former University of Tennessee kicker James Wilhoit.
- Team Texas – (Houston, Rice Stadium), coached by former University of Houston coach John Jenkins. Eric Crouch, the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner, was drafted by them.
None of these teams actually played 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 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 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 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 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;[4] Schutt Sports, official supplier of helmets and protective equipment;[5] Baden, official supplier of AAFL footballs;[6] Rogers Athletic Company, official supplier of football equipment;[7] and the NFL Officiating Department, which will provide officiating support.[8]
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