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All American Football League

AAFL Team Florida Draft Day

Team Florida put together quite a showing at the inaugural AAFL Draft. All of its 39 Protected Players, who had spots on the team before today’s draft were present shaking hands, taking pictures, and signing autographs. Cute girls were passing out mini AAFL footballs and a few lucky people got snazzy New Balance AAFL t-shirts (I was not fortunate enough to snag one, although one of the girls said she would look out for me tonight to personally give me one). About tonight…I will be attending a formal dinner with Team Florida’s Protected Players to celebrate what should be a successful season with athletes like Chris Leak, Chris Doering, and Peter Warrick on the roster.

As I said earlier today, the AAFL has been quite nice to media entities. Upon entering the hotel, I easily obtained media credentials, which entitled me to a nice folder that included the Official AAFL 2008 Draft Chart (who the hell would sit and fill this out?), Team Florida’s schedule, and a bunch of press releases from the Director of Communications at the AAFL. One concern I have is that Texas is listed as not having a stadium to play at…may want to get on figuring out that problem! Plenty of people at Team Florida’s draft were congregating around the Tickets table, leading me to believe that at least in the state of Florida this league has a shot at survival.

Overall, it was a fun experience. I stuck to talking with the players that I actually had heard of before, dominated the buffet of sandwiches, and might have scored myself a press pass for the 2008 season. I decided to avoid the open bar…I’ll save indulging in the finer fruits of life for tonight.

See below for some pictures from the day event:

AAFL Draft
All the die hard Gainesville football fans waiting for the show to begin.

AAFL Draft
Had a nice conversation with Chris Leak. Gainesville is lucky to have him back in town.

AAFL Draft
That would be me looking like a munchkin next to 6’5 WR Chris Doering.

AAFL Draft

Strike up the band!

AAFL Draft
My favorite part of any event: the food.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

3 replies on “AAFL Team Florida Draft Day”

Would like to know if you have contact information for Chris Leak or any other former Gators players. We need help with our project and would love to have former players get involved. Thank you very much

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