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All American Football League

All American Failure?

On August 6, 2006, I reported (with excitement) that there was a new football league sprouting up in college towns across the country called the All American Football League (AAFL). At that point in time, people were wondering which new league idea would win out, the AAFL or the UFL, much like the old school debate of Beta vs. VHS. The AAFL looked promising, with the expectation of high salaries in strong markets.

Then AAFL news took a hiatus for a while until major media outlets started picking up on its inaugural draft, which occurred earlier this year. Through my position as Public Relations Director of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society at UF Law, I was invited to attend Team Florida’s first official draft and subsequent after party, where many players were getting very loose on the dance floor. They were surely happy about their pending $50,000+ checks awaiting them at the start of the 2008 season.

But that happiness may need to be tabled for the time being. ESPN news services reports that the AAFL may be forced to wait until 2009 for games to begin. The first games of 2008 are supposed to start in April, but without a TV deal to broadcast AAFL games, the league’s backers, including CEO Marcus Katz, cannot afford to kickoff the inaugural season. Is the AAFL already shaping up to be a failure like its USFL and XFL predecessors? Are UFL backers pleased or worried by the news that the AAFL is having problems finding a TV entity to pick up its games?

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.

2 replies on “All American Failure?”

Interesting comments about Team Florida’s draft-day party. I happened to be at Team Texas’ celebration the same day, and I can tell you that things were very professional — it was run at a nice hotel, the UH pep band played, there was good food and drink, there were lots of ‘dignitaries’ there (Cedric Dempsey, Craig James, etc.), and as in Florida, the players were getting plenty jiggy wit it.

Unfortunately, it looks like it’s already time to write the epitaph for the AAFL, for a lot of reasons. I go into great detail on why it all went away so quickly on my Web site. It’s a pay site (sorry, different business model) but right now we’re offering free trial subscriptions. Just contact me at nstratton@insidetheleague.com. I have a lot of contacts within the league and it’s rather easy to see where things went wrong.

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