Variety is reporting that a new pro football league, called the Alliance of American Football, will launch in 2019 by founder Charlie Ebersol. The league already has a CBS Sports broadcast deal and will feature a roster of former NFL stars.
Ebersol, the son of longtime sports-media exec Dick Ebersol, was the director of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary examining the launch of Vince McMahon’s XFL back in 2001. His father, who was involved with the XFL, will serve on the league’s board.
This news comes just a few months after Vince McMahon announced the formation of Alpha Entertainment to revive the XFL as an entity separate from WWE in 2020, meaning they have have a new competitor starting up one year before that return.
The league is scheduled to launch following next year’s Super Bowl.
“Under its deal with the AAF, CBS will air league matchups beginning with the Feb. 9, 2019, season opener and culminating with the championship game the weekend of April 26-28, with one regular-season game airing each week exclusively on CBS Sports Network.
The AAF will have a 10-week regular season and four-team playoff. To speed up gameplay, the league will institute a play clock shorter than the NFL’s 40-second break, have fewer ad breaks, and require two-point conversion tries after every touchdown.”
The Dan Le Batard Show discussed the announcement today on ESPN, specifically noting how mad McMahon must be regarding the announcement of the new league.
Ebersol is promising the ability to stream all games via a free app and “family pricing” to make games affordable. No word on what cities would play host to teams just yet.
The league will also introduce many non-NFL aspects including eliminating kickoffs to avoid concussions and bonus structures for players based on wins.