Why would Tom Dundon suspend the AAF, unless he was given bad information?
Tom Dundon came in as the majority investor on February 19th, 2019. That was less than a few weeks ago, when the Carolina Hurricanes owner invested 250 million dollars into the Alliance of America Football League.
Many thought for sure the league would make it through their first season with the investment, and now they have suspended the league until further notice. This pissed me off, as well as many others, supporting the league, but it also upset Bill Polian the former Buffalo Bills General Manager.
“I am extremely disappointed to learn Tom Dundon has decided to suspend all football operations of the Alliance of American Football,” Polian said in a statement. “When Mr. Dundon took over, it was the belief of my co-founder, Charlie Ebersol, and myself that we would finish the season, pay our creditors, and make the necessary adjustments to move forward in a manner that made economic sense for all.
“The momentum generated by our players, coaches and football staff had us well positioned for future success. Regrettably, we will not have that opportunity.”
It sounds like Dundon shocked not only Polian but Charlie Ebersol as well. The AAF has been doing pretty well in attendance so far through week 8, and now a suspension of the league is a huge problem. The sad thing is last week Dundon tried to strong arm the NFL into using practice squad players and not one person in the NFL or the NFLPA budged. The NFL does not need a farm system in their opinion. The farm system needs the NFL, which is why it makes no sense to take this approach. I am almost wondering if Dundon was told that there would be more involvement from the NFL and he was starting to realize the NFL was not really as interested as initially he suspected.
With this being said, It is just speculation, but if Tom Dundon does not let the playoffs and regular season play out it would be a huge injustice to the players. I know it is his pocket book, but let’s face it, his pocketbook is deep.
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