On March 24 I reported there was actual hope for the Arena Football League to return after a one-year hiatus. A new collective bargaining agreement had apparently been struck between the league and players to run through 2013 which was supposed to go a long way to saving the longest continuous running independent professional sports league after 22-years.
Now it appears the news was a bit premature because interim commissioner Ed Policy has stepped down following a surprising resignation of long time boss David Baker and everyone is searching for answers, including the possibility of shutting the league down – permanently.
"I stepped down really because we've been undergoing a major restructuring," Policy told ESPN.com. "And part of that restructuring is doing away with the commissioner. There will probably be a CEO rather than a commissioner, but [league owners] haven't defined what that will entail."
Policy insists he is remaining with the league as further restructuring takes place but it hard to think how an entity like the AFL can exist without an independent voice.
The league has some strong franchises including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Orlando but another, the New Orleans VooDoo, folded despite leading the league in attendance in 2007 and fifth the next. A dispersal draft was schedule to be held but even that was postponed.
A teleconference call was held earlier today but Policy did not elaborate on what was said.
Philadelphia Soul President Ron Jaworski and Grand Rapids Rampage GM Scott Woodruff are optimistic about the AFL’s return but with speculation the 17 companies that operated teams who ended the 2008 season would be rolled into one single company and without a commissioner, the future is bleak.
Other leagues have tried the one company, CEO concept and have fallen by the wayside.
The league also fell on hard times in the ratings. NBC was not pleased under their four year agreement and ESPN had a five-year equity share of the league yet essentially walked away after one just season once the league called off its 2009 campaign.
Drawing fans back may be tougher than restarting the AFL plus the lack of a TV contract means no extra revenue to give the league a chance at long-term viability. Should the league return it may only be a shell of what fans once knew.
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Comments
ESPN carried 2 seasons: 2007 and 2008.
Yes they did. Thank you.
ESPN is still committed to showing the AFL if/when they come back. They've stated this several times as they were pleased with their ratings. Policy's position will be obsolete under the new business model. Essentially he just resigned before getting fired, which was bound to happen soon. Jim Renacci is taking control and will lead the league back in 2010.
Chris, I've been covering the AFL since 2002 and I have seen a steep decline in attendance. ESPN aside, this league has been in trouble for years and the CBA is just a drop in the bucket.
I do not think the league is viable any more and even if it does come back, the NFL owners who bought in will lilley divest themselves of their franchises with the potential of having a working agreement with the upstart United Football League.
With the UFL playing a more traditional game you will see more players transition to the NFL than those from the AFL.
I'll believe the return of Arena Ball when I see it.
Ted, the af2 (arenafootball2) is run the way the AFL was going to run. Single entity. The players are employees of the league not the team (hence the wording of assigned/reassigned instead of sign/waiving) The league is been going 10 years strong and shows no signs of stopping.
Kyle, thanks for the comment and the e-mail as well.
My view on the AFL is about that league only. Just because the af2 is having a certain level of success does not mean it is long-term viable.
The best analogy was the attempt to revive the World Hockey Association by setting up a minor league first. The WHA never materialized and the WHA2 was merged into another minor league and that lasted only one season. The WHA2/WHA was supposed to have the same business model the AFL now proposes.
What I am trying to get at is the af2 is a minor league any way you look at it and there are a few of those in different sports that operate within a small business concept to maintain profitability. The pay scale is far different than the Arena League and the level of play, while good, does not measure up to AFL standards.
To be honest I had to wonder how long the league could go with attendance numbers. I covered the Storm and there were many nights there were no more than 6K in the house but 14-16K or so was announced. Maybe that was the reason for the VooDoo folding as their high numbers were likely of the phantom variety.
Look, I am not wishing for the demise for the AFL. I just don't think the league is viable any more especially with the United Football League ready to debut and NFL owners looking to hitch their wagons to something more like to their own game.
If the AFL loses NFL owners they lose operating capital and ultimately they lose the league. A lot of NFL $$$ propped it up the last few years.
Man, their partially owned by ESPN, that means they'll have a TV deal. Don't you know anything?
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