FloridaGatorforLife
VIP Member
New leagues like the All American Football League have a way of generating positive vibes in the early going. But inevitably they face questions about staying power.
While Team Florida has been making sure it gets recognizable names for football fans in the state, other teams in the fledgling AAFL may be lagging behind.
“We've done it the right way,” Team Florida coach Shane Matthews said.
“We tried to get players that people in Florida recognize, and a lot of other teams have missed the boat on that.”
Although that bodes well for Team Florida, it leaves the future of the league uncertain.
“Obviously that's a concern because if there's no league around, there's no Team Florida, and we don't have a job,” said Team Florida first-round draft pick Eric Kresser, a former UF quarterback. “I'm obviously concerned with the AAFL as a company.”
Perhaps the biggest thing missing before the season kicks off on April 19 is a television contract. But Team Florida President Wayne McDaniel said the league will announce a contract “with a big-time TV station” this week.
With that, the AAFL would have nearly all it needs to get the inaugural season going, however, there is a possibility the league can't stay alive if it doesn't draw enough interest from the fans.
“Is that a possibility?” McDaniel said. “Anything is a possibility.”
That's where ticket sales come in. Matthews said the team has “done well” with ticket sales.
Ticket call center representative Sam Navarre, who said he isn't allowed to disclose the numbers on tickets sold, said Team Florida has by far sold more tickets than any other team in the league.
But that may point more to the potential problem of getting the league off the ground.
Lee McGriff is one who doubts whether the league can get going, which is part of the reason he left the AAFL a few months back. McGriff — a former Gator and father of Travis, a wide receiver on Team Florida — was at one point chairman of the board for Team Florida. But after what he said were disagreements with the way the AAFL was conducting business, he left toward the end of 2007.
“I obviously disassociated myself for a reason,” said McGriff, who stressed he didn't want to state specific problems because he didn't want to hurt the league's season-ticket sales. “They certainly have done a lot of things (since I left). But have they done enough things to make it a reality?”
One thing some have been skeptical about is the players' salaries.
McGriff said it was originally planned to pay players $100,000 to try to attract big names, but it never panned out. The six league teams are allowed to have 42 active players on their rosters, and each of them will make $50,000 for a 10-week season. In addition, a team can also keep four practice-squad players, who will make $20,000. Some feel that's a pretty high salary for a new league.
“Fifty thousand dollars is a lot to pay everybody with a 42-man roster,” former Buchholz High School and James Madison University quarterback Justin Rascati said earlier this month. Rascati was eventually picked by Team Florida in the supplemental draft on Saturday. “You can work at McDonald's at the same time and make six figures (in one year).”
Rascati was going to play for the Peoria Pirates of the arenafootball2 league, and while there, he would've been paid only $250 a game and given a side job.
So while the AAFL pays much more than the af2 — considered the minor league of the Arena Football League — the money is on par with other established pro leagues. In the Canadian Football League, the minimum salary is $35,000 Canadian (about $35,091 in U.S. dollars) and the average salary is $55,000 Canadian (about $55,143). In the Arena League, the base salary is $2,000 per game with an average salary of $215,000 per year — but it plays six more games.
The National Football League rookie minimum is $325,000.
All of the AAFL player's salaries are league controlled, meaning it will be funded by CEO Marcus Katz, who owns two of the nation's 10 largest companies providing federal student loans.
“For (Katz) it's no big deal because he's a billionaire,” said Kresser, who spent time playing in the CFL and NFL Europe. “The fact that he has the money to back it gives it a chance.”
Katz would be paying more than $13 million in player salaries alone in the first year — a number that can go up each year if the league keeps adding teams. There is talk that Indiana and North Carolina may field teams for next season, and McDaniel said he's received calls from “six to 10 representatives at other states wanting to know how to get a (team) started.”
Despite the uncertainty, the AAFL can at least point to the fact it isn't like the failed XFL and USFL in one regard: it isn't trying to compete with the NFL.
“The USFL and XFL tried to compete with the NFL, and that was impossible,” Kresser said. “Plus, the XFL was pretty tacky. It was kind of like a joke, just like wrestling.
“This is going to be real football.”
http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20080217/NEWS/695796542/1098
Hopefully they can get a fan base and keep growing and be successful.
While Team Florida has been making sure it gets recognizable names for football fans in the state, other teams in the fledgling AAFL may be lagging behind.
“We've done it the right way,” Team Florida coach Shane Matthews said.
“We tried to get players that people in Florida recognize, and a lot of other teams have missed the boat on that.”
Although that bodes well for Team Florida, it leaves the future of the league uncertain.
“Obviously that's a concern because if there's no league around, there's no Team Florida, and we don't have a job,” said Team Florida first-round draft pick Eric Kresser, a former UF quarterback. “I'm obviously concerned with the AAFL as a company.”
Perhaps the biggest thing missing before the season kicks off on April 19 is a television contract. But Team Florida President Wayne McDaniel said the league will announce a contract “with a big-time TV station” this week.
With that, the AAFL would have nearly all it needs to get the inaugural season going, however, there is a possibility the league can't stay alive if it doesn't draw enough interest from the fans.
“Is that a possibility?” McDaniel said. “Anything is a possibility.”
That's where ticket sales come in. Matthews said the team has “done well” with ticket sales.
Ticket call center representative Sam Navarre, who said he isn't allowed to disclose the numbers on tickets sold, said Team Florida has by far sold more tickets than any other team in the league.
But that may point more to the potential problem of getting the league off the ground.
Lee McGriff is one who doubts whether the league can get going, which is part of the reason he left the AAFL a few months back. McGriff — a former Gator and father of Travis, a wide receiver on Team Florida — was at one point chairman of the board for Team Florida. But after what he said were disagreements with the way the AAFL was conducting business, he left toward the end of 2007.
“I obviously disassociated myself for a reason,” said McGriff, who stressed he didn't want to state specific problems because he didn't want to hurt the league's season-ticket sales. “They certainly have done a lot of things (since I left). But have they done enough things to make it a reality?”
One thing some have been skeptical about is the players' salaries.
McGriff said it was originally planned to pay players $100,000 to try to attract big names, but it never panned out. The six league teams are allowed to have 42 active players on their rosters, and each of them will make $50,000 for a 10-week season. In addition, a team can also keep four practice-squad players, who will make $20,000. Some feel that's a pretty high salary for a new league.
“Fifty thousand dollars is a lot to pay everybody with a 42-man roster,” former Buchholz High School and James Madison University quarterback Justin Rascati said earlier this month. Rascati was eventually picked by Team Florida in the supplemental draft on Saturday. “You can work at McDonald's at the same time and make six figures (in one year).”
Rascati was going to play for the Peoria Pirates of the arenafootball2 league, and while there, he would've been paid only $250 a game and given a side job.
So while the AAFL pays much more than the af2 — considered the minor league of the Arena Football League — the money is on par with other established pro leagues. In the Canadian Football League, the minimum salary is $35,000 Canadian (about $35,091 in U.S. dollars) and the average salary is $55,000 Canadian (about $55,143). In the Arena League, the base salary is $2,000 per game with an average salary of $215,000 per year — but it plays six more games.
The National Football League rookie minimum is $325,000.
All of the AAFL player's salaries are league controlled, meaning it will be funded by CEO Marcus Katz, who owns two of the nation's 10 largest companies providing federal student loans.
“For (Katz) it's no big deal because he's a billionaire,” said Kresser, who spent time playing in the CFL and NFL Europe. “The fact that he has the money to back it gives it a chance.”
Katz would be paying more than $13 million in player salaries alone in the first year — a number that can go up each year if the league keeps adding teams. There is talk that Indiana and North Carolina may field teams for next season, and McDaniel said he's received calls from “six to 10 representatives at other states wanting to know how to get a (team) started.”
Despite the uncertainty, the AAFL can at least point to the fact it isn't like the failed XFL and USFL in one regard: it isn't trying to compete with the NFL.
“The USFL and XFL tried to compete with the NFL, and that was impossible,” Kresser said. “Plus, the XFL was pretty tacky. It was kind of like a joke, just like wrestling.
“This is going to be real football.”
http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20080217/NEWS/695796542/1098
Hopefully they can get a fan base and keep growing and be successful.
