We reported earlier that the AAF almost missed payroll this week, initially blaming it on a technical glitch. Then today, it was announced that Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has made a $250 million investment in the league, which seems to be a bail out.
Charlie Ebersol, the CEO and co-founder of the new Alliance of American Football has been on damage control, telling numinous publications on Tuesday that the Alliance of American Football (AAF) was never in any serious financial jeopardy, contradicting a report in the Athletic that said the AAF needed to be bailed out by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon.
“It was not urgency,” Ebersol told PFT by phone, explaining that the AAF has been structured like a tech startup, with multiples rounds of investments planned. Dundon decided to short-circuit the process.
“‘You can raise Series A, Series B, Series C, or you can raise Series Infinity right now,’” Dundon told Ebersol.
Ebersol opted to accept the offer from Dundon, who had been studying the AAF for the past year, and who decided to make his move after the league’s performance in its debut weekend.
It was the kind of payment that none of other investors were capable of making, and it makes Dundon the largest institutional investor in the league. He’ll instantly become chairman of the Board of Director. Ebersol will continue to run the business side of the AAF, Polian will run the football side of the AAF, and Dundon will remove the fundraising obligation from Ebersol’s plate.
I assumed we’d see something like this come from the league, and hopefully everything they’re saying is true. I enjoy football, and I don’t mind the XFL having extra competition if the AAF is still around this time next year.
