The Super Bowl has come and gone, and the 2019 NFL Draft isn’t until late April. If you need some more football in your lives, a new league has arrived for your fixings.
Alliance of American Football kicks off its inaugural season this weekend. Saturday night on CBS, the same network that just broadcast Super Bowl LIII, there will be more football games.
The Alliance begins. #JoinTheAlliance pic.twitter.com/oGnt9fBOl8
— The Alliance (@TheAAF) February 3, 2019
AAF or The Alliance is the pro football league founded by Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian (Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL executive). It’s separate from the XFL, which you probably remember from its initial run, and for its owner, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. The AAF not only has a leg up because it’s getting started first but also because of the pedigree of those involved. Some of the other people overseeing the league include Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Justin Tuck, and XFL co-founder Dick Ebersol.
The season will run for 10 weeks, consisting of eight 50-man teams. There will be no kickoffs or extra points and teams will start on the 25-yard line after scores and at the start of each half. Because there are no kickoffs, that means no onside kicks. The solution: The team that scored a touchdown can get the ball on its own 35-yard line in a 4th-and-10 situation. If the team converts they can keep going.
CBS will air two games on Saturday regionally. The rest of the schedule will air on the NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, and the Bleacher Report Live streaming service, with two games on TNT.
The AAF will be a great alternative for those who aren’t over football and didn’t like the dull Super Bowl. Unlike the XFL, this new league might stand a chance based on the rules and personal in place.
