Vince McMahon's XFL isn't the only pro football league that is looking to give fans an alternative to the NFL. According to reports, the Alliance of American Football was unveiled at a press conference today in New York City.
Charlie Ebersol, whose father partnered with McMahon in the original XFL, co-founded the league with former NFL executive Bill Polian. Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will serve as the AAF’s head of player relations. The AAF doesn't view itself as a league that is competing with the NFL, but one that will be complimentary to it.
"There are 28,000 Division I football players. Only 1,700 have NFL jobs," Ebersol said, according to ESPN. "We're looking for those Kurt Warners working in grocery stores, and we think we will find them."
The AAF will reportedly debut on February 9, 2019, right after the Super Bowl, and will end in April, just before the start of training camp. According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the season will run for 10 weeks, consisting of eight 50-man teams which will be unveiled sometime next month.
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.
According to Darren Rovell, the league's first game and championship game, as well as one matchup per week, will air on CBS Sports Network.