2019 Alliance of American Football season | |
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League | Alliance of American Football |
Sport | American football |
Duration | February 9 – April 14 (planned) February 9 – March 31 (actual) |
Number of games | 40 scheduled (10 per team) 32 played (8 per team) |
Number of teams | 8 |
TV partner(s) | CBS, CBS Sports Network, NFL Network, TNT |
Best regular season record | Orlando Apollos |
The 2019 AAF season was the only season in the history of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), [1] which began on February 9, 2019. A ten-week regular season was scheduled for each of the league's eight teams.
On April 2, multiple sources indicated that Thomas Dundon, the controlling owner of the AAF, had followed through on threats made in the previous week and suspended the AAF's operations, against the will of its founders. [2] [3] By the end of the week, the AAF front office had confirmed the suspension of operations and allowed players to opt-out of their contracts to sign with other leagues. [4] The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. [1]
At the time the season ended, eight out of ten scheduled weeks had been played, and the Orlando Apollos, with a league best 7–1 record two games ahead of its nearest competitors, had clinched no less than a share of the regular season's best record, regardless of how the rest of the schedule would have played out. A four-team playoff was scheduled to start on April 21, with a championship game on April 27. Initially scheduled for Sam Boyd Stadium on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, the title game was moved to the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, [5] before the league ceased operations.
The Alliance of American Football had eight teams competing during its inaugural season.
The Orlando Apollos clinched a playoff berth on March 24, [6] and top seed in the Eastern Conference on March 30. [7] The Birmingham Iron clinched a playoff berth on March 31. [8]
Eastern Conference | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club | W–L | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | SOS | SOV | STK |
(x) – Orlando Apollos | 7–1 | .875 | 5–0 | 236 | 136 | 100 | .406 | .375 | W2 |
(x) – Birmingham Iron | 5–3 | .625 | 3–2 | 165 | 133 | 32 | .406 | .300 | W1 |
(e) – Memphis Express | 2–6 | .250 | 1–4 | 152 | 194 | -42 | .578 | .500 | L1 |
(e) – Atlanta Legends | 2–6 | .250 | 1–4 | 88 | 213 | -125 | .609 | .438 | L3 |
Western Conference | |||||||||
Club | W–L | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | SOS | SOV | STK |
San Antonio Commanders | 5–3 | .625 | 3–2 | 158 | 154 | 4 | .516 | .450 | L1 |
Arizona Hotshots | 5–3 | .625 | 3–2 | 186 | 144 | 42 | .469 | .500 | W3 |
San Diego Fleet | 3–5 | .375 | 2–3 | 158 | 161 | -3 | .469 | .417 | L3 |
Salt Lake Stallions | 3–5 | .375 | 2–3 | 135 | 143 | -8 | .547 | .417 | W1 |
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention |
Each team had a ten-game regular season schedule, consisting of six in-conference games (home-and-away against each of the other three teams) and four out-of-conference games (one game against each of four teams; two home and two away). Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 9 were scheduled with out-of-conference games. [10] Each team played one preseason exhibition game against an out-of-conference opponent. All of the preseason scrimmage games were held January 27–28 at the Alamodome, in conjunction with the league's training camp.
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 9, 8:00 p.m. ET | Atlanta Legends | 6-40 | Orlando Apollos | Spectrum Stadium | 20,191 | CBS | 3.30 |
February 9, 8:00 p.m. ET | San Diego Fleet | 6-15 | San Antonio Commanders | Alamodome | 27,857 | CBS | 3.30 |
February 10, 4:00 p.m. ET | Memphis Express | 0-26 | Birmingham Iron | Legion Field | 17,039 | CBSSN | N/A |
February 10, 8:00 p.m. ET | Salt Lake Stallions | 22-38 | Arizona Hotshots | Sun Devil Stadium | 11,751 | NFL Network | 0.60 |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 16, 2:00 p.m. ET | Salt Lake Stallions | 9-12 | Birmingham Iron | Legion Field | 17,319 | TNT | 1.00 |
February 16, 8:00 p.m. ET | Arizona Hotshots | 20-18 | Memphis Express | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 11,980 | NFL Network | 0.40 |
February 17, 4:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Apollos | 37-29 | San Antonio Commanders | Alamodome | 29,176 | CBSSN | N/A |
February 17, 8:00 p.m. ET | Atlanta Legends | 12-24 | San Diego Fleet | SDCCU Stadium | 20,019 | NFL Network | 0.40 |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 23, 3:00 p.m. ET | Arizona Hotshots | 15-23 | Salt Lake Stallions | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 10,412 | B/R Live | N/A |
February 23, 8:00 p.m. ET | Memphis Express | 17-21 | Orlando Apollos | Spectrum Stadium | 20,394 | NFL Network | 0.50 |
February 24, 4:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Iron | 28-12 | Atlanta Legends | Georgia State Stadium | 10,717 | CBSSN | N/A |
February 24, 8:00 p.m. ET | San Antonio Commanders | 11-31 | San Diego Fleet | SDCCU Stadium | 14,789 | NFL Network | 0.50 |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2, 4:00 p.m. ET | San Diego Fleet | 23-26 | Memphis Express | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 13,621 | B/R Live | N/A |
March 2, 8:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Apollos | 20-11 | Salt Lake Stallions | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 9,302 | NFL Network | 0.50 |
March 3, 4:00 p.m. ET | San Antonio Commanders | 12-11 | Birmingham Iron | Legion Field | 6,539 | CBSSN | N/A |
March 3, 8:00 p.m. ET | Atlanta Legends | 14-11 | Arizona Hotshots | Sun Devil Stadium | 8,865 | NFL Network | 0.40 |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 9, 2:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Apollos | 31-14 | Birmingham Iron | Legion Field | 13,310 | TNT | 0.50 |
March 9, 8:00 p.m. ET | Salt Lake Stallions | 25-27 | San Diego Fleet | SDCCU Stadium | 20,823 | NFL Network | 0.30 |
March 10, 4:00 p.m. ET | Memphis Express | 20-23 | Atlanta Legends | Georgia State Stadium | 10,829 | CBSSN | N/A |
March 10, 8:00 p.m. ET | San Antonio Commanders | 29-25 | Arizona Hotshots | Sun Devil Stadium | 9,351 | NFL Network | N/A |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 16, 4:00 p.m. ET | Memphis Express | 9-22 | Salt Lake Stallions | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 8,150 | B/R Live | N/A |
March 16, 8:00 p.m. ET | Arizona Hotshots | 22-17 | Orlando Apollos | Spectrum Stadium | 18,358 | NFL Network | 0.40 |
March 17, 4:00 p.m. ET | San Antonio Commanders | 37-6 | Atlanta Legends | Georgia State Stadium | 10,619 | CBSSN | N/A |
March 17, 8:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Iron | 32-29 | San Diego Fleet | SDCCU Stadium | 20,986 | NFL Network | N/A |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 23, 2:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Apollos | 36-6 | Atlanta Legends | Georgia State Stadium | 11,416 | TNT | 0.30 |
March 23, 8:00 p.m. ET | Salt Lake Stallions | 15-19 | San Antonio Commanders | Alamodome | 30,345 | NFL Network | N/A |
March 24, 4:00 p.m. ET | San Diego Fleet | 15-32 | Arizona Hotshots | Sun Devil Stadium | 9,760 | CBSSN | N/A |
March 24, 8:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Iron | 25-31 (OT) | Memphis Express | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 13,758 | NFL Network | N/A |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 30, 2:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Apollos | 34-31 | Memphis Express | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 12,417 | TNT | 0.50 |
March 30, 8:00 p.m. ET | San Diego Fleet | 3-8 | Salt Lake Stallions | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 8,405 | NFL Network | N/A |
March 31, 4:00 p.m. ET | Atlanta Legends | 9-17 | Birmingham Iron | Legion Field | 17,328 | CBSSN | N/A |
March 31, 8:00 p.m. ET | Arizona Hotshots | 23-6 | San Antonio Commanders | Alamodome | 23,504 | NFL Network | N/A |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 6, 12:00 p.m. ET | Memphis Express | ---- | San Antonio Commanders | Alamodome | ----- | CBS | ---- |
April 6, 8:00 p.m. ET | San Diego Fleet | ---- | Orlando Apollos | Spectrum Stadium | ----- | NFL Network | ---- |
April 7, 4:00 p.m. ET | Salt Lake Stallions | ---- | Atlanta Legends | Georgia State Stadium | ----- | B/R Live | ---- |
April 7, 8:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Iron | ---- | Arizona Hotshots | Sun Devil Stadium | ----- | NFL Network | ---- |
Date and time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 12, 8:00 p.m. ET | San Antonio Commanders | ---- | Salt Lake Stallions | Rice-Eccles Stadium | ----- | B/R Live | ---- |
April 13, 8:00 p.m. ET | Atlanta Legends | ---- | Memphis Express | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ----- | NFL Network | ---- |
April 14, 3:30 p.m. ET | Birmingham Iron | ---- | Orlando Apollos | Spectrum Stadium | ----- | CBSSN | ---- |
April 14, 8:00 p.m. ET | Arizona Hotshots | ---- | San Diego Fleet | SDCCU Stadium | ----- | NFL Network | ---- |
Following the 10-week regular season, the top two teams in each conference were due to face each other in conference championship games, hosted by the higher seeded team. These semifinals were scheduled for April 21. [11] The winners would then meet in the league championship game on April 27 at a neutral site. Originally, the title game had been set for Sam Boyd Stadium near Las Vegas, Nevada announced October 23, 2018, [12] but was changed to Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on March 20, 2019, [5] before the season was ended.
Division Finals | 2019 AAF Championship Game | |||||||
Sunday, April 21 Spectrum Stadium – Orlando, Florida | ||||||||
E1 | Orlando Apollos | |||||||
E2 | Birmingham Iron | Saturday, April 27 Ford Center at The Star – Frisco, Texas | ||||||
Sunday, April 21 Would have been hosted by W1 | ||||||||
W1 | ||||||||
W2 |
Announced attendance figures for each home game. In the weekly columns, dashes (—) indicate away games, while bold font indicates the highest attendance of each team. Games marked "N/A" were not played.
Team / Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Antonio Commanders | 27,857 | 29,176 | — | — | — | — | 30,345 | 23,504 | — | — | 110,882 | 27,721 |
Orlando Apollos | 20,191 | — | 20,394 | — | — | 18,358 | — | — | — | — | 58,943 | 19,648 |
San Diego Fleet | — | 20,019 | 14,789 | — | 20,823 | 20,986 | — | — | — | — | 76,617 | 19,154 |
Birmingham Iron | 17,039 | 17,319 | — | 6,539 | 13,310 | — | — | 17,328 | — | — | 71,535 | 14,307 |
Memphis Express | — | 11,980 | — | 13,621 | — | — | 13,758 | 12,417 | — | — | 51,776 | 12,944 |
Atlanta Legends | — | — | 10,717 | — | 10,829 | 10,619 | 11,416 | — | — | — | 43,581 | 10,895 |
Arizona Hotshots | 11,751 | — | — | 8,865 | 9,351 | — | 9,760 | — | — | — | 39,727 | 9,932 |
Salt Lake Stallions | — | — | 10,412 | 9,302 | — | 8,150 | — | 8,405 | — | — | 36,269 | 9,067 |
Total | 76,838 | 78,494 | 56,312 | 38,327 | 54,313 | 58,113 | 65,279 | 61,654 | 489,330 | |||
Average | 19,210 | 19,624 | 14,078 | 9,582 | 13,578 | 14,528 | 16,320 | 15,414 | 15,292 |
Updated through games of March 31, 2019.
Source: [13]
Week | Offensive | Defensive | Special teams | Ref. | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Pos. | Team | Player | Pos. | Team | Player | Pos. | Team | ||
1 | John Wolford | QB | Arizona Hotshots | Terence Garvin | LB | Orlando Apollos | Nick Novak | K | Birmingham Iron | [14] |
2 | Garrett Gilbert | QB | Orlando Apollos | Keith Reaser | CB | Orlando Apollos | Jamar Summers | CB | Birmingham Iron | [15] |
3 | Ja'Quan Gardner | RB | San Diego Fleet | A. J. Tarpley | LB | San Diego Fleet | Colton Schmidt | P | Birmingham Iron | [16] |
4 | Kenneth Farrow | RB | San Antonio Commanders | Drew Jackson | LB | Memphis Express | Austin MacGinnis | K | Memphis Express | [17] |
5 | Logan Woodside | QB | San Antonio Commanders | Kameron Kelly | CB | San Diego Fleet | Younghoe Koo | K | Atlanta Legends | [18] |
6 | L'Damian Washington | WR | Birmingham Iron | Karter Schult | DE | Salt Lake Stallions | Greg Ward Jr. | PR | San Antonio Commanders | [19] |
7 | John Wolford | QB | Arizona Hotshots | DeMarquis Gates | OLB | Memphis Express | Joseph Zema | P | San Antonio Commanders | [20] |
Records reflect statistics through the eight regular season games played by all teams. [21]
The league used the eight-official system (with the center judge), also seen in NCAA college football. There were six officiating crews, staffed with officials from FBS conferences. [22]
No. | Name | FBS Conference |
---|---|---|
2 | Reggie Smith | Big 12 |
9 | Tra Blake | ACC |
10 | John O'Neill | Big Ten |
19 | James Carter | SEC |
81 | Brandon Cruse | Big 12 |
84 | Jeff Heaser | ACC |
The officiating crews included one former NFL official—Jimmy DeBell, a back judge on the Smith crew—and three former NFL players: Nate Jones (side judge, Cruse crew), Terry Killens (umpire, Blake crew), and Mike Morton (umpire, Cruse crew). [22]
CBS Sports, Turner Sports and NFL Network served as the Alliance's broadcast partners for the 2019 season. The CBS Sports deal was announced at the time the league launched, while the Turner Sports and NFL Network contracts were announced less than two weeks before the season began. [23]
In millions of viewers
Broadcaster | 1 [26] | 2 [27] | 3 [28] | 4 [29] | 5 [30] | 6 [31] | 7 [32] | 8 [33] | Total | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CBS | 3.3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.3 | 3.3 |
NFL Network | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | DNR | DNR | >3.5 | <0.4 |
— | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | DNR | DNR | DNR | DNR | |||
TNT | — | 1.0 | — | — | 0.5 | — | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 |
Total | 3.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | >9.2 | |
Average | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | <0.7 |
One decimal place is shown in table but three decimal places are used in all calculations. None of CBS Sports Network's broadcasts register in the Nielsen Ratings and thus viewership estimates for those games are not available.
Each AAF team had a local radio partner, and Sirius XM Radio carried a game of the week package. [34]
Team | Station | Affiliation | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Arizona Hotshots | KDUS (AM) | NBC Sports Radio | [35] |
Atlanta Legends | WCNN (AM) | Dickey Broadcasting | [36] |
Birmingham Iron | WERC (AM) | iHeartMedia | [37] |
Memphis Express | KWNW (FM) | iHeartMedia | [38] |
Orlando Apollos | WTKS-FM | iHeartMedia | [39] |
Salt Lake Stallions | KALL (AM) | ESPN Radio | [40] |
San Antonio Commanders | KZDC (AM & FM) | ESPN Radio | [41] |
San Diego Fleet | KLSD (AM) / KOGO (AM) | Fox Sports Radio | [42] |
On April 4, the AAF announced players could leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams following the reported suspension of league football operations. The following 99 players signed with NFL teams:
Nine players who were under contract with AAF teams at the time the league ceased operations made initial NFL 53-man active rosters on August 31, 2019: offensive tackle Brandon Greene with the Carolina Panthers, [123] quarterback Garrett Gilbert and running back D'Ernest Johnson with the Cleveland Browns, [124] cornerback De'Vante Bausby and defensive tackle Mike Purcell with the Denver Broncos, [125] long snapper Cole Mazza with the Los Angeles Chargers, [126] kicker Taylor Bertolet with the New York Jets, [127] cornerback Kameron Kelly with the Pittsburgh Steelers, [128] and offensive tackle Daniel Brunskill with the San Francisco 49ers. [129]
The following players signed with Canadian Football League (CFL) teams:
The AAF reportedly blocked AAF players from signing with CFL teams, claiming their AAF contracts were "assets in potential bankruptcy proceedings." [134] Plummer, Gilchrist, and Braverman had signed contracts with AAF teams, but had not yet been activated to the roster from their respective teams' rights lists at the time that the AAF suspended football operations. By April 18, CFL players were allowed to sign AAF players. [135]
The following players signed with Arena Football League (AFL) teams:
Player | Position | AAF team | Date | AFL team | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dwayne Hollis | CB | Atlanta Legends | April 6 | Philadelphia Soul | [136] [137] |
Joe Powell | S | Birmingham Iron | April 7 | Baltimore Brigade | [136] |
Anthony Amos | WR | Arizona Hotshots | April 8 | Columbus Destroyers | [136] |
Daronte Bouldin | G | Memphis Express | April 8 | Columbus Destroyers | [136] |
Ervin Philips | WR | Atlanta Legends | April 10 | Baltimore Brigade | [136] |
Malachi Jones | WR | Atlanta Legends | April 10 | Albany Empire | [136] |
Darius Prince | WR | San Antonio Commanders | April 13 | Philadelphia Soul | [136] |
Giorgio Newberry | DE | Orlando Apollos | April 15 | Washington Valor | [136] |
Jordan Thomas | CB | San Antonio Commanders | April 17 | Columbus Destroyers | [136] |
Antonio Guerad | DT | Orlando Apollos | May 8 | Albany Empire | [136] |
Saqwan Edwards | CB | Arizona Hotshots | May 8 | Baltimore Brigade | [136] |
Trenton Thompson | DT | Arizona Hotshots | May 9 | Washington Valor | [136] |
Fred Lauina | OG | San Antonio Commanders | May 13 | Philadelphia Soul | [136] |
Tuni Kanuch | OG | Salt Lake Stallions | May 14 | Columbus Destroyers | [136] |
Wide receiver Malachi Jones received first-team All-Arena, Receiver of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year honors at the conclusion of the 2019 AFL season, which was also the AFL's final season before shutting down afterwards. [138] Wide receiver Fabian Guerra was named co-Rookie of the Year as well. [139]
The following three players signed with National Arena League (NAL) teams:
Player | Position | AAF team | Date | NAL team | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corey Crawford | DE | Memphis Express | April 3 | Carolina Cobras | [140] [141] |
Fabian Guerra | WR | Memphis Express | April 9 | Carolina Cobras | [140] |
Tre' Jackson | OG | Orlando Apollos | May 17 | Massachusetts Pirates | [140] |
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