Labor Dispute, Expansion, Developmental League All Highlight Friday Night in AFL

Adam Markowitz
Saturday May 26, 2012

Through its history, Friday night has always been the night of big time action in the Arena Football League. Yesterday was no exception, as all sorts of news came flying fast and furiously in Orlando, where the Orlando Predators were beaten by the Jacksonville Sharks 55-37 to kick off Week 12 of the season.

During the broadcast of the Preds/Sharks game on the NFL Network, the statement was made that Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz was going to be on to the broadcast to "discuss rumors" that had developed of late. Anthony Herron set up Kurz for his announcement in the third quarter, asking the commissioner about expansion for the future of the AFL.

Kurz stated on the NFL Network, "We don't announce expansion for the AFL until the ArenaBowl, but one of the things we're going to do, and the board has empowered me to do, is to help the development of our players, and that's the developmental league. We're going to bring that back." He continued later in the interview, "We're going to have affiliation between the small market teams, the mid-market teams, and the AFL teams, and we really think that will help the game. The fans have been asking for this for a while, and the markets have asked for this, and the board's in favor of this, and we're going to move it along."

Without specifically stating it, Kurz is insinuating that that means the af2 is set to return. The af2 was basically disbanded following the 2009 season, as a number of the teams that helped start the reincarnation of the AFL came out of the deuce. The Spokane Shock, the banner franchise of the af2, now has an ArenaBowl title to hang in the rafters as well, while the Iowa Barnstormers remain as one of the better supported teams in the AFL. The rest of the teams that started in the af2 and moved to the AFL, such as the Alabama Vipers, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings, and Tulsa Talons, have all since been relocated to Atlanta, New Orleans, and San Antonio respectively. The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz have folded, while the Milwaukee Iron have rebranded into the Milwaukee Mustangs.

With the "af2," or some form of a developmental league on the horizon, one could assume that markets such as Birmingham, Shreveport, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa could be on deck for arena football franchises on the horizon. There is also a legitimate chance that some of the teams out of the IFL, PIFL, AIFA, and the likes could be joining this new developmental league. The Green Bay Blizzard for example, were an af2 franchise from 2003-09 before moving to the IFL, where they have been playing ever since.

It isn't unprecedented in sports to have teams switching from league to league, especially when new leagues are formed and old leagues are folded. In hockey, when the International Hockey League (IHL) folded up shop, a number of the teams went to leagues like the American Hockey League (AHL) and the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), and the last team to win an IHL championship, the Orlando Solar Bears, are making their return to the ice as an ECHL team this fall.

It would be quite interesting though, to see whether some of the top franchises from other leagues such as the Sioux Falls Storm, Tri-Cities Fever, and Albany Panthers could merge with Kurz and the new "af2" developmental league, especially knowing that in the past, Kurz has referred to these leagues as, "ankle biters."

Commissioner Kurz's interview on Friday night really brought up some great points that make it sound like the AFL and arena football as a whole are headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, two other black eyes marred the league at the same time.

One of the men that is deserving of being on the list of the Top 25 Wide Receivers in AFL history, a list that the league is scheduled to put out on Saturday, May 26th, Bobby Sippio was released from the Predators on Friday night. He had been benched for conduct detrimental to the team, but the final straw was his arrest and his charge for attempted murder. For more information on this story, please see our Friday night updates on Sippio's Arrest and Release.

The other bad news that came out of Friday night was in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Jerry DiPaola reports that labor problems are once again running rampant in the AFL. The Arena Football League Players Union (AFLPU) is certainly threatening a work stoppage once again. AFLPU Executive Director Ivan Soto told the Tribune-Review on Friday, "Without an interim agreement very soon, (a) work stoppage is definite."

It is clear that both sides have issues with the way that the other has been negotiating. Soto told ArenaFan on Saturday morning via e-mail, "(The League) has not been forthcoming with any financial information or relevant information." Soto also told the Tribune-Review, "We don't want a work stoppage, but the League has given us a take-it-or-leave-it offer that is about the same as Week 1."

ArenaFan has attempted to contact Commissioner Kurz and the League office, but has yet to get a response. Kurz did tell the Tribune-Review, "I thought we had been negotiating in good faith. I don't count (a strike threat) as very professional."

Since the infamous Week 1 disaster which saw the Predators and the Pittsburgh Power play with mostly replacement players, the AFLPU has been working towards getting a raise for the players along with getting a collective bargaining agreement put in place for the short-term through at least the rest of the season, but potentially further along than that. The players are fighting, not just for higher wages though, as there are other issues such as arbitration, travel expenses, insurance, and the likes that are being brought up in negotiations as well.

Various sources from the AFLPU suggested that a face-to-face meeting between the PU and Commissioner Kurz in Cleveland went well. This meeting took place in April. To see a clip from the AFLPU and their thoughts on how the meetings went, check out This YouTube Video, which shares plenty of information on the negotiations.

Unfortunately, it is clear that this is at a standstill as we speak. The players are searching for a raise to $625/game from the $400/game that they are currently making. Starting quarterbacks also get a $1,275/game bonus, while a win bonus of $50/game for all of the players on the active roster is still in play. The AFLPU has come down on its request from $1,200/game at the start of the negotiation process to that $625 number. A source told ArenaFan that each team would be looking at spending approximately another $20,000 for the rest of the season if the League were to agree to the requests of the AFLPU.

The stance of the league has not changed. The League offered the players a 25% raise to $500/game at the outset of the season, and this is the number that is reportedly still on the table for the AFLPU to vote upon. The PU is reportedly set to turn down this offer once again, which could create more tension in the days and weeks to come with the league.

Both Arena Football One LLC and the AFLPU have filed complaints against one another with the National Labor Relations Board for unfair negotiating and labor practices. To this point, there have been no advances for either side, as the NLRB has ruled against all of the appeals to date. If you are interested, the NLRB records are public, and can be found at the links below.

AFLPU vs. Arena Football One LLC (4/9/12)
AFLPU vs. Arena Football One LLC (4/27/12)
Arena Football One LLC vs. AFLPU (5/22/12)