It's now or never

Jeff Sims
Monday June 29, 2009

It is time for the Arena Football League to decide if it wants to operate in 2010.

The fans of this great game have waited long enough to see what is going to happen with their beloved league.

Press releases and anything else that you read are sure to lead you to believe that the league has a “business model” in place and is set to return for next season.  A little over a month ago, reports stated that the model was in place and all that had to happen was the model being presented and approved by the owners. Has there been an update on that? I have not seen anything since that report. That cannot be a good sign.

There are three good reasons why the AFL needs to make a decision NOW as to whether it will have a season and return in 2010.

The first reason is the players.

Here is group of guys that were dedicated to the league and had this season pulled out from under them with no understanding of why and what was happening to them. They were even willing to restructure their CBA Agreement to play this season to make sure nobody lost work.

Once the restructuring started and the season canceled, they were told that the free agency period would begin around April 1st. That was three months ago! They continue to be strung along and are now being informed that a decision will be made by July 15th. Does the league and its owners expect these guys to continue to wait around and “see what happens?”

Since AF2 put a rule in place prior to their season stating that any player under an AFL contract could not compete in their league in 2009 (the AFL and AF2 are separate entities), many have gone on to find new jobs outside of football to support their families while trying to find a way to stay in playing shape (Note that eight members from the 2008 Chicago Rush played with the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League this season for approximately $250 per game and went undefeated at 14 – 0 and won the league championship Saturday night.)

But where do they go from here? Will they still have the desire to play if the league returns? Do they move on with their lives or move on to AF2 where in 2010 it is rumored that salaries may increase if the AFL folds?

If most of the players choose not to return if the league does, this would leave the individual teams to fight with the other indoor leagues, the Canadian Football League, and the newly formed UFL for talent.  Even if the league has an answer by July 15th, it would be tough to go through free agency and have quality teams put together in time for 2010.

The second reason is for the league and the teams that plan to be involved in it.

While the corporate office, where most of the league business activity would happen, would be in place, the individual teams would have to staff their clubs. Almost all of the staff members, including General Managers and Head Coaches, employed by each team were let go after the league ceased operations for the year. Teams would have to fill these positions before even thinking about what players would be on their teams.

These would be important decisions as the ownership of each team and their front offices would have to be solid in managing their teams in order for the league to succeed once again.

Also to take into consideration is that once front office positions are filled, season tickets would need to be sold and the league promoted and marketed effectively for a successful return.

Taking all of these things into consideration, would this realistically be able to get done within six or seven months to start a season in 2010? I personally don’t think so, but others say it is a possibility.

The third reason that a decision needs to be made right away is the television scheduling.

ESPN looks to schedule their programming about six months in advance. Since they have a minority stake in the league, they obviously want to know if a season is going to be planned for 2010.

Like the players, ESPN was hung out to dry by the league when they ceased operations for this year. ESPN had planned to air 17 games plus playoffs in the second year of a five year contract. So they are putting the pressure on the decision makers as to whether there will be AFL football next season.

Even when ESPN bought into the league for 2008, I stated that it would be important for ESPN to market and promote the league and its players in a way that would help the league to prosper and have room to grow in the overpopulated sports landscape in America.

And it would even be more important now after a one year layoff and an attempt to re-emerge that the promotion and marketing the league and its players be done correctly.

The one good thing that the league would have going for it would be the love of football in this country and the name that the Arena Football League was able to develop in its first 23 years. Although they were small and growing, the league showed that it could get decent television ratings.

So if the Arena Football League is to resume operations in 2010, as it says it is going to do, and be SUCCESSFUL, the decision needs to be made now.

Or otherwise, it will be too late and the AFL will either have to wait another year and face even greater problems, or admit that the damage that was done is beyond repair and shut the lights for good.