AFL IN A DEATH SPIRAL?

Amid rumors that Platinum Equity will not go through with its planned investment of up to $100 million in the Arena Football League, we’ve picked up strong indications from multiple sources that the AFL could soon be ceasing operations. Some team employees have been advised to find other work, we’re told. As one source with knowledge of the dynamics of the AFL explained it, the team owners are receiving little or no television revenue from the league’s partnership with ESPN. Likewise, the team owners don’t see much of the money that comes from sponsorships with the likes of ADT, Discover Card, and others. The owners also received no money, we’re told, from the EA Sports collaboration on an AFL video game, which already has been abandoned for 2009. Another source tells us that the AFL union has agreed to reduce the salary cap by a whopping 25 percent in order to keep the operation afloat. It’s unclear at this point how it will all end, but things currently aren’t looking good for the AFL. If Platinum Equity pulls out, then the 21-year-old AFL might have bounced its last football off an oversized vertical tennis net. The NFL has a strong presence in the AFL, with several NFL owners also owning AFL franchises. For example, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones owns the Dallas Desperadoes, and Falcons owner Arthur Blank owns the Atlanta Force. Also, Hall of Famer John Elway is part-owner of the Colorado Crush, along with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. Former Eagles quarterback and Monday Night Football analyst Ron Jaworski has a stake in the Philadelphia Soul, whose owners also include Jon Bon Jovi. With the dissolution of NFL Europa in 2007, the AFL became the primary minor league operation for the NFL. If the AFL disappears, the upstart UFL could benefit, both in the availability of coaches and front-office personnel and in the opportunity to become a genuine feeder system for the NFL.