The messy implosion of the Alliance of American Football continues.
The AAF is now refusing to allow players under contract to the defunct league to sign with CFL teams, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Apparently, the AAF views the contracts as league assets that, in theory, can be sold, as the AAF tries to raise money in order to pay its many debts via bankruptcy proceedings.
Sold to whom, you ask? To the CFL, apparently.
It’s unclear why the AAF didn’t take that position as to the NFL. The AAF affirmatively released all players to sign with NFL clubs on April 4.
Regardless of any legal niceties, this will become another P.R. disaster for a league that has essentially breached all player contracts by shutting down. Of course, P.R. is the least of the concerns for those who may find themselves personally on the hook for liabilities incurred by a league that lacked proper funding to conclude a full season.
For them, the goal becomes raising as much money as possible, even if that means taking unpopular and/or unwarranted positions that likely will be immediately challenged in court, adding to the burgeoning docket of lawsuits that will last far longer than the league’s only season did.