The ailing Alliance of American Football (AAF) has suspended operations ahead of Week 9. It has not yet officially closed down permanently, but the possibility of this happening is now very real.
The feeling that the AAF was on its way out was already strong during the past few weeks. This after majority owner Tom Dundon complained about the NFL Players Association not releasing practice squad players to the AAF.
“We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league,” was one of his comments. Putting this together with the latest suspension clearly meant one thing for New Jersey’s 13 sportsbooks and Casinos.
If they had not already done so, that would be to immediately remove all AAF odds from their wagering menus.
They did it for Week 8 when reports first began circulating about trouble in the AAF. Some betting options were restored briefly and some futures bets still remained until now, but no more.
Betting odds disappeared from NJ sportsbooks
There was no sign of any today and even the word AAF had disappeared from the betting menus of sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, SugarHouse, BetStars, 888sports, and Williams Hill.
This news will clearly upset punters who have laid bets on AAF matches, but for them the news is good. As far as is known, all New Jersey sportsbooks will be refunding any bets made on AAF activities.
This will include all futures bets. However, it may be a good idea if punters check with their betting operators to see if this will apply.
For most staffers of the Alliance of American Football, the suspension news is bleak. According to a report by Associated Press, the posts of most of them will be terminated this week. AP said employees were notified of the terminations in a letter from the Dundon-dominated AAF Board.
Terminations made “after careful consideration”
The letter, a copy of which AP had in its possession, said the suspension was made “after careful consideration.”
The letter also said that small numbers of staff would remain to look for new investment capital to “restructure” the business.
“Should those efforts prove successful, we look forward to working with many of you on season two,” it added
AAF co-founder Bill Polian confirmed he’d been told football operations had been suspended and said he was “extremely disappointed.”
He said the AAF was heading for “a tremendous run of success”.
“Our football’s gotten better, and that’s a tremendous tribute to the coaches and players and GMs. This also applied, he said, to the front office staff and all the other people who have done a phenomenal job.”
When asked why the AAF was closing down, Polian said he’d heard it was “about the money. That’s all.”
