AAF: New pro football league, the Alliance of American Football, kicks off Saturday
The Alliance of American Football is the latest attempt to feed the massive appetite for football in the spring.
The AAF kicks off Saturday with two games (both being televised by CBS) at 8 p.m. ET: Atlanta Legends at Orlando Apollos and San Diego Fleet at San Antonio Commanders.
In all, there are eight teams playing a 10-game regular-season schedule. The league championship game will be held on April 27, which also happens to be the final day of the 2019 NFL draft.
The new pro football league features a number of familiar names to NFL fans. Former NFL GM Bill Polian is the league's head of football. Former Pittsburgh Steelers players Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward are head of player relations and head of football development, respectively. Former NFL vice presidents of officiating Dean Blandino and Mike Pereira are officiating consultants. Charlie Ebersol, son of retired NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol, is co-founder and CEO of the AAF.
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Some major rules differences from the NFL include:
♦ No kickoffs or extra point attempts. Teams must attempt two-point conversions. Possessions will start at the 25-yard line. There also are no onside kicks; instead, a team can attempt a play from scrimmage from their own 28-yard line and need to gain at least 12 yards.
♦ No television timeouts.
♦ A 35-second play clock (the NFL employs a 40-second play clock).
♦ Coaches get two challenges; no challenges, however, in final two minutes of each half.
♦ Overtime will be one possession for each team from their opponent's 10-yard line. No field goal attempts can be made.
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TEAMS
Eastern Conference
ATLANTA LEGENDS
Home stadium: Georgia State Stadium
Coach: Kevin Coyle
Notable players: QB Aaron Murray, QB Matt Simms
BIRMINGHAM IRON
Home stadium: Legion Field
Coach: Tim Lewis
Notable players: RB Trent Richardson, LB Xzavier Dickson, CB Chris Davis, K Nick Novak
MEMPHIS EXPRESS
Home stadium: Liberty Bowl
Coach: Mike Singletary
Notable players: QB Christian Hackenberg, QB Zach Mettenberger, RB Zac Stacy
ORLANDO APOLLOS
Home stadium: Spectrum Stadium
Coach: Steve Spurrier
Notable players: QB Austin Appleby, WR Charles Johnson, CB LaDarius Gunter
Western Conference
ARIZONA HOTSHOTS
Home stadium: Sun Devil Stadium
Coach: Rick Neuheisel
Notable players: QB Trevor Knight, WR Josh Huff, DT Will Sutton, LB Scooby Wright, DB Rahim Moore, K Nick Folk
SALT LAKE STALLIONS
Home stadium: Rice–Eccles Stadium
Coach: Dennis Erickson
Notable players: QB Josh Woodrum, RB Branden Oliver, WR Dres Anderson, WR Kaelin Clay
SAN ANTONIO COMMANDERS
Home stadium: Alamodome
Coach: Mike Riley
Notable players: QB Dustin Vaughan, RB Aaron Green, DB Zack Sanchez
SAN DIEGO FLEET
Home stadium: SDCCU Stadium
Coach: Mike Martz
Notable players: QB Mike Bercovici, WR Nelson Spruce, TE Gavin Escobar, DE Damontre Moore
GAME SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern)
WEEK 1
Saturday, February 9
Atlanta at Orlando, 8 p.m. (CBS)
San Diego at San Antonio, 8 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, February 10
Memphis at Birmingham, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Salt Lake at Arizona, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 2
Saturday, February 16
Salt Lake at Birmingham, 2 p.m. (TNT)
Arizona at Memphis, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, February 17
Orlando at San Antonio, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Atlanta at San Diego, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 3
Saturday, February 23
Arizona at Salt Lake, 3 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
Memphis at Orlando, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, February 24
Birmingham at Atlanta, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
San Antonio at San Diego, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 4
Saturday, March 2
Orlando at Salt Lake, 4 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
San Diego at Memphis, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, March 3
San Antonio at Birmingham, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Atlanta at Arizona, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 5
Saturday, March 9
Orlando at Birmingham, 2 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
Salt Lake at San Diego, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, March 10
Memphis at Atlanta, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
San Antonio at Arizona, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 6
Saturday, March 16
Memphis at Salt Lake, 4 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
Arizona at Orlando, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, March 17
San Antonio at Atlanta, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Birmingham at San Diego, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 7
Saturday, March 23
Orlando at Atlanta, 3 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
Salt Lake at San Antonio, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, March 24
San Diego at Arizona, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Birmingham at Memphis, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 8
Saturday, March 30
Orlando at Memphis, 2 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
San Diego at Salt Lake, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, March 31
Atlanta at Birmingham, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Arizona at San Antonio, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 9
Saturday, April 6
Memphis at San Antonio, 4 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
San Diego at Orlando, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, April 7
Salt Lake at Atlanta, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Birmingham at Arizona, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
WEEK 10
Friday, April 12
San Antonio at Salt Lake, 8 p.m. (B/R LIVE)
Saturday, April 13
Atlanta at Memphis, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, April 14
Birmingham at Orlando, 3:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Arizona at San Diego, 8 p.m. (NFL Network)
PLAYOFFS
Saturday, April 20
Semifinal
Sunday, April 21
Semifinal
Saturday, April 27
Championship game
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