All American Football League The All American Football League was a proposed professional American football league . The league , which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates , had originally been scheduled to start in the spring of 2007 , but later postponed its launch to the spring of 2008 , only to cancel its 2008 season a month before kickoff and suspend its launch until the next year . The league again postponed their launch each successive year , with the most recent postponement taking place in February 2010 ; despite that postponement stating the league ' s first game would take place in spring 2011 , as of spring 2011 there have been no further actions from the league , and it is assumed to be dead . League formation and structure . The All American Football League was a professional American football league premised on the rule that all of its players had to have a four - year university degree , as employees of the AAFL rather than of the franchises , with the league to pay each player an average compensation of approximately $ 100 , 000 to year - round player employees and $ 50 , 000 to season - only players to attract the best non - NFL players . The AAFL ' s inaugural draft took place on January 26 , 2008 , though it was effectively voided when the league canceled that season . Teams . For its proposed 2008 season , the AAFL established six franchises , all but one of which were located in the Southern United States ( Team Michigan being the lone exception ) . One of the more unusual features of the league was that the teams had no nicknames , being referred to as " Team Florida " , " Team Texas " , etc . The teams , which had hired coaches , drafted players , and contracted with stadiums to host games for 2008 were : None of these teams actually played a single game before the league announced it was relaunching . The league was unveiled at a press conference in New York City on July 26 , 2006 , with Cedric Dempsey , former president of the NCAA , as its Chairman . Before that , Dempsey was the longtime athletic director at the University of Arizona . The rest of the league ' s Board of Directors included various well - known sports and private industry individuals . The league signed agreements from a specific , manageable target list of football tradition - rich universities and prominent stadiums which would host games during the spring months . Each team drafted and / or signed players that graduated from the host state ' s universities . The AAFL draft took place on January 26 and 27 , 2008 . An AAFL release stated that a player " must , without exception , have earned a four - year degree or more advanced degree to be eligible to play in League games . " The release added that other players would be invited to try out " in the hopes that the opportunity will inspire them to complete their education " . With the demise of NFL Europa , the AAFL would compete with the Arena Football League and af2 for talent among spring football leagues . According to the Associated Press report of the league ' s formation , Dempsey had stated that AAFL players would earn about $ 100 , 000 a season , as compared to the $ 30 , 000 minimum paid by the Arena Football League . Moreover , the league , rather than the franchise owners , would pay the players and coaches in order to control spending . Later , however , the league announced that " During its initial season , most players will be paid $ 5 , 000 per game plus benefits , slightly higher than the salaries of the now defunct XFL . Six players on each team will be designated as franchise players , who will be eligible for an additional $ 50 , 000 per year . " The league announced a 10 - game season for 2008 , from April 12 to June 14 , with all six teams to play in one division during the first season . The teams with the second and third best records in the regular season would meet in a playoff for the right to face the number one team in a championship game to be played on July 3 , 2008 . The AAFL released its schedule in October , 2007 , with the April 12 , 2008 games consisting of Alabama at Florida ( at Jacksonville ) , Arkansas at Texas , and Michigan at Tennessee . The AAFL held its kickoff tryouts on July 2 – 3 , 2007 , in Orlando , Florida . On July 26 , tryouts were held in Birmingham , Alabama ; more followed in Little Rock , Arkansas ( August 18 ) ; Detroit , Michigan ( September 13 ) ; Tampa , Florida on October 12 ; Houston , Texas on October 24 and 25 ; and Knoxville , Tennessee ( December 6 and 7 ) . The AAFL had announced partnerships with New Balance , official supplier of on - field AAFL team apparel ; Schutt Sports , official supplier of helmets and protective equipment ; Baden , official supplier of AAFL footballs ; Rogers Athletic Company , official supplier of football equipment ; and the NFL Officiating Department , which will provide officiating support . Postponement of inaugural season . On March 13 , 2008 , the league announced that the 2008 season would not take place , and expressed hope that the league might play in 2009 . The AAFL website issued a statement that " The All American Football League ( AAFL ) announced today the postponement of its inaugural season until 2009 . The League will continue to build upon the foundation that has been established , and will continue to discuss opportunities with potential investors . AAFL sponsors have committed to remain on board for the 2009 season . Currently , the League has corporate partnerships with New Balance , Baden Sports and Rogers Athletic . Also still in place for the 2009 season are a national radio partnership with Touchdown Radio & SportsDay Productions , and an internet broadcast partnership with PlayOn ! Sports , a division of Turner Broadcasting . " Keenan Davis , Vice - president of league operations and Chief Operating Officer said that " We are so very fortunate to have built partnerships with companies who are partners in the truest sense of the word . We sincerely appreciate their support as we progress toward our new goal of a 2009 inaugural season . " The league press release added that " All fans who have purchased tickets to 2008 AAFL games will receive a full refund . Credit cards will be credited and any checks received will be returned . " The " Houston Business Journal " reported that Team Texas had sold only 250 season tickets , and that team president Mike Pede had announced that the ten employees of Team Texas would be laid off and would " receive severance depending on their length of time with the organization " . The league had announced one week earlier that the league was considering a postponement of its season , stating that " Since inception , the League ' s finances have been indirectly tied to the $ 300 billion federally guaranteed student loan asset backed securities market . In August , the sub prime mortgage crisis began spreading into other sectors such as municipal bonds and federally guaranteed student loans . The situation , which was considered to be temporary at the time , has continued to worsen . Despite the fact that the Federal Reserve has repeatedly lowered interest rates during this financial crisis , their efforts have not yet restored liquidity in many asset backed markets , including municipal bonds and student loans . " All players signed to AAFL teams were immediately released and were free to sign elsewhere . Cessation of operations . The league has remained virtually silent since the March 2008 announcement . The only action known to have been taken by the league was a March 2009 announcement on the league Web site ( the previous version of which was taken down at that time ) stating that the league was aiming for a spring 2010 launch , with new host markets . In February 2010 , after another prolonged silence from the league , the league ' s Webmaster changed the number 2010 to 2011 but left everything else unchanged . There have been no updates on the situation since , and the spring 2011 mark ( which remains on the AAFL Web site ) has since passed with no actions . Television and radio . The AAFL draft was broadcast live on the league ' s website , and on several stations . A national radio contract with Sirius Satellite Radio has been announced . League President Confirms Sirius Deal and talks about possible TV deals , along with a radio broadcast deal for all games produced by Touchdown Radio Productions ( a college football syndication service ) and distributed through the American Forces Network and Sports Byline USA . The league had been trying to secure a national television contract but was reportedly unable to do so prior to their postponement of the inaugural season , part of the reason why the league chose not to play the 2008 season . After the cancellation , the league said they had reached an agreement in principle with NFL Network to carry games . Board of directors . A diverse group of leaders from within intercollegiate athletics that served on the Board of Directors : AAFL Draft . The AAFL Draft took place in Atlanta on Saturday , January 26 , 2008 . The first player selected overall was Zarah Yisrael , offensive lineman from Troy University , who was picked by Team Arkansas . The 2001 Heisman Trophy award winner Eric Crouch was selected with the third pick by Team Texas . Under the draft rules , each team was permitted to designate a number of " protected " players from schools within their area . Thus , Team Florida listed , as protected , former Gators ' quarterback Chris Leak , as well as players from Florida colleges . Team Texas could put players from Texas schools on its list . The downside to listing a large number of players as " protected " was that they forfeited a few picks early in the draft . Each team had a total of 50 picks ; the protected players counted against this number , and were counted as having been selected in the middle rounds .