New Year, New League

Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Justin Tuck and Jared Allen are gearing up for football season. These retired NFL stars are executives in the Alliance of American Football (AAF), a new football league that is starting play on February 9, a week after the Super Bowl. Despite the season starting soon, not much is known about the AAF.

According to their website, The AAF is a league that will showcase former college football players and players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The goal of the AAF is to help the players through bonuses, health insurance and college scholarships. Any AAF player will have the ability to join the NFL if a team signs them.

The AAF is going to feature teams in areas that are less covered by other professional sports. The teams are the Atlanta Legends, the Birmingham Iron, the Orlando Apollos, the Memphis Express, the San Antonio Commanders, the Arizona Hotshots, the Salt Lake City Stallions and the San Diego Fleet. The coaches are former players and/or coaches in the NCAA or NFL.

It remains to be seen how much success the league will have. Previous lower tier football leagues, like the XFL have failed to garner attention. Other leagues like the CFL, however, were able to find success. With a lot of former NFL players and executives supporting this league, the AAF has a shot at satisfying the public's desire for more football after the Super Bowl, especially after a low excitement Super Bowl 53.