Had the Alliance of American Football survived past one season, the NFL might have owned a piece of the now-defunct league.
A complaint filed by the trustees overseeing the AAF’s bankruptcy against former AAF owner Tom Dundon highlights that the league and the NFL had a “binding term sheet” in place that would issue warrants for an NFL subsidiary to acquire a 15% stake in Ebersol Sports Media Group — the original owner of the AAF.
The warrants would give the NFL the option — but not the obligation — to buy that portion of the AAF for a previously agreed price before a set expiration date.
Under the term sheet, the AAF would also “spin out its technology development and products over time to a technology company that would provide the NFL access to those products.”
It all could have opened the door for the AAF to be an official developmental league for the NFL — but the former shuttered its operations in April 2019, two weeks before the end of its inaugural regular season.
Dundon — also the owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes — is being sued by the trustees for at least $184 million for shutting the league down when there were allegedly still financial alternatives to save it.
![[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 4, 2026; Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA; Byeong Hun An in action during the first round of play at LIV Golf Riyadh at the Riyadh Golf Club.](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/USATSI_28153283_168416386_lowres-scaled-e1776432703915.jpg?quality=100&w=1024)
