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.
![[Subscription Customers Only] Jun 15, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Botafogo owner John Textor inside the stadium before the match during a group stage match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Lumen Field.](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USATSI_26465842_168416386_lowres-scaled.jpg?quality=100&w=1024)
![[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Chelsea FC midfielder Cole Palmer (10) celebrates winning the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USATSI_26636703-scaled-e1770932227605.jpg?quality=100&w=1024)
