2019 AAF season
The 2019 AAF season was the only season in the history of the Alliance of American Football, which began on February 9, 2019. A ten-week regular season was scheduled for each of the league's eight teams.
On April 2, multiple sources indicated that Thomas Dundon, controlling owner of the AAF, had followed through on threats made in the previous week and suspended the AAF's operations, against the will of its founders. By the end of the week, the AAF front office had confirmed the suspension of operations and allowed players to opt-out of their contracts to sign with other leagues. The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019.
At the time the season ended, eight out of ten scheduled weeks had been played, and the Orlando Apollos, with a league best 7–1 record two games ahead of its nearest competitors, had clinched no less than a share of the regular season's best record, regardless of how the rest of the schedule would have played out. A four-team playoff was scheduled to start on April 21, with a championship game on April 27. Initially scheduled for Sam Boyd Stadium on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, the title game was moved to the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, before the league ceased operations.
Teams
The Alliance of American Football had eight teams competing during its inaugural season.Final standings
The Orlando Apollos clinched a playoff berth on March 24, and top seed in the Eastern Conference on March 30. The Birmingham Iron clinched a playoff berth on March 31.Schedule
Each team had a ten-game regular season schedule, consisting of six in-conference games and four out-of-conference games. Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 9 were scheduled with out-of-conference games. Each team played one preseason exhibition game against an out-of-conference opponent. All of the preseason scrimmage games were held January 27–28 at the Alamodome, in conjunction with the league's training camp.Playoffs
Following the 10-week regular season, the top two teams in each conference were due to face each other in conference championship games, hosted by the higher seeded team. These semifinals were scheduled for April 21. The winners would then meet in the league championship game on April 27 at a neutral site. Originally, the title game had been set for Sam Boyd Stadium near Las Vegas, Nevada announced October 23, 2018 , but was changed to Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on March 20, 2019, before the season was ended.Attendance
Announced attendance figures for each home game. In the weekly columns, dashes indicate away games, while bold font indicates the highest attendance of each team. Games marked "N/A" were not played.| Team / Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total | Average |
| San Antonio Commanders | 27,857 | 29,176 | — | — | — | — | 30,345 | 23,504 | — | ' | ||
| Orlando Apollos | 20,191 | — | 20,394 | — | — | 18,358 | — | — | ' | |||
| San Diego Fleet | — | 20,019 | 14,789 | — | 20,823 | 20,986 | — | — | — | ' | ||
| Birmingham Iron | 17,039 | 17,319 | — | 6,539 | 13,310 | — | — | 17,328 | — | — | ' | |
| Memphis Express | — | 11,980 | — | 13,621 | — | — | 13,758 | 12,417 | — | ' | ||
| Atlanta Legends | — | — | 10,717 | — | 10,829 | 10,619 | 11,416 | — | — | ' | ||
| Arizona Hotshots | 11,751 | — | — | 8,865 | 9,351 | — | 9,760 | — | — | ' | ||
| Salt Lake Stallions | — | — | 10,412 | 9,302 | — | 8,150 | — | 8,405 | — | ' | ||
| Total | 76,838 | 78,494 | 56,312 | 38,327 | 54,313 | 58,113 | 65,279 | 61,654 | ||||
| Average | 19,210 | 19,624 | 14,078 | 9,582 | 13,578 | 14,528 | 16,320 | 15,414 |
Source:
Awards
Players of the week
Statistical leaders
Records reflect statistics through the eight regular season games played by all teams.| Type | Statistic | Qty | Player | Team |
| Passing | Yards | 2,152 | Garrett Gilbert | Orlando Apollos |
| Passing | Touchdowns | 14 | John Wolford | Arizona Hotshots |
| Passing | Interceptions | 9 | Mike Bercovici | San Diego Fleet |
| Rushing | Yards | 431 | Jhurell Pressley | Arizona Hotshots |
| Rushing | Touchdowns | 11 | Trent Richardson | Birmingham Iron |
| Rushing | Longest run | 83 | Ja'Quan Gardner | San Diego Fleet |
| Rushing | Fumbles | 6 | Josh Woodrum | Salt Lake Stallions |
| Receiving | Yards | 687 | Charles Johnson | Orlando Apollos |
| Receiving | Touchdowns | 7 | Rashad Ross | Arizona Hotshots |
| Receiving | Receptions | 45 | Charles Johnson | Orlando Apollos |
| Receiving | Longest reception | 83 | L'Damian Washington | Birmingham Iron |
| Defense | Tackles | 52 | DeMarquis Gates | Memphis Express |
| Defense | Sacks | 7.5 | Jayrone Elliott | San Antonio Commanders |
| Defense | Interceptions | 4 | Ryan Moeller De'Vante Bausby Kameron Kelly | San Diego Fleet San Antonio Commanders San Diego Fleet |
| Special Teams | Field Goals made | 14 | Nick Rose Younghoe Koo Donny Hageman Elliott Fry | San Antonio Commanders Atlanta Legends San Diego Fleet Orlando Apollos |
| Special Teams | Longest Field Goal | 55 | Nick Folk | Arizona Hotshots |
| Special Teams | Punting yards | 2,024 | Colton Schmidt | Birmingham Iron |
| Special Teams | Longest Punt | 69 | Joseph Zema | San Antonio Commanders |
Officials
The league used the eight-official system, also seen in NCAA college football. There were six officiating crews, staffed with officials from FBS conferences.The officiating crews included one former NFL official—Jimmy DeBell, a back judge on the Smith crew—and three former NFL players: Nate Jones, Terry Killens, and Mike Morton.
Broadcasting
, Turner Sports and NFL Network served as the Alliance's broadcast partners for the 2019 season. The CBS Sports deal was announced at the time the league launched, while the Turner Sports and NFL Network contracts were announced less than two weeks before the season began.- CBS Sports carried the two inaugural games regionally via the CBS broadcast network, and was due to carry the championship game broadcast nationwide on the same network. CBS later added one conference championship game and one Week 9 regular season game to their schedule, neither of which was played. CBS Sports Network carried a game of the week on Sunday afternoons.
- The Turner Sports contract included one regular season game and a conference championship game on TNT, and a Saturday afternoon game of the week on Bleacher Report's live streaming service, B/R Live. The network had the option to change which service it broadcast its games on, with TNT adding three midseason Saturday afternoon games from B/R Live. Had the league survived the full season, B/R Live would have carried a Sunday afternoon game for Week 9, swapping a game with CBS. In Week 10, B/R Live was due to carry the league's one game of the season scheduled for a Friday.
- NFL Network carried the remainder of the league's games, a Saturday night game and a Sunday night game each week.
Viewership
| Broadcaster | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total | Average |
| CBS | 3.3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ' | |
| NFL Network | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | DNR | DNR | > | < |
| NFL Network | — | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | DNR | DNR | DNR | DNR | > | < |
| TNT | — | 1.0 | — | — | 0.5 | — | 0.3 | 0.5 | ' | |
| Total | > | |||||||||
| Average | < |
One decimal place is shown in table but three decimal places are used in all calculations. None of CBS Sports Network's broadcasts register in the Nielsen Ratings and thus viewership estimates for those games are not available.
Local radio coverage
Each AAF team had a local radio partner, and Sirius XM Radio carried a game of the week package.Signees to other professional leagues
NFL
On April 4, the AAF announced players could leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams following the reported suspension of league football operations. The following 99 players signed with NFL teams:| Player | Position | AAF team | Date | NFL team | Ref. |
| Garrett Gilbert | QB | Orlando Apollos | April 5 | Cleveland Browns | |
| Keith Reaser | CB | Orlando Apollos | April 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| Derron Smith | FS | San Antonio Commanders | April 5 | Minnesota Vikings | |
| Duke Thomas | CB | San Antonio Commanders | April 5 | Minnesota Vikings | |
| Parker Collins | OT | Atlanta Legends | April 5 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Kitt O'Brien | G | Birmingham Iron | April 5 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Alex Barrett | DE | San Diego Fleet | April 5 | Oakland Raiders | |
| J. C. Hassenauer | C | Birmingham Iron | April 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Jack Tocho | FS | Birmingham Iron | April 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Damontre Moore | DE | San Diego Fleet | April 5 | San Francisco 49ers | |
| Rashad Ross | WR | Arizona Hotshots | April 8 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Brandon Greene | OT | Birmingham Iron | April 8 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Thomas Duarte | TE | Arizona Hotshots | April 8 | Carolina Panthers | |
| T. J. Barnes | DT | Atlanta Legends | April 8 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Andrew Lauderdale | OT | Arizona Hotshots | April 8 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Jeremiah Poutasi | G | Salt Lake Stallions | April 8 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Logan Woodside | QB | San Antonio Commanders | April 8 | Tennessee Titans | |
| Keith Towbridge | TE | Atlanta Legends | April 8 | Tennessee Titans | |
| De'Vante Bausby | CB | San Antonio Commanders | April 8 | Denver Broncos | |
| Winston Craig | DT | San Antonio Commanders | April 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| J. T. Jones | DE | Atlanta Legends | April 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Kameron Kelly | CB | San Diego Fleet | April 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Andrew Ankrah | LB | Orlando Apollos | April 8 | Washington Redskins | |
| Salesi Uhatafe | G | Salt Lake Stallions | April 8 | Washington Redskins | |
| De'Mornay Pierson-El | WR | Salt Lake Stallions | April 8 | Oakland Raiders | |
| Shakir Soto | DT | San Diego Fleet | April 8 | Dallas Cowboys | |
| Luis Perez | QB | Birmingham Iron | April 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | |
| Greg Ward Jr. | WR | San Antonio Commanders | April 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | |
| Charles Johnson | WR | Orlando Apollos | April 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | |
| Michael Dunn | G | Birmingham Iron | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Jayrone Elliott | LB | San Antonio Commanders | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Kenneth Farrow | RB | San Antonio Commanders | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Jaryd Jones-Smith | OT | San Antonio Commanders | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Tyrone Holmes | LB | San Antonio Commanders | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Reece Horn | WR | Memphis Express | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Joey Mbu | DT | San Antonio Commanders | April 9 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Karter Schult | DE | Salt Lake Stallions | April 9 | Minnesota Vikings | |
| Cole Mazza | LS | Birmingham Iron | April 9 | Los Angeles Chargers | |
| Casey Sayles | DE | Birmingham Iron | April 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Brandon Silvers | QB | Memphis Express | April 10 | New York Jets | |
| Cody Brown | SS | Salt Lake Stallions | April 10 | Jacksonville Jaguars | |
| Orion Stewart | FS | San Antonio Commanders | April 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Greer Martini | LB | Salt Lake Stallions | April 10 | Minnesota Vikings | |
| Jordan Martin | FS | San Diego Fleet | April 10 | Minnesota Vikings | |
| John Wolford | QB | Arizona Hotshots | April 10 | Los Angeles Rams | |
| Henre' Toliver | CB | Salt Lake Stallions | April 11 | New York Giants | |
| DeMarquis Gates | LB | Memphis Express | April 11 | Washington Redskins | |
| Daniel Brunskill | OT | San Diego Fleet | April 12 | San Francisco 49ers | |
| Elliott Fry | K | Orlando Apollos | April 12 | Chicago Bears | |
| Chris Odom | DE | Salt Lake Stallions | April 16 | Atlanta Falcons | |
| Brant Weiss | OT | Arizona Hotshots | April 16 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Josh Woodrum | QB | Salt Lake Stallions | April 18 | Washington Redskins | |
| Trey Johnson | CB | Birmingham Iron | April 18 | Denver Broncos | |
| Mike Purcell | DT | Salt Lake Stallions | April 22 | Denver Broncos | |
| Ishmael Hyman | WR | Orlando Apollos | April 25 | Cleveland Browns | |
| Jeremiah Kolone | OG | San Diego Fleet | April 29 | Los Angeles Rams | |
| Taylor Bertolet | K | Salt Lake Stallions | April 29 | Denver Broncos | |
| Marcus Baugh | TE | San Diego Fleet | April 30 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Cole Hunt | TE | San Antonio Commanders | April 30 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Ryan Winslow | P | Memphis Express | May 2 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Aaron Adeoye | LB | Birmingham Iron | May 6 | Baltimore Ravens | |
| Terrell Bonds | CB | Memphis Express | May 6 | Baltimore Ravens | |
| Jalin Marshall | WR | Orlando Apollos | May 7 | Oakland Raiders | |
| Jamar Summers | CB | Birmingham Iron | May 12 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Bug Howard | TE | Atlanta Legends | May 13 | Denver Broncos | |
| Greg Gilmore | DT | Memphis Express | May 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
| Colton Jumper | LB | Memphis Express | May 13 | New Orleans Saints | |
| D'Ernest Johnson | RB | Orlando Apollos | May 16 | Cleveland Browns | |
| Tony Adams | C | Atlanta Legends | May 16 | Miami Dolphins | |
| Austin Larkin | LB | San Antonio Commanders | May 29 | Atlanta Falcons | |
| Sione Teuhema | LB | Arizona Hotshots | June 11 | Carolina Panthers | |
| Montay Crockett | WR | Atlanta Legends | June 11 | Oakland Raiders | |
| Jordan McCray | C | Orlando Apollos | June 13 | Chicago Bears | |
| Obum Gwacham | DE | Arizona Hotshots | June 13 | Indianapolis Colts | |
| Mark Myers | CB | Orlando Apollos | June 13 | New York Jets | |
| Austin Traylor | TE | Salt Lake Stallions | July 22 | Detroit Lions | |
| Daniel Williams | WR | Memphis Express | July 24 | Seattle Seahawks | |
| Isaiah Williams | OG | Atlanta Legends | July 26 | Baltimore Ravens | |
| Amba Etta-Tawo | WR | Birmingham Iron | July 27 | New York Giants | |
| Hugh Thornton | OG | Arizona Hotshots | July 31 | Washington Redskins | |
| Scott Orndoff | TE | Orlando Apollos | July 31 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Chris Thompson | WR | Orlando Apollos | August 3 | San Francisco 49ers | |
| Wes Saxton | TE | Birmingham Iron | August 3 | Seattle Seahawks | |
| Tracy Sprinkle | DT | Atlanta Legends | August 3 | Cleveland Browns | |
| Matt Simms | QB | Atlanta Legends | August 3 | Atlanta Falcons | |
| Nick Truesdell | TE | Salt Lake Stallions | August 4 | New York Jets | |
| Malcolm Bunche | OG | Arizona Hotshots | August 5 | New York Giants | |
| Davis Tull | LB | Memphis Express | August 9 | Jacksonville Jaguars | |
| Brandon Barnes | TE | Memphis Express | August 9 | Oakland Raiders | |
| Justin Stockton | RB | Arizona Hotshots | August 10 | Detroit Lions | |
| Akeem Hunt | RB | Orlando Apollos | August 10 | Tennessee Titans | |
| Demetrius Rhaney | C | Memphis Express | August 10 | Buffalo Bills | |
| Ben Johnson | TE | San Diego Fleet | August 14 | Los Angeles Chargers | |
| Cameron Nizialek | P | Atlanta Legends | August 17 | Baltimore Ravens | |
| Scooby Wright | LB | Arizona Hotshots | August 25 | New England Patriots | |
| Siupeli Anau | NT | Arizona Hotshots | August 26 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Jacob Ohnesorge | C | Arizona Hotshots | August 27 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Younghoe Koo | K | Atlanta Legends | October 4 | New England Patriots | |
| Nick Folk | K | Arizona Hotshots | October 30 | New England Patriots |
Nine players who were under contract with AAF teams at the time the league ceased operations made initial NFL 53-man active rosters on August 31, 2019: offensive tackle Brandon Greene with the Carolina Panthers, quarterback Garrett Gilbert and running back D'Ernest Johnson with the Cleveland Browns, cornerback De'Vante Bausby and defensive tackle Mike Purcell with the Denver Broncos, long snapper Cole Mazza with the Los Angeles Chargers, kicker Taylor Bertolet with the New York Jets, cornerback Kameron Kelly with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and offensive tackle Daniel Brunskill with the San Francisco 49ers.
CFL
The following players signed with Canadian Football League teams:| Player | Position | AAF team | Date | CFL team | Ref. |
| Terrance Plummer | LB | Orlando Apollos | April 4 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Kennan Gilchrist | LB | Salt Lake Stallions | April 17 | Toronto Argonauts | |
| Daniel Braverman | WR | San Antonio Commanders | April 17 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| David Dean | DT | Atlanta Legends | April 23 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Leon Johnson | OT | Salt Lake Stallions | April 26 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| Josh Stewart | WR | San Antonio Commanders | April 29 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |
| Shay Fields | WR | San Diego Fleet | April 29 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| Nick Temple | LB | San Antonio Commanders | April 30 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |
| Kevin Anderson | QB | Orlando Apollos | April 30 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |
| Dylan Wynn | DT | Arizona Hotshots | May 8 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Josh Huff | WR | Arizona Hotshots | May 8 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| Chris Martin | OT | Orlando Apollos | May 8 | Ottawa Redblacks | |
| Jeremy Faulk | DE | Birmingham Iron | May 10 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
| Avery Young | OT | Birmingham Iron | May 13 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Darnell Leslie | LB | San Antonio Commanders | May 14 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Meffy Koloamatangi | DE | San Diego Fleet | May 15 | BC Lions | |
| Brett Boyko | OT | San Diego Fleet | May 16 | BC Lions | |
| Jonathan Massaquoi | DL | Birmingham Iron | May 17 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| Shaheed Salmon | LB | Birmingham Iron | May 19 | Ottawa Redblacks | |
| Quan Bray | WR | Birmingham Iron | May 19 | Montreal Alouettes | |
| Antonio Simmons | DE | Atlanta Legends | May 20 | Montreal Alouettes | |
| Marquis Bundy | WR | Arizona Hotshots | May 20 | BC Lions | |
| Freddie Bishop | LB | Memphis Express | May 22 | Toronto Argonauts | |
| Ciante Evans | CB | Salt Lake Stallions | May 22 | Montreal Alouettes | |
| Latarius Brady | DT | Memphis Express | May 23 | Montreal Alouettes | |
| Jordan Leslie | WR | Salt Lake Stallions | May 23 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Rannell Hall | WR | Orlando Apollos | May 26 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |
| Travis Feeney | LB | San Diego Fleet | May 29 | Montreal Alouettes | |
| Jake Bennett | C | Salt Lake Stallions | June 28 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
| Earl Okine | DE | Orlando Apollos | July 14 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
| Da'Sean Downey | LB | Arizona Hotshots | July 21 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| Anthony Johnson | DE | Memphis Express | August 13 | Calgary Stampeders | |
| Channing Stribling | CB | Memphis Express | September 23 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Shaquille Richardson | CB | Arizona Hotshots | October 15 | Toronto Argonauts | |
| Bishop Sankey | RB | San Diego Fleet | October 24 | Toronto Argonauts |
The AAF reportedly blocked AAF players from signing with CFL teams, claiming their AAF contracts were "assets in potential bankruptcy proceedings." Plummer, Gilchrist, and Braverman had signed contracts with AAF teams, but had not yet been activated to the roster from their respective teams' rights lists at the time that the AAF suspended football operations. By April 18, CFL players were allowed to sign AAF players.
AFL
The following players signed with Arena Football League teams:| Player | Position | AAF team | Date | AFL team | Ref. |
| Dwayne Hollis | CB | Atlanta Legends | April 6 | Philadelphia Soul | |
| Joe Powell | S | Birmingham Iron | April 7 | Baltimore Brigade | |
| Anthony Amos | WR | Arizona Hotshots | April 8 | Columbus Destroyers | |
| Daronte Bouldin | G | Memphis Express | April 8 | Columbus Destroyers | |
| Ervin Philips | WR | Atlanta Legends | April 10 | Baltimore Brigade | |
| Malachi Jones | WR | Atlanta Legends | April 10 | Albany Empire | |
| Darius Prince | WR | San Antonio Commanders | April 13 | Philadelphia Soul | |
| Giorgio Newberry | DE | Orlando Apollos | April 15 | Washington Valor | |
| Jordan Thomas | CB | San Antonio Commanders | April 17 | Columbus Destroyers | |
| Antonio Guerad | DT | Orlando Apollos | May 8 | Albany Empire | |
| Saqwan Edwards | CB | Arizona Hotshots | May 8 | Baltimore Brigade | |
| Trenton Thompson | DT | Arizona Hotshots | May 9 | Washington Valor | |
| Fred Lauina | OG | San Antonio Commanders | May 13 | Philadelphia Soul | |
| Tuni Kanuch | OG | Salt Lake Stallions | May 14 | Columbus Destroyers |
Wide receiver Malachi Jones received first-team All-Arena, Receiver of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year honors at the conclusion of the 2019 AFL season, which was also the AFL’s final season before shutting down afterwards. Wide receiver Fabian Guerra was named co-Rookie of the Year as well.
NAL
The following three players signed with National Arena League teams:| Player | Position | AAF team | Date | NAL team | Ref. |
| Corey Crawford | DE | Memphis Express | April 3 | Carolina Cobras | |
| Fabian Guerra | WR | Memphis Express | April 9 | Carolina Cobras | |
| Tre' Jackson | OG | Orlando Apollos | May 17 | Massachusetts Pirates |