A new football league, the Alliance of American Football, is set to launch after the Super Bowl in 2019 with eight teams of 50 players each.
Charlie Ebersol announced the league on Tuesday, which will be overseen by Hall of Famer Bill Polian and financed by Peter Theil and The Chernin Group, Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports reported. Dick Ebersol, Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, and Justin Tuck also will have involvement with the league.
CBS will air the first game and title game, with other games appearing on CBS Sports Network and the league’s app, NBC Sports said. Live fantasy play will be integrated into app broadcasts to tap into the 20 million people who currently play fantasy football.
One difference between Allliance games and the NFL is that kickoffs will be eliminated, NBC Sports said. Instead, teams will start on their own 25-yard line. Onside kicks may be attempted from the 35 yard line and require a 10 yard gain and keeping possession of the ball.
“There are 28,000 Division I football players,” Ebersol said on ESPN.com. “Only 1,700 have NFL jobs. We’re looking for those Kurt Warners working in grocery stores, and we think we will find them.”
The locations for the eight teams will be announced in the next three months and regional drafts will be held, ESPN reported. The games will have no TV timeouts and 60 percent fewer commercials.
Unlike the NFL, which does not have rules requiring players to stand for the national anthem, the Alliance of American Football will require any players on the field when the anthem is played to stand, but will allow players to remain off the field if they wish, the New York Daily News reported.
The Alliance plans to support charities and social justice issues important to players through community involvement, the Daily News said.
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