US-based American football promoter Alliance of American Football (AAF) has emerged with an amount of funding reported by Axios as less than $10m, from investors including media companies Chernin Group and Macro Ventures.
Venture capital firms Founders Fund and Slow Ventures also contributed capital, as did entrepreneur Keith Rabois and former professional player Jared Allen.
AAF will operate an eight-team league that will play when the National Football League is on its off season. Fans will be able to stream matches through the league’s app and national television channel CBS will broadcast the games, which are due to start in February 2019.
The company is helmed by Charlie Ebersol, whose father Dick oversaw NFL and Super Bowl coverage as chairman of sports media unit NBC Sports in the 1990’s, before becoming a partner in the short-lived XFL when it was launched by WWE owner Vince McMahon in 2001.