Sad that the NFL season is over? Then you haven’t heard of the new football league that is taking the world by storm. The Alliance of American Football league, or AAF, kicked of its inaugural season in 2019.  The league consists of eight teams competing in a ten-game regular season. The playoffs in April 2019 will determine the best two teams, and they will play for the championship.

The AAF was created in 2019 for the sole purpose of complimenting the NFL during the offseason, with some slightly differing rules. AAF rules include: no kickoffs, no extra points, and a shortened play clock. The new rules were established to oppose injury concerns and to accelerate the game. The only safety the league allows are the hits players can give the quarterback. One such example of these new regulations include San Antonio’s huge hit on the San Diego fleets’ quarterback. The play knocked the quarterback’s helmet off and would have been a for-sure penalty in the NFL.

On the AAF’s opening day, Febuary 9 2019, the games began. Afterwards, fans praised the new league. Some fans even went to say that these games were more exciting then Super Bowl 53. After Week One the viewer ratings were way up from what they expected, with an average of three million viewers per game. It’s gotten so popular that the Birmingham Iron has a sold out game in Week Two at Legion Field. Legion Field holds over 70,000 people.

The AAF has made noise due to the highlights and big names in the league, such as Trent Richardson, who was taken in the first round a couple years back. Richardson rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Johnson, the Redskins quarterback for the 2018 season, is also considering joining. Even controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick is considering joining the AAF.

With the first month complete, expect viewership to increase even more. The highlights have blown up on sources such as SportsCenter and Instagram. The games are exciting to watch, and, if you’re not an NBA or college basketball fan this may be the perfect answer to your football deficit. Even though there are only eight teams, if this league continues to gain viewership and high ratings, expect there to be expansion.

If the AAF can stay together for the next couple years, team expansion is inevitable. According to the AAF, their plan would be to give the cities that don’t have NFL football teams their own AAF team. This could cause excitement to watch the new league even if viewers have never heard of it. If the AAF can play their cards right, this newly founded football league could be here to stay for a long time.