The Alliance of American Football and XFL don't plan to compete for players with the NFL or the CFL, but they will be pretty darn competitive with the next best option currently on the market: no professional football at all.
AAF co-founder and ESPN NFL analyst Bill Polian told ESPN's Darren Rovell that his league plans to offer 3-year, non-guaranteed contracts worth a sum of $250,000. The AAF also plans to offer a health insurance and education stipends to players who complete a full season in the league. The XFL has stated previously it plans to pay $75,000 per season.
Both figures plan to be enticing options for players not among the elite of the elite but still would like to continue their careers as long as possible.
Polian also outlined to Rovell how its player dispersal will work:
The AAF will scout players who don't make NFL and CFL teams. They will be allocated to rosters based primarily on where they played college, if there is an AAF team within a reasonable radius. When that isn't the case -- which will often be true for players from the Big Ten and the Big 12 -- players will be allocated based on their most recent NFL or CFL team.
Players whose college doesn't have an AAF affiliation and who haven't played in the NFL or CFL are eligible to be tendered a contract by any team.
The AAF has eight franchises, spread coast-to-coast, mostly along the southern portion of the US: Orlando, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and San Diego.
The AAF will begin play in the spring, with the likes of Steve Spurrier, Brad Childress and Mike Singletary lined up as coaches.