Tom Dundon Rescues AAF, Takes Over as Chairman
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CanadaCanes
Well-known member
Dundon getting roasted pretty good on Twitter over the AAF shutdown, most of the ranting is about the gambling app that was part of the AAF portofolio that Dundon had his eyes on. Some of asked why pay $70 million for that, while others have said the potential return investment down the road for Tommy D with online sports betting taking off has gigantic potential for those proprietary rights.
Yeah. I get where these people are coming from because what Dundon ended up doing to the AAF was pretty calculated and cold blooded. Ya know what? It's his money and his investment saved what pitiful little existence that league had. If the only thing of actual value was the gambling app and its interface, then that's just how it goes. Without his money they never would have completed their initial season and they would have floundered around and closed the doors after only a couple of weeks.
Yeah. The guy is financial predator. This is news to whom exactly? This is a man who made his first pile of cash on high risk, no credit check auto loans to low income people with a repo rate above 30% ... and you guys thought he was altruistic? In it for the football or the love of sports? Why was that, exactly?
Yeah. The guy is financial predator. This is news to whom exactly? This is a man who made his first pile of cash on high risk, no credit check auto loans to low income people with a repo rate above 30% ... and you guys thought he was altruistic? In it for the football or the love of sports? Why was that, exactly?
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
Bill Polian was on Golic and Wingo this morning. Starting at about 45 seconds, he talks about the financial reasons why Dundon pulled out. In the rush to get to market ahead of the reconstituted XFL, their non-football infrastructure wasn’t set up to be efficient. He says they were taking steps to rectify that but it must not have been enough.
https://youtu.be/scQa4gLeqpc
https://youtu.be/scQa4gLeqpc
Here is another post-mortem on the AAF. It sounds like Dundon had buyers remorse almost immediately.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26957796/inside-short-unhappy-life-alliance-american-football
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https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26957796/inside-short-unhappy-life-alliance-american-football
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That part where he dug into the finances and said "I'm out" .... THAT's the part of your brain you listen to, Tommy boy. The part of your brain that let that conman Charlie Ebersol talk you back in ... that's the part you ignore. Dang but football makes rich people stupid quicker than drugs and booze ever will.
Oh, and Charlie Ebersol is a delusional and dangerous man-child. Anybody getting into business with him gets what they deserve
I would add self-important to your string of adjectives. Another example of someone being born on 3rd base thinking he hit a triple.
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Agreed. Every single thing I've read about the AAF leaves me with the same impression. Grown adult men who ought to have known better poured millions into this guy's personal money pit. And he's STILL convinced that the inevitable, obvious train wreck was their fault, not his. The guy is dangerous.
I’ve only seen this on The Athletic but Dundon filed as an unsecured creditor in the AAF Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. He wants his $70 million back. He charged he was induced into buying the league through “misrepresentations.”
https://theathletic.com/1044685/201...misrepresentations-wants-his-70-million-back/
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https://theathletic.com/1044685/201...misrepresentations-wants-his-70-million-back/
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cmaleski2
Well-known member
That's nice Tom...too bad you were the only one involved with actual big money. You could have added $14 million to the Canes payroll each of the next 5 seasons with that $70 million. If you have money to lose Tom, please use it to increase our payroll and absorb the losses that way.
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From a few other articles I've read about Charlie Ebersol's role in securing Dundon's participation, he might actually have a case.
cmaleski2
Well-known member
An article in The Athletic from a couple of day ago states that the super high tech revolutionary gambling app that potentially made Dundon's foolish investment all worth it? Sold to MGM for $125k AND a $2 million reduction in their secured assets claim against the AAF (so $2.125 million in value).
Basically the league had already sold secured interest in the tech for $7 million to MGM which it used to try to keep the league afloat.
Firewalled of course (if you haven't subscribed yet, you are missing out):
https://theathletic.com/1046553/201...p-discount/?amp#click=https://t.co/BmUcynLXHV
Basically the league had already sold secured interest in the tech for $7 million to MGM which it used to try to keep the league afloat.
Firewalled of course (if you haven't subscribed yet, you are missing out):
https://theathletic.com/1046553/201...p-discount/?amp#click=https://t.co/BmUcynLXHV
StormChaserBH
Well-known member
ok, so Tom's still down $67.875M by my count, with a pending lawsuit against Ebersol
And if he has anything in writing even hinting that the league still owned that gambling widget (frankly it sounds too poorly developed to even call it an app) then Dundon's going to win that suit. Not that Ebersol has any assets to collect against, of course. Con men never do.