AAF, founder being sued by venture capitalist that says league idea was his
Many businesses endure rocky times at the outset, and that continues to be the case for the Alliance of American Football.
The league is reportedly being sued by a Los Angeles-based venture capitalist.
Disagreement over idea for league
Darren Rovell of the Action Network tweeted on Monday that Robert Vanech is suing the AAF and founder Charlie Ebersol, claiming that he came up with the idea for the fledgling league.
Vanech says he’s entitled to 50 percent ownership of the league thanks to a “handshake agreement” with Ebersol that happened in February 2017. He’s looking for money and wants his name to be part of the AAF’s history.
“Mr. Vanech’s claim is without merit,” a statement from the AAF said. “There was never any agreement, oral or written, between Mr. Vanech and Mr. Ebersol relating to The Alliance. We remain solely focused on our historic, inaugural season when each weekend over 400 players get an opportunity to showcase their talents and fulfill their dreams of playing professional football.”
Ebersol and former NFL team executive Bill Polian say the AAF was their idea.
Lawsuit offers timeline
According to Vanech’s suit, he and Ebersol began working together shortly after the “30 For 30” film “This is the XFL,” which Ebersol directed, debuted on ESPN.
Initially, Vanech says, the two wanted to revive the XFL, and in presentations to potential investors the league was called “XFL 2.0” and “Project Phoenix.”
There are text messages between the two from the early stages, with Vanech writing at one point, “Love it. Each morning I try to write down new ideas that will allow us to innovate, pioneer and amaze. This canvas is so blank that it deserves a masterpiece.”
Ebersol and Vanech met multiple times over the next few months, agreeing that Ebersol would have final authority over day-to-day operations, and even made a table to dictate how they would divide their ownership stake for future investors.
Ebersol’s father, longtime NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol, was an advisor but declined to be an investor; he did promise access to Vince McMahon, the original creator of the XFL.
Charlie Ebersol met with McMahon in May 2017, but by then Vanech contends Ebersol had begun not replying to texts and messages.
AAF already needed influx of cash
Vanech’s lawsuit comes on the heels of a report by The Athletic just a week ago that the AAF was in danger of not making payroll just two weeks into the regular season and needed an influx of cash, which came from Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon.
Dundon, who invested $250 million, is now listed as majority owner of the league.
The AAF just finished Week 3 of its 10-week regular season.
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