The AAF’s suspension of football operations came as a shock to both league personnel and players. With one decision from league chairman Tom Dundon, players were left in limbo with many forced to pay for their own transportation home.
When it came to their football careers, players were faced with few options. The obvious goal would be to sign with an NFL team, but according to Yahoo Sports, NFL teams were instructed to not contact AAF players to prevent possible litigation.
Those legal hurdles were evidently settled on Thursday afternoon, but the suspended league had a peculiar way of announcing that development on social media. Rather than say that the legal path had been cleared for NFL teams to sign AAF players, the AAF tweeted — without any context — apparent permission for these now-unemployed players to sign with NFL teams. It read as if the AAF was doing these players a favor.
That announcement did not go over well with fans who proceeded to mock the tweet’s lack of self awareness.
So long, AAF, it was fun while it lasted.