For those who still play and still watch — for those who remain in love with the sport, CTE worries and all — this is a fantastic time to revel in professional football.

While the NFL remains unquestioned as the national champion of sports and TV broadcasts, a pair of fledgling operations have emerged. Like remora attached to a whale, the Alliance of American Football and the XFL hope to feed off the established league’s excess of success.

The XFL’s yet-to-be-named Washington franchise will announce its coach and general manager on Thursday. Pep Hamilton, who played and coached at Howard University and has extensive NCAA and NFL experience, is reportedly the dual-role choice.

Along with former Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops, who earlier this month was introduced as coach/GM of the XFL’s Dallas franchise, Hamilton would be league owner Vince McMahon’s second impressive hire.

Meanwhile, the AAF is enjoying its head start since launching two weeks ago, a year ahead of the reincarnated XFL’s anticipated 2020 kickoff. Familiar names such as Steve Spurrier, Mike Singletary, and Mike Martz roam the sidelines as head coaches. But the AAF’s biggest early impact might’ve been delivered by someone with the least name recognition: Tom Dundon.

The Athletic reported that the AAF was in danger of missing its Week 2 payroll as its cash ran dangerously low. Then Dundon, owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes stepped up this week with a $250 million investment and agreement to become the league’s chairman. AAF co-founder and CEO Charlie Ebersol characterized Dundon’s infusion as a buy-in more than a bailout, but the result — financial stability — is the same.

Dundon said he wasn’t interested in an AAF investment beforehand, due to questions about the quality of football and other issues related to start-ups. But “once it went on TV, looked great, got good ratings, I talked to people that were supportive of it,” he told ESPN. Dundon (reported net worth of $1.1 billion) isn’t at McMahon’s level ($3.3 billion), but the AAF now has its own deep-pocket primary backer to pit against the XFL’s celebrity mogul.

As long as both leagues stay in their lanes and don’t delude themselves into competing against the NFL, there should be enough football love for everyone to eat.

McMahon has Dundon beat in terms of potential media exposure, with XFL franchises in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and D.C., five of the nation’s top seven markets. McMahon says this time, his second attempt at a football league, there will be less reliance on flashy cheerleaders, player nicknames and assorted gimmicks.

The AAF has earned mostly good reviews through two weeks. Their version of football includes twists, like no kickoffs, and mandatory two-point conversions, and games are being carried on a range of TV outlets, from CBS Sports Network to TNT to the NFL Network, as well as multiple online options.

The two outfits’ prospects are as bright as possible for new pro leagues, which typically make for poor investments. Positioning itself as a developmental league helps the AAF’s long-term viability, which just might include being acquired by the NFL at some point.

Ebersol said Dundon’s $250 million infusion was a Godfather pitch.

“We’re a start-up, and start-ups usually raise money in pieces, Series A, Series B, Series C, etc.,” Ebersol told the Orlando Sentinel. “After the success of the first week, we had a number of investors come to us and offer all kinds of different investments. Tom Dundon said, ‘Do you want to continue to raise Series B, Series C and Series D, or do you want to raise Series Infinity right now and be taken care of from now on?’

“That was an offer I was not going to refuse.”

Eight weeks remain in the inaugural season before the playoffs. Next year, the XFL 2.0 is expected to begin its initial season around the same time the AAF launched this year — the weekend after the Super Bowl.

Both leagues will traffic in second-chance stories for players and coaches, a repository for those seeking returns to the NFL.

Other players and coaches will be hoping for a first-time embrace after being passed over.

Football fans will watch because they’re football fans and can’t help themselves.

For all of the above parties, life is good.

At least for the time being.

⦁ Deron Snyder writes his award-winning column for The Washington Times on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Follow him on Twitter @DeronSnyder.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.