The Alliance of American Football is just two weeks old, but the fledgling football league has already encountered money problems.

The Athletic reported the AAF was forced to look for fresh investment last week to avoid the prospect of missing payroll.

Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon stepped in to provide a $250 million commitment. Dundon, who who acquired a majority stake in the Hurricanes for $420 million in January 2018, on Tuesday was announced as the new chair of the AAF's board of directors .

MORE: AAF power rankings heading into Week 3

Dundon's role with the Hurricanes remains unchanged.

"This was a terrific opportunity for Tom to expand his investment in the sports world," Hurricanes president Don Waddell said in a statement. "The AAF is off to an exciting start as a league and was founded on some truly unique and groundbreaking concepts.

"Tom is excited about the direction of the Carolina Hurricanes and remains fully committed to this franchise's current and future success in Raleigh."

A source told the Athletic the AAF needed the investment because the league was in danger of missing scheduled payments Friday.

MORE: Who is Tom Dundon? How the billionaire made his fortune

“Without a new, nine-figure investor, nobody is sure what would have happened ... the hope and belief now is that years from now, (the AAF) can look back and consider these some scary growing pains.

"Obviously, though, the original plan did not include a financial crisis in Week 2.”

Memphis Express team president Kosha Irby played down the investment, calling initial reports "conspiracy meets coincidence," per the Commercial Appeal.

“I heard about all the noise and comments,” Kirby said. "But I just made sure I checked with the people I needed to, and [said] ‘Let’s go.’"

The league debuted two weeks ago with impressive TV ratings and strong interest from football-hungry fans, but the early money issues are concerning.

The AAF regular season is scheduled to run for 10 weeks before culminating in a championship game on April 27, which will be the final day of the 2019 NFL Draft.