About six weeks after Dallas billionaire and Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon committed to pumping $250 million into the Alliance of American Football, the fledgling professional league is shutting down, a league co-founder confirmed in a statement Tuesday.

Bill Polian, who created the league with television and film producer Charlie Ebersol, pinned the blame on Dundon. His statement said he and Ebersol thought Dundon had agreed to "finish the season, pay our creditors, and make the necessary adjustments to move forward in a manner that made economic sense for all."

"I sincerely regret that many that believed in this project will see their hopes and efforts unrewarded," said Polian, a former National Football League executive who built a Super Bowl winner in Indianapolis. "They gave their best, for which I am deeply grateful. Unfortunately, Mr. Dundon has elected this course of action."

Dundon reportedly had put as much as $75 million of his total commitment in the league, but was funding it week-to-week, according to multiple news reports. Those reports said Dundon disagreed with the business vision of Ebersol and Polian and wanted to accelerate plans to turn the AAF into a feeder league for the NFL.

Dundon and the AAF weren't immediately available for comment.

"On the one hand, it was kind of our wildest fantasies come true," Polian told The Associated Press. "It all came true and now it's all come crashing down."

Asked why the league was shutting down, Polian said he's heard "only that it's about the money. That's all."

Text of the email that went out to @theAAF personnel a few minutes ago, announcing they’re suspending football operations. pic.twitter.com/KBrL2Wdl4v — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 2, 2019

The league notified most employees that they will be terminated as of Wednesday. It said the decision to suspend operations was made "after careful consideration."

A small staff will remain to seek new investment capital and "restructure our business. Should those efforts prove successful, we look forward to working with many of you on season two," the league's letter said.

The AAF has teams in Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio, Memphis, Birmingham, Orlando and Salt Lake City. It launched Feb. 9 and had games scheduled this weekend.

The league was planning to hold its April 27 championship game in The Ford Center at the Star, the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice arena that's next to the team headquarters in Frisco.

Dundon, 47, made his fortune in auto finance. He worked for an auto loan consulting firm that grew into Santander Consumer USA, an auto lender for drivers with poor credit histories. The company is publicly traded and majority-owned by Banco Santander of Spain.

Dundon has invested millions in numerous ventures, many of them sports-related. He's a primary investor in sports entertainment company Topgolf; co-founder of Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, home of the PGA Tour's AT&T Byron Nelson tournament; and majority owner of Employer Direct Healthcare.

When Dundon announced his multimillion-dollar commitment to the AAF in February, the league was already on shaky footing. At the time, Ebersol dismissed reports that the Alliance was getting a financial bailout.

With Dundon's investment, he became the league's chairman and its majority owner. Dundon said in February that he wouldn't be raising additional funds and was focused on growing the business.

But in late March, Dundon warned that the league was in danger of folding. In an interview with USA Today Sports, Dundon said the AAF was struggling to come to an agreement with the NFL Players' Association to use its young players. He envisioned players sharpening their talents in the AAF and graduating to the NFL, and he said that feeder model was crucial to the young league's viability.

"If the players union is not going to give us young players, we can't be a development league," he said in the interview. "We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league."

In the Dallas area, the AAF has local ties. Daryl Johnston, the former Cowboys fullback, is general manager of the San Antonio Commanders. Mike Singletary, a former Baylor and Chicago Bears linebacker, is head coach of the Memphis Express. Singletary is also head football coach at Trinity Christian-Addison.

As reports circulated last week about the AAF's viability, Singletary told The Dallas Morning News he wasn't letting it influence his coaching.

"All I know is that I've got a game this week, and it's a huge game, and I'm not going to deviate one second thinking about another situation in which I have no control over at all," he said. "If it comes to pass, then so be it, but until then, I'm just going to coach my tail off and try to get a win so we can continue moving to next week."

Early Tuesday, players and team staff began getting calls and reading news reports about the end of the league. Johnston told the San Antonio Express-News that he couldn't comment but said he'd be back Wednesday to clean out his office.

In a tweet, former NFL player and Texas A&M Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel called the league's shutdown an "unfortunate situation." He signed a contract with the Memphis Express in March. For Manziel, the league offered a chance for a comeback after a short-lived NFL career and troubles off the field ranging from substance abuse to domestic violence allegations.

"Great concept, good football on the field and fun for fans to watch," he said in the tweet. "Just not enough money to go around, which has been the main problem with 'other' leagues for a long time."

In another tweet, Manziel gave advice to fellow AAF players: "No lawsuit or anything else will get you your bread. Save your money and keep your head up. It's the only choice at this point unless something drastic happens."

Sports writer Callie Caplan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.