After finally getting started less than a year ago, the Alliance of American Football has already run out of money and is officially shutting down. The league’s owner, Tom Dundon, announced that AAF was going to shut down its operations by April third. The AAF did leave the possibility for a relaunch, but at the moment, it appears that the end of the AAF is here. The league only lasted eight weeks and was only two weeks away from the end of its inaugural season, but people are still looking for answers. The question is, “Why did the AAF shut down so quickly?”

The league’s TV ratings were “respectable” for its first season, according to Action Network’s Darren Rovell. Many people thought that the amount of viewers would be the main cause of the AAF shut down, but that is not at all the case.

The AAF’s shut down appears to be tied directly with the league’s new owner, Dundon. He was originally known for being the owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, but made a $250 million donation to the AAF, which earned him the right to become the owner of the AAF. However, days before he announced the AAF was going to shut down, he told USA Today that then needed cooperation from the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) in order to get NFL players into the league, which would maintain the AAF’s viability. The NFLPA has not agreed to make a deal with Dundon.

Dundon is used to running a professional sports team, but when he realized how expensive it was to run a professional sports league, he tried to cut costs, which led to a cutting of functionality. After several more errors and money winding down, Dundon announced the league might have to shut down their operations on April second. The AAF came to an official close the very next day.

The ones who allowed Dundon to take sole ownership of the AAF, were founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian, both with a decision they probably regret.