Arena Football League Players Association

Important Information for Players who Played during 2003-2008

After the League announced that the 2009 season would be suspended, the AFL and the AFLPA commenced negotiations on resuming AFL football in 2010. We agreed that while these negotiations were occurring, the AFLPA would not sue or file a grievance involving the 2009 suspension and the AFL would continue to provide health insurance for players and housing for those players who were entitled to it by their player contract. Ultimately, these negotiations led to new CBA terms. These terms had to be ratified (or rejected) by each side before they became binding. Even though the new terms involved significant give-backs, the players overwhelmingly approved the new terms in late March.

The owners were supposed to vote on the new CBA by May 20. However, on May 19 we were informed that the owners would not vote on the new CBA by the deadline. We offered to give them more time to vote if they agreed to continue insurance and housing, but they declined.

The owners stated that they will continue to work on getting the League up and running. If they can put everything in place by July 15, they believe it is possible to resume play in 2010. If not, they will try to play in 2011.

We hope the AFL's continuing efforts to resume operations will succeed. However, we believe that, at this point, players should not continue to keep their lives on hold based on that possibility. We will continue to monitor the situation and speak to the League about their efforts to relaunch the League. As information becomes available we will share it with you.

If you believe you have a claim against your Club or the League pursuant to your AFL player contract, please contact Todd Flanagan in the AFLPA Legal Department. He can be reached at 800-372-2000.

Because the League will not continue to provide insurance, your AFL insurance will cease at the end of May. Further, you will likely not be eligible for Cobra coverage, so you should make arrangements for other health insurance. To find out what insurance options you have, please read the “AFL Insurance Memo” that is posted in the Resources and Information section of www.aflplayers.org.