FanDuel Paying Off All AAF Futures Bets as Winners After League Suspends Play

Scott Polacek @@ScottPolacekFeatured ColumnistApril 4, 2019

Peter B Joneleit/Associated Press

The Alliance of American Football has suspended play in its inaugural season, but those who gambled on futures bets will not be left empty-handed.

According to Ben Fawkes of ESPN.com, FanDuel Sportsbook declared it will grade all futures bets on AAF teams as winners even though it said it viewed the 7-1 Orlando Apollos as champions.

"Because the FanDuel Sportsbook loves football and we believe this is the very definition of a bad beat for sports fans everywhere, we are also going to pay out straight future wagers for all AAF teams as winners," FanDuel said in a statement.

Fawkes noted FanDuel said the decision will cost it "just under $10,000."

This comes after the AAF sent an email to employees saying it suspended play, which NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala shared:

Aditi Kinkhabwala @AKinkhabwala
The email #AAF employees were sent minutes ago, announcing the almost assured end of their inaugural season and the immediate suspension of their league’s operations. (Via an AAF source.) https://t.co/iS2rPzXy4d

Former NFL player and current Fox Sports Radio host Rich Ohrnberger detailed some of the fallout in a series of tweets, noting some players returned to hotel rooms to see their items waiting in the lobby.

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What's more, injured players are now responsible for their own medical expenses, and the termination letter sent to members of the AAF staff was unsigned.

Ohrnberger called the situation "a complete mess."