What It’s Like to Be This Close to Going Pro—Then the League Folds Around You

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The depressing, bizarre story of one Arena Football League hopeful.

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But by the time the revamped league was set to kick off its inaugural season in late April, it was already in disarray. Originallyas a 16-team league with franchises in NFL towns like Chicago, Denver, Nashville, and Philadelphia, the AFL has seen most of its clubs end up in relative backwaters like Rapid City, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; and three towns in Kansas. The league’s broadcast agreement with the NFL Network fell apart little more than a month before the first game.

So, I worked two jobs out there in Hawaii. I was in labor and construction. And I also did bodyguard work for celebrities and stuff. I’ve done a lot of celebrities, man. Rappers like Kodak Black, Lil Tjay, Big Boi from OutKast. I got a whole list of celebrities that I’ve met and done security for.So, I mean, I was getting paid. I was getting paid about $49 an hour working the labor job. And then the security gig on the side. You can get paid up to, like, $50 an hour doing that.

It was the first week after the first game—like, right when we were supposed to be expecting our paychecks. My team was like, “Bro, what’s going on? We’re supposed to get paid today.” And then we’re told we’re getting paid tomorrow. And then tomorrow comes:. Two days come, and we don’t get paid. And right before our second game, the owner said, “We have no choice but to fold the team.

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