Championship Albany Empire AFL Franchise Has Closed

Sad news today it has been announced that the AFL is closing all 6 of if local operations including 2019 champion, Albany Empire. The announcement came on the verge of a lawsuit that filed against the league by an insurance carrier that provided workers compensation coverage between 2009 and 2012.

That means this lawsuit is probably going to go through and cost the league a lot of money. The current league had just expanded from 4 teams in 2018 to 6 in 2019. The lawsuit was placed long before the current administration for the AFL was even in place and the lawsuit is a result of the restructuring of the league after in 2009 it shut down operations for an entire year.

This means there will likely be some restructuring of locals teams for the 2020 season if there is a 2020 season. I'm still waiting on my championship ring from being the team's DJ for both seasons. Hopefully, they will work everything out because the AFL games are the most exciting local sporting event in Albany.