The Alliance of American Football is off and running, and the NFL is watching.
The new league—which debuted Saturday with two games followed by two more Sunday—hasn't shied away from its intended purpose.
"Our objective is to take some of those people who can't quite make it and make them into quality NFL players," co-founder and Pro Football Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian said in August, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler.
Polian outright stated on the AAF's initial pregame show that the new organization hopes to build a relationship with the NFL and reach a point when current practice squad players are included on Alliance rosters.