The Alliance of American Football (AAF) has confirmed in a statement that it has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It read: “We are deeply disappointed to be taking this action. The AAF was created to be a dynamic, developmental professional football league powered by an unprecedented alliance between players, fans and the game.

“The AAF strove to create new opportunities for talented players, coaches, executives and officials while providing an exciting experience for fans. We are proud of the fact that our teams and players delivered on that goal.

“We thank our players, coaches and employees for their commitment to the game of football and to this venture. Our fans believed in the AAF from the beginning, and we thank them for their support. We are hopeful that our players, coaches and others will find opportunities to pursue their football dreams in the future.”

The extent of the Alliance’s problems was made clear in documentation obtained by Front Office Sports, in which the AAF claimed to have assets of $11.3m against liabilities of $48.3m, and just $536,160.68 in cash. The report also alleged that it owes CBS more than $5m, Arizona State University over $1.2m, and MGM International $7m.

A statement on the AAF website notes: “This week, we made the difficult decision to suspend all football operations for the Alliance of American Football. We understand the difficulty that this decision has caused for many people and for that we are very sorry. This is not the way we wanted it to end, but we are also committed to working on solutions for all outstanding issues to the best of our ability. Due to ongoing legal processes, we are unable to comment further or share details about the decision.

“We are grateful to our players, who delivered quality football and may now exercise their NFL-out clauses in our contract. We encourage them to continue pursuing their dreams and wish them the best. We are grateful to our fans, who have been true believers from the beginning, and to our world-class partners. And to the Alliance coaches and employees who devoted their valuable time and considerable talent to this venture, we are forever grateful.”