Has the AFL Been Dealt Its Final Blow?

The bad news keeps rolling in for fans of the Colorado Crush Arena Football League team.

Not only has the 23-year-old indoor football league canceled its 2009 season; Pro Football Talk reported yesterday that the league may file for bankruptcy protection. The league reportedly is $14 million in debt and needs $10 million to $12 million in new funding to return in 2010.

Back in April, the AFL announced it would “resume play” in 2010, but the statement was light on details, offering vague references to reworking the league’s collective bargaining agreement and using the word “hope.”

When the announcement came last winter that the AFL would take a year off, it was because “too many big-name owners or big-name cities said they would not return in 2009,” according to a December ESPN story.

There’s been no recent word from Colorado Crush owner John Elway, who told The Denver Post in December that the league had to find a new business model.