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Five former UCF players have signed contracts with the Alliance of American Football's Orlando franchise, which will begin play at Spectrum Stadium in February of 2019.
Offensive lineman Chris Martin, who finished his UCF career in 2013, is the latest:
I'm coming home Orlando!! Blessed to have another opportunity to play the game I love! @TheAAF #JoinedTheAlliance #AllianceOrlando #UCFamily
— Chris Martin (@Chris_Martin70) August 22, 2018
Martin joins WR Rannell Hall, RB Storm Johnson, DL Tony Guerad and LB Chequan Burkett on the team, which will be coached by Steve Spurrier.
This is great: #UCF alum @All_icburkett has been added to @TheAAF’s Orlando team, along with fellow @UCF_Football alums @tguerad & @StormJohnson8.
— Black & Gold Banneret (@UCF_Banneret) August 20, 2018
They join @6_Speedo, signed last month. https://t.co/7COxulnszd
Here's Johnson announcing he'd be joining the AAF:
#MeetTheAlliance: STORM WARNING in Orlando coming Feb 2019. @StormJohnson8 signed with #AllianceORL. #JoinTheAlliance @UCF_Football pic.twitter.com/WiOtCrWrwS
— AAF (@TheAAF) August 16, 2018
The AAF is the brainchild of Charlie Ebersol (NBC executive Dick Ebersol's son) and will be run by former NFL GM Bill Polian, as well as several recently-retired NFL players, including Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, and Justin Tuck.
The Orlando franchise, which doesn't have a nickname yet, is one of eight inaugural franchises for the league. The AAF has also secured a TV deal with CBS and CBS Sports Network.
The first weekend of games is expected to be played the Sunday following Super Bowl on February 9th.