Memphis Express

The Alliance of American Football announced the awarding of the third inaugural league team, Alliance Memphis, on May 4, 2018.^[7] This announcement was followed by the May 10, 2018, announcement of Mike Singletary as the team's head coach.^[3]

On July 30, 2018, the Alliance announced team Memphis had signed its first 29 players.^[8] On September 20, the league announced four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos including Memphis as the Memphis Express.^[9] The name is derived from Memphis' significance as a mail and cargo transport city being the "World Headquarters" of FedEx (formerly Federal Express), with an airplane being featured in the logo.^[10] (FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith had previously owned the Memphis Mad Dogs pro football team in the 1990s; as the AAF was a single-entity league that never progressed to selling individual franchises as originally planned, Smith had no involvement or investment with the Express, despite the use of the Express name and imagery.)

On January 5, 2019, training camp opened in San Antonio, Texas.^[11] The final 52-man roster was released on January 30.^[12] The Express' inaugural game, played against the Birmingham IronatLegion Field on February 10, ended in a 26–0 shutout loss.^[13] Their first home game was a 20–18 loss against the Arizona Hotshots during week 2.^[14] Memphis notched their first win on March 2, with a 26–23 victory over the San Diego FleetatLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.^[15]

On March 16, 2019, shortly after the Express fell to 1–5 in a 22–9 loss to the Salt Lake Stallions, the team announced they had signed Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.^[16]

On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were suspended,^[4][5] and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.^[6] On April 17, 2019, the league announced the cessation of business operations after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.^[17]

The Express' assigned area, which designated player rights, included the following colleges:^[8]

All times Central

† Changed from original time and/or network.^{[18][19]
[20]}

atLegion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: February 10
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CT
• Game attendance: 17,039
• Referee: Brandon Cruse^[21]
• TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): Ben Holden, Adam Archuleta, and John Schriffen
• NoExtraPoints AAF

atLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee

• Date: February 16
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CT
• Game attendance: 11,980
• Referee: Reggie Smith^[22]
• TV announcers (NFL Network): Dan Hellie, Brian Billick, Mike Smith
• NoExtraPoints AAF

atSpectrum Stadium, Orlando, Florida

• Date: February 23
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CT
• Game attendance: 20,394
• Referee: Jeff Heaser^[23]
• TV announcers (NFL Network): Andrew Siciliano, Steve Mariucci, Jason Fische
• NoExtraPoints AAF

atLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee

• Date: March 2
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CT
• Game attendance: 13,621
• Referee: James Carter^[24]
• TV announcers (B/R Live): Mark Malone, James Jones
• NoExtraPoints AAF

atGeorgia State Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: March 10
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CT
• Game attendance: 10,829
• Referee: Tra Blake^[25]
• TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): Ben Holden, Adam Archuleta, John Schriffen
• NoExtraPoints AAF

atRice–Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

• Date: March 16
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CT
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 47 °F (8 °C) • Wind: 5–10 mph
• Game attendance: 8,150
• Referee: Reggie Smith^[26]
• TV announcers (B/R Live): Mark Malone, Marvin Lewis, Maurice Jones-Drew
• NoExtraPoints AAF

atLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee

• Date: March 24
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CT
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 71 °F (22 °C) • Wind: 13 mph
• Game attendance: 13,758
• Referee: Tra Blake^[27]
• TV announcers (NFL Network): Matt "Money" Smith, Marvin Lewis
• NoExtraPoints AAF

This was the first overtime game in AAF history. Despite newly signed quarterback Johnny Manziel playing a few series for the Express, starter Brandon Silvers led the team to a comeback victory, keeping its slim postseason chances alive.^[28]

atLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee

• Date: March 30
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. CT
• Game attendance: 12,417
• Referee: Reggie Smith^[29]
• TV announcers (TNT): Dan Hellie, Brock Huard
• NoExtraPoints AAF

In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Memphis' games were also broadcast on local radio by KWNW, an iHeartMedia station branded as 101.9 Kiss FM.^[30]

• Giannotto, Mark (April 2, 2019). "The AAF should be ashamed, but we should have all seen a quick demise coming". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved April 3, 2019.