NFL fans won’t have to wait for long after Super Bowl LIII to get a new football fix.
The newly-formed Alliance of American Football launches its first season on Feb. 9, and Turner Sports announced on Thursday that they’ve signed a multi-year, cross-platform partnership with the league that will include live event coverage extending across a combination of Turner Sports platforms TNT and the B/R Live streaming service.
TNT will exclusively televise one Alliance regular season game and one playoff game each season throughout the length of the agreement, with additional regular season games available weekly via B/R Live.
“Our focus has always been, and will always be, to create an Alliance of players, fans and the game. Joining forces with world-class partners like Turner Sports allows us to keep our mission moving forward and reach thousands of sports fans across their Turner family of platforms,” Alliance’s co-founder and CEO Charlie Ebersol said in a statement. “Turner’s focus on providing high-quality live event programming and their commitment to digital with B/R Live, fits seamlessly into our distribution model, and ultimately offers fans the opportunity to watch more football.”
Lenny Daniels, president of Turner Sports, added: “We’re looking forward to this exciting partnership with The Alliance — including working closely with its leadership team of Charlie Ebersol, Bill Polian, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu — and share the enthusiasm and forward-thinking vision being applied to this newly-formed league.
“This is a true partnership and The Alliance will have our full support in the distribution of its live game coverage and content across the Turner Sports portfolio.”
TNT will kick off it’s Alliance coverage on with Salt Lake Stallions vs. Birmingham Iron on Saturday, Feb. 16, leading into NBA All-Star Saturday Night – and will conclude with one Alliance playoff matchup in April.
Before then, B/R Live will launch the inaugural season of The Alliance with a special program available Saturday, Feb. 9, introducing fans to the league including some of the top moments from the preseason. B/R Live’s game coverage will begin Saturday, Feb. 23, with the Arizona Hotshots vs. Salt Lake at 3 p.m. ET.
The Alliance features eight teams with 52-player rosters playing a 10-week regular season schedule beginning Feb. 9 on CBS, followed by two playoff rounds and culminating with the championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on April 27.
20 Famous Los Angeles Rams Fans, From LeBron James to Danny Trejo (Photos)
Note: A version of this story was first published in 2019 by the late Omar Sanchez.The home of Hollywood has a team back in the Super Bowl, and this time it's on home ground. On Feb. 13, the Los Angeles Rams will face the Cincinnati Bengals at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium for the Big Game: Super Bowl LVI. Stars from film, TV and music will be cheering on the Rams as an LA team returns to the Super Bowl for the first time since they lost to the New England Patriots in 2019. Some of them have long cheered for the Rams before the team left for St. Louis in 1994, while there are also some that have become passionate fans since the team's return in 2016. If you're backing the Rams, or cheering against the Bengals, here is a look at some of the Hollywood stars who will be cheering right along with you. No VIP pass required.
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LeBron James
The NBA superstar showed some love for his fellow L.A. sports team with a celebratory tweet reading "Congrats home team @RamsNFL !!!!! #SBLVI YESSIR!!!!"
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Niall Horan
The former One Direction and "Slow Hands" singer was thrilled to see his city nab the win: Congrats @RamsNFL!! A home super bowl in LA. Beautiful," he wrote on Twitter.
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Alyssa Milano
The actress-activist commemorted the Rams' defeat with a photo of herself wearing a Rams tee, paired with the hashtags "#RAMS #SuperBowl #NFL".
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Ty Burrell
Despite being born and raised in Oregon, the "Modern Family" star has long cheered for the Rams franchise. Burrell famously attended the Rams first game once the team returned to L.A. in 2016, just to leave at half time to rush to the Emmys.
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Cedric The Entertainer
Comedian Cedric The Entertainer showed up for the Rams in a major way, posting a video of himself high-fiving Rams fans while driving a golf cart through a tunnel in SoFi Stadium. "#Superbowl bound !! Lets Go!! @obj lets Go!!!" he captioned a series of photos he snapped after the game.
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Larry Wilmore
The comedian-writer-producer showed off his Rams allegiance – and his box seats – with videos capturing the aftermath of his team's victory. He also shared a photo of him and his sister in front of SoFi Stadium, getting ready to represent "#RamsHouse".
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Magic JohnsonThe Lakers legend is a fan of all things Los Angeles, and that includes the Rams. When the Rams came over from St. Louis in 2016, Johnson became the first person to put his deposit down for season tickets, a fact the Rams confirmedon Twitter. Six years later, his love for the Rams hasn't waned: "The @RamsNFL are going to the Super Bowl!!! I already got the suite and can't wait to cheer the Rams on to victory! Congratulations to Rams owner Stan Kroenke, the incredible coaches and players, and the entire Rams organization!" hetweeted.
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Terry Crews
Before making his way to Hollywood, the "Brooklyn 9-9" star began his career as a pro football player with the Rams back in 1991. Since he moved to acting, Crews has been seen cheering for the Rams from the stands.
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Bryan Cranston
The "Breaking Bad" actor once loved watching the Rams growing up, but as he told NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" show in January 2018, he lost hope when the team moved to St. Louis. "It's like being dumped for another city!" Cranston said.
But Cranston is back on the bandwagon. "I was a little stand off-ish at first, but they won me back," he added.
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Kendrick Lamar
The Pulitzer-winning rapper not only performed at the Rams' home opener in 2018, but he was also seen running routes on the Rams practice field in 2016.
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Danny TrejoThe "Machete" and "Spy Kids" star is such a big Rams fan, his Trejo's Coffee & Donuts in Hollywood has started to sell L.A.-Rams themed donuts. But the fandom doesn't stop there. He recentlyposted a video rallying Los Angeles to "get behind our team, the Rams. We will sock everybody!" – while donning Rams merch (including a pair of Rams socks, of course.) Trejo also went on the Rich Eisen Show in late 2018, recounting his childhood sneaking into the Coliseum to watch the Rams in the '50s.
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Holly Robinson PeeteHallmark's "Meet the Peetes" actress showed her Rams fandom when she tweeted along with the game andtweeted her congratulations to Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Oh, did we mention her brother-in-law is Rams running back coach Skip Peete?
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YG
Rapper YG was seen watching the Rams game against the Cowboys Jan. 12 alongside Cowboys fan Post Malone. "WHO’S HOUSE? RAMS HOUSE!!!!" the Compton native tweeted January 2019.
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Adam Carolla
The comedian and early podcast adopter is a Los Angeles native and an outspoken supporter of the team."THE RAMS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!" Carolla wrote in an Instagram caption January 2019.
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Taran KillamThe Former "SNL" cast member has been following the Rams' path to the Super Bowl closely on social media. He posted a flurry of tweets on the day of the playoffs, includinga photo with the team's official mascot, Rampage. At the game, he alsomade an appearance on the jumbotron at SoFi Stadium. He's no Johnny-come lately either: In December 2016, Killam even appeared on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" wearing a light-up Rams sweater.
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Nikki SixxThe Motley Crue bassist can often be found wearing a Rams hat on his social media channels, but he's also an avid watcher of the team as well. "Go @RamsNFL," hetweeted next to a football emoji during last Sunday's playoff game. When the Rams faced off against the Patriots in 2019, he showed his team spirit withan Instagram caption reading, "I got my practice amp fired up, a metronome and the TV on. #losangeles @rams #GoRams. #BassPlayer"
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FleaThe Red Hot Chili Peppers performed at the Rams halftime show during the first game of the Rams' 2016 season. If you have any doubts Flea just played for the money, he tweeted in September 2018, "I am a los Angeles rams man through and through..." Heading into this year's playoff game against the 49ers, heposted a snap of himself in a Rams jersey, grinning ear to ear after this year's playoffs. Case closed.
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Vince Staples
The Compton native worked with Nike in 2017 on the #WhoYouWith campaign. "I’m with the Los Angeles Rams. #WhoYouwith Nike Football #teamnike" the rapper's official Facebook page posted in September 2017.
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Robert PatrickYou may have seen him try and defeat the Terminator as the shape-shifting T-1000, but the long-time actor has left that life behind to focus on bigger things: the Rams defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. "Super Bowl Baby @Bengals welcome to our house! @RamsNFL !!!"tweeted the "Peacemaker" actor.
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Tom MorelloThe former Rage Against the Machine guitarist is now performing for the Atlas Underground, but one thing hasn't changed: He's a die-hard Rams fan. In January 2016, Morello posted a picture of himself on Instagram when he was only kid holding a Rams helmet. "Been a Rams fan my whole life," hewrote in the caption. Morello reaffirmed his status as a lifelong fan in atweet celebrating the Rams' victory in this year's playoffs.
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Niall Horan and Alyssa Milano are among the stars that will be cheering for the Los Angeles Rams as they play at Super Bowl 56 on Feb. 13
Note: A version of this story was first published in 2019 by the late Omar Sanchez.The home of Hollywood has a team back in the Super Bowl, and this time it's on home ground. On Feb. 13, the Los Angeles Rams will face the Cincinnati Bengals at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium for the Big Game: Super Bowl LVI. Stars from film, TV and music will be cheering on the Rams as an LA team returns to the Super Bowl for the first time since they lost to the New England Patriots in 2019. Some of them have long cheered for the Rams before the team left for St. Louis in 1994, while there are also some that have become passionate fans since the team's return in 2016. If you're backing the Rams, or cheering against the Bengals, here is a look at some of the Hollywood stars who will be cheering right along with you. No VIP pass required.
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