Former Auburn Snapper And JSU QB Sign With Birmingham's AAF Team

BIRMINGHAM, AL - The Birmingham Alliance of American Football team is adding more players - eight new signees were announced Monday - and the team continues to draw from the Alabama well. The Birmingham team announced it has signed former Auburn snapper Ike Powell, former Jacksonville State quarterback Max Shortell and former Troy lineman Steven Rowzee to its roster.

Powell is the first Auburn player to sign with the Birmingham team, after former Alabama players Trent Richardson, Blake Sims and Chris Black announced they have signed. Rowzee becomes the second Troy player to join the team, as former Troy and Alabama State running back Marquell Beckwith signed in the first round of acquisitions.

Powell was among the best long snappers in the nation during the last three seasons at Auburn. Shortell was JSU's starting signal-caller from 2013-2014 after transferring from the University of Minnesota. Rowzee played for Troy in 2016 and 2017.

Related story: Former Bama RB To Sign With Birmingham's AAF Team

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The AAF does not have a player draft. Each AAF team controls the rights to players from at least 13 college programs. For Birmingham, the colleges include 13 state schools as well as South Carolina, Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech, North Carolina State, Maryland and Missouri. In addition to Alabama and Auburn, the state colleges on Birmingham's assignment list include UAB, South Alabama, Troy, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Jacksonville State, Samford, Miles, North Alabama, Tuskegee and West Alabama.

The standard Alliance player contract offers players a base salary of $250,000 over three years with a comprehensive bonus system which will award financial compensation based on a variety of metrics such as performance, win, and fan engagement. Additionally, players who make final rosters will be offered post-secondary education assistance and health and wellness benefits.

Players are allocated to Alliance teams based on where they competed in college. If a player's college is outside The Alliance footprint, he will be allocated based on his most recent NFL/CFL team. If a player's college is outside The Alliance allocation footprint AND he did not play in the NFL or CFL, then he is unallocated and available to be tendered a contract by any Alliance team. If a player signs with The Alliance and is then offered a contract to play in the National Football League, the player will be granted permission to pursue that opportunity.

The league will kick off its 12-game season February 9, and Birmingham's team will play at Legion Field for its inaugural season before possibly moving to the new downtown stadium scheduled to be completed by 2020.

Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images

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