Birmingham Iron

The Birmingham Iron were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama, and one of the charter members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The team began play in 2019, playing its home games at Legion Field. A new stadium at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex was expected to be completed in 2021.

On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019.

History
The team was announced as a charter team of the Alliance of American Football on June 4, 2018. The team's first head coach was announced on June 6 as Tim Lewis, his first job at the position. On September 20, the league announced four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos, including Birmingham as the Birmingham Iron. The name is a tribute to the city's iron industry, while the team colors of black, dark grey, and light grey were based on iron ore, coal, and flux, the components used to make steel.

The final 52-man roster was set on January 30, 2019. The team's first game was at home against the Memphis Express on February 10, 2019, when the Iron registered their first win and the first shutout in league history.

On March 31, the Iron clinched a playoff berth with a win against Atlanta, though the playoffs were never played as the league suspended football operations on April 2. The Iron finished at a 5–3 record.

Allocation pool
The team's assigned area, which designates player rights, included the following:

Colleges
 * Alabama
 * Alabama A&M
 * Alabama State
 * Auburn
 * Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 * Jacksonville State
 * Louisiana Tech
 * Maryland
 * Miles College
 * Mississippi State
 * Missouri
 * NC State
 * North Alabama
 * Ohio
 * Samford
 * South Alabama
 * South Carolina
 * Troy
 * Tuskegee
 * UAB
 * West Alabama

National Football League (NFL)
 * New England Patriots
 * Buffalo Bills
 * Cleveland Browns
 * Pittsburgh Steelers

Canadian Football League (CFL)
 * Montreal Alouettes
 * Ottawa Redblacks

Media
In addition to league-wide television coverage through CBS, NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Birmingham's games were also broadcast on local radio by WERC (AM).