SAN ANTONIO —To prepare for what was supposed to be the San Antonio Commanders final home game of its inaugural season, Monarch Trophy Studio printed thousands of custom Fiesta medals.

Just days after the team picked up the medals from the local store, the Alliance of American Football canceled the season. Not long after, the AAF filed for bankruptcy and Monarch Trophy Studio was left with a $12,000 bill.

"So the first day we got them back, we posted it to our Facebook pages and people were flocking in here buying them. But it was a lot of medals and we weren't going to recoup $12,000 at $10 a time,” Charlie Drago, Monarch Trophy Studio owner said.

Drago said he was initially frustrated with himself for allowing the team to pick up the medals before they had been paid for, because he had already heard the AAF was in financial trouble.

In an attempt to break even, local H-E-B locations agreed to sell the medals, now considered a collector’s item.

 

“At first H-E-B said 'no, we don't want to put those in,' and then they called back and said 'all the clothing is selling really well, the medals are a good idea,' and so they were really great,” Drago said.

In its chapter seven bankruptcy filing, the AAF claims $48 million in liabilities with several million owed to San Antonio businesses. Various hotels around the area are out almost $3 million after the entire League visited the city for several weeks in February for training camp.

Even if Monarch Trophy can't make back the money it lost, Drago said he will most likely forgive the debt.