Chris Isadore at CNNMoney writes about
the chances of the UFL succeeding where other football
leagues have tried and failed:
And unlike some of the previous efforts, the NFL may
have left just enough doors open for them to succeed
this time.
Hambrecht declined to comment on his plans, although
a spokesman confirmed basic details that have already
been published. Games would air on Friday nights in the
fall, a night with limited sports competition on
television.
The anti-trust legislation that allowed the NFL to
have a national television deal explicitly prohibits the
league from playing on Friday as a way of protecting
high school games, which often are played on Friday
nights. Right now the law applies only to the NFL.
The Hambrecht/Cuban league would concentrate on
mid-sized markets currently without an NFL franchise,
most notably Las Vegas, Orlando and San Antonio, as well
as Los Angeles, the only major metropolis without an NFL
team.
So far nothing new…
Cuban argues that the NFL’s collective bargaining
agreement, with its salary cap, will give an upstart
league access to enough credible football talent to
attract true fans of the game and provide a good quality
of play.”Their CBA structure is not designed for a
competitive environment. Competition for top players,
even if the UFL gets just a few, increases prices at the
top end for all teams,” he wrote on his blog recently.
“Every star will get paid more, but still have to fit
under the cap. That forces teams to use more low cost
players, at the expense of signing the middle of the
roster. That gives us access to quite a few very, very
good NFL players.”
This argument is the most compelling one I’ve seen
for an idea that most football fans would be quick to
dismiss, and it’s enough convince me that these efforts
aren’t a Hail Mary pass.
Finding the right owners and right corporate partners
will be tough. Finding good players and coaches for the
new league won’t be as tough as you think.
However, that, plus the fact that an article like this is
getting published right now, tells me something is up. It
might just be that
Michael Vick’s status change has increased interest. But
I hope there is something more.
Unmentioned in Isadore’s piece is the
All American Football League. They’ve been holding
auditions (in Arkansas this weekend) and look to be on
schedule to debut with a six team league playing across the
south. Not the most ambitious effort, but perhaps one more
inclined to succeed.
If you were in Las Vegas today, which league would you
place your money on?
Tags:
ufl, united
football league, aafl, mark cuban, nfl, football, michael
vick
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