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A few of those points are why I think it still won’t work. The best talent is already in the NFL. With COVID-IR and extending seasons leading to more injuries these close ones may already start getting chances.
Marketing aside (the AAF was still an unknown to most people), they need cities that will really support the market. The current teams aren’t in big enough markets apart from Philadelphia, but I could see the quibble with not having New York because NJ isn’t going to count—which is why the Giants and Jets continue to market as NY teams despite being in NJ. The average viewer not from these markets isn’t going to care about Birmingham, Michigan, etc.
As for minor league, College is generally considered the de facto equivalent. Football being so physical, athletes already have a shorter career than the average MLB star. At 29 an infielder could still break the majors, and be productive into their mid-late thirties. The average running back at that age is likely to slow down within the next 2-3. An extra league will waste productive years. Drafting from college is still cheaper than a fee and they’re younger and faster than taking someone another football league.
I guess I’ll believe it when I see it, but this isn’t the first first rodeo for the USFL, AAF or XFL. Here’s to hoping.
Do you have to have the best talent? To get the ticket prices and the TV deals that the NFL does, yes. But.. Why go for that?
the AFL made quite a go at it for a long time.
The point here is to NOT be the NFL.
quite frankly, an average QB against an average defense.. Can still be good football. Now, if you're analyzing every play and get upset when you see a receiver run a wrong route or fall down or whatever.. Yeah, you're probably not going to like this. But.. If you can get entertainment from watching AA Baseball.. Which I think most of us can. Then you should be able to get enjoyment from what winds up being.. AA Football.
Remember that 75% of people in AA ball never go any higher. Doesn't mean the game is any less entertaining, at least I don't think so.
Go for underserved markets.. I mean, Birmingham has supported EVERYTHING football related that's gone there.. From the old USFL to AAF to XFL. San Antonio would be a good bet.. St Louis supported their team very well.. Stay away from the NFL markets for the most part. that makes sense for ticket sales.. However.. Not so much for TV viewership, which is where the majority of money will be coming from.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LexWest
It starts in 100 days you say? We’ll see if it makes it a complete season.
I say what Einstein would: the definition of insanity is repeating something and expecting different results. Maybe someday they’ll figure out Spring Football just doesn’t work.
Albert was a pretty smart guy. He also said:
Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity.
Do you have to have the best talent? To get the ticket prices and the TV deals that the NFL does, yes. But.. Why go for that?
Why? Because ticket prices and TV deals pay the bills. Mostly TV deals, and probably more so in this case with every single game likely to be in the same city. How many people in Birmingham are going to go to a Michigan Panthers VS Pittsburgh Maulers game?
the AFL made quite a go at it for a long time.
10 years, 50 years ago, when there were far fewer NFL teams competing for talent, and not trying to do it in the spring.
The point here is to NOT be the NFL.
quite frankly, an average QB against an average defense.. Can still be good football. Now, if you're analyzing every play and get upset when you see a receiver run a wrong route or fall down or whatever.. Yeah, you're probably not going to like this. But.. If you can get entertainment from watching AA Baseball.. Which I think most of us can. Then you should be able to get enjoyment from what winds up being.. AA Football.
The problem with this, at least as I see it, is that the average fan, who is used to watching the NFL probably isn't going to have a lot of interest in the USFL other than tuning in initially to see what it's all about. That's probably a good 75% of the football watching public. The other 25% is the die-hard, live-eat-breathe-sleep football fan, and that's who the USFL has to snag in order to be successful. Is AA football going to attract them? Is AA football going to command ticket prices and TV deals sufficient to keep the league afloat?
Remember that 75% of people in AA ball never go any higher. Doesn't mean the game is any less entertaining, at least I don't think so.
IMO spring football hasn't worked for a number of reasons, the same which are probably going to doom this "new" USFL.
The bulk of football fans are likely "footballed out" by then.
Baseball is spooling up, and the NBA and NHL are in the postseason. In fact, this incarnation of the USFL starts it's inaugural season 4 days before the NBA playoffs are projected to start.
AA football isn't nearly as appealing as getting out to the lake or the golf course or the campground, etc after a cold northern winter, or before a muggy SE summer.
The original USFL was kind of a ragtag league but that is what people liked about it--it was a breath of fresh air and not the stuffy old NFL. There are plenty of good players to go around that the NFL won't sign for the dumbest reasons possible, an inch too short/tall, a year too old, lost a step, or badmouthed Goodell or an owner, personality clash, they were cancelled, or are injury prone. But they can still ball at a paid-professional level. Guys like Antonio Brown, Johnny Manziel, Marshawn Lynch would be good USFL players. Combine those players with free agents and draft picks, then POW, a newly viable league.
You forgot Tim Teebo!! LOL Colin Kappernick!! Actually I don't think they will have issues finding players to play in this league. There are plenty of good football players who aren't in the NFL. I actually can't wait.
Just don't get the idea this league can go head to head with the NFL. That was the one big mistake the original USFL's New Jersey Generals Owner Donald Trump tried to do, was go head to head with the NFL in hopes of a merge that never materialized, but in actuality sealed the doom of the USFL. Donald Trump single handedly secured the demise of the original USFL.
Last edited by Just One of the Guys; 02-21-2022 at 02:27 PM..
Some young guys may sign on instead of going to college. They have to graduate high school in 2020 or earlier to be eligible.
Don't have stupid rules. Use the same as the NFL.
38 man rosters may be interesting.
I enjoyed the USFL. There was some good football. Their only mistake was moving to Fall.
The USFL never moved to an autumn schedule. They had planned to do so in 1986 but folded before that could happen. The league hemorrhaged four teams after the 1984 season. The plan for the 1986 season was to see another six teams gone, leaving the league with a mere 8 teams... and that depended on winning its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL for the full demanded total of $1,7000,000,000. Instead, the jury awarded the USFL $3 (yes, three dollars).
The league failed because it spent far more money than it made, and because its ownership did not have the financial wherewithal to withstand the losses.
The USFL never moved to an autumn schedule. They had planned to do so in 1986 but folded before that could happen. The league hemorrhaged four teams after the 1984 season. The plan for the 1986 season was to see another six teams gone, leaving the league with a mere 8 teams... and that depended on winning its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL for the full demanded total of $1,7000,000,000. Instead, the jury awarded the USFL $3 (yes, three dollars).
The league failed because it spent far more money than it made, and because its ownership did not have the financial wherewithal to withstand the losses.
Technically.. The jury awarded $1
Damages were trebeled to $3.
The USFL.. Let's say that the push to compete with the NFL wasn't there, that they remained a spring league.. Would they have had the finances to continue?
They were paying contracts that were unheard of at the time.
Steve Young's contract was 10 years, $40 million.. So, $4m a year.
Joe Montana in '84, same year, who was one of the top QBs in the league, signed a 6 year $6.3m contract.
Most every team was losing money. Contracts were way out of control.. It was a house of cards regardless of the move to fall.
They could only get the talent by spending significantly more than the NFL teams. But the NFL teams could give a guarantee that the players would actually get paid.
It's actually amazing that they got any players to sign with them. Especially the top-tier players that did. The NFL wasn't the juggernaut that it is today, but it was in no danger of going bankrupt.
The 2022 USFL Schedule is set to kickoff on Saturday, April 16 with the New Jersey Generals facing the Birmingham Stallions at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be simulcast by NBC and FOX at 7:30pm ET.
For the 2022 season, all USFL games will be played in Birmingham, Ala. Most of the games will be played at Protective Stadium, while some will be contested at Legion Field.
The USFL’s 2022 regular-season will extend through mid-June. That will be followed by playoff semifinal games in each division on Saturday, June 25 and then a championship game on Sunday, July 3. The playoff and championship games will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
Divisions and team names for the new USFL are listed below:
NORTH DIVISION
Michigan Panthers
New Jersey Generals
Philadelphia Stars
Pittsburgh Maulers
SOUTH DIVISION
Birmingham Stallions
Houston Gamblers
New Orleans Breakers
Tampa Bay Bandits
That's the thing. This has been tried so many times- even just in my lifetime. With rare exception, the AFL of the 60s being one of them- they have all failed.
The NFL, NCAA, and perhaps the CFL (which itself failed to expand into the US) seems to satisfy the demand for football.
I was surprised to see it is returning. Seemingly the same logo and team names. Like a time warp.
I wonder were they trying for some sort of nostalgia angle?
Nonetheless, I thought the Alliance was pretty good, but boy, were they really screwing up with the financials. If you can't even make it to Week 2, it is time to rethink your gameplan--seriously rethink your gameplan.
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