Nostalgia is one of the most powerful (and often lucrative) forces in the universe and is responsible for many of Hollywood’s terrible reboot projects.
It’s nostalgia that’s resurrecting the failed United States Football League, a creature of the early 1980s that was slain after three seasons by a witch’s brew of greed, mismanagement, foolishness, desperation and Donald Trump.
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The fallen league, which lasted from 1983-85, over the decades evolved from a simple case of sports business failure into the realm of beloved myth and legend. Americans love the Eighties! Plenty of websites peddle USFL apparel and merch, its vintage Topps trading cards still sell for a nice sum, and the league’s rise and fall fueled a wave of retrospective books and documentaries.
Why? Thanks to team owners willingly (and ultimately foolishly) overspending, the USFL was the last true challenge to the NFL’s hegemony. It had legit players and coaches, many of whom went on to NFL stardom and even the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It also had some cool team names and uniforms, as well as revived the two-point conversion in American pro football and pioneered use of instant replay and coach challenges — all of which eventually made their way to the NFL.
The USFL worked until it didn’t. And the fascination with the league isn’t exclusive to aging boomers and Gen-Xers who fondly recall the Michigan Panthers and their thrilling inaugural USFL championship, and talent-laden teams like the Philadelphia Stars. Sports-bent wealthy businessmen remain convinced that there’s a sustainable market for spring-summer pro football, and TV networks are happy to take their content and their money.
So, to appease the nostalgia gods, here is a breakdown of what we know about the original USFL and the plan for a new spring league using the old USFL’s team names.
When will the new USFL begin play?
Spring 2022 is what Fox Sports announced on Thursday. Nothing more specific is known.
What are the new USFL cities?
They haven’t been named, and it’s unclear if the backers have even decided. We know there will be eight. It’s also not clear if the new USFL has the rights to all of the original USFL team names, or just some. More on that later. It’s an open question on whether it’s wise to field teams in cities that have other springtime pro sports teams, like NBA and NHL clubs that would compete for fans’ discretionary dollars.
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What were the original USFL markets?
In 1983, there were 12 teams: Philadelphia Stars, Boston Breakers, New Jersey Generals, Washington (D.C.) Federals, Michigan Panthers, Chicago Blitz, Tampa Bay Bandits, Birmingham Stallions, Oakland Invaders, Los Angeles Express, Denver Gold and Arizona Wranglers. In 1984, there were some market shifts and additions for a total of 18 teams. New were Pittsburgh, Memphis, New Orleans, Jacksonville, San Antonio, Houston and Oklahoma. In 1985, it reduced to 14 teams alongside several moves: The Breakers moved a third time, to Portland, Ore.; the Federals moved to Orlando; the Stars left Philly for Baltimore. They played 18-game seasons, something the NFL is inching toward.
What stadiums would the new USFL use?
Not yet known. It depends on expectations and markets. NFL stadiums are big and expensive, both to rent and to operate.
Will the new league be on TV?
We know Fox will air games, but on what Fox channels hasn’t been disclosed. It could be on the primary Fox channel and/or its FS1/FS2 cable channels. Maybe it mostly airs on the ad-supported Tubi streaming service that Fox bought for $400 million last year and seeks to populate with new content. Maybe the league airs across all of Fox’s properties. Other TV and streaming partners could be added.
Any gimmicky or cool rules that differentiate it from other leagues?
That’s a key question, and we don’t have answers yet. The 2001 XFL went with flashy gimmicks and fizzled. Other leagues have tinkered with rules, some of which eventually made their way to the NFL. Technology, health-safety issues, broadcaster participation and even gambling could play major roles in how the new USFL games are played. Maybe this league will be able to clearly define what is a catch?
Who is behind USFL 2.0?
Brian Woods, who founded pay-to-play The Spring League as a developmental showcase and scouting service. Its games air on Fox networks, and the league says it has sent more than 100 players to the NFL and CFL. Players pay to participate in his league. Woods founded the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) that lasted 2014-15 as a potential minor-league feeder system. It failed because of money. His Spring League has been playing since 2017.
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Will the USFL be its own thing or an evolution of The Spring League?
It’s possible the new league is just a Pokémon-like evolution of The Spring League toward its ultimate form: A traditional pro football league rather than a developmental scheme that’s basically a sexed-up scouting combine. Or, The Spring League continues and the USFL is a separate entity.
Is there any controversy around the new USFL?
Oh, hell yeah! Steve Ehrhart, who was the old USFL’s last executive director, told the Philadelphia Inquirer this week that the former league, or its former executives involved in it, maintain the legal rights to the names and logos and even collect royalties almost 40 years after the USFL folded. So that’s something to be sorted out. Got to live up to the original’s legacy of chaos, right?
How will the new USFL be capitalized?
This is a huge unknown. Fox said it’s an equity partner, but what form that ownership stake takes is important: Will it pay a broadcast rights fee to air games? Or will it charge for airtime? The standard revenue sources for football leagues include gameday sales (tickets, concessions, merchandise, parking) and corporate sales (suites, group tickets, signage, and other advertising deals). The NFL enjoys billions of dollars in TV rights fees that it equally splits among its 32 teams. New leagues won’t get that sort of money. Its website shows that an online merchandise shop is COMING SOON. But it will take more than hat and hoodie sales to finance this thing. Fox’s announcement about the new USFL can be viewed as a way to find more investors, too.
The USFL is back! The action begins in the spring of 2022 on FOX Sports.
🔗 : https://t.co/Zh04Uy0Z4k@USFLOfficial legendary QB @DougFlutie discusses the league’s return in 2022 ⬇️pic.twitter.com/c9A0CnAnJn
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) June 3, 2021
How much money will it take to work?
A lot, but until we know details such as labor costs, there is no clear-cut answer. No one involved is saying just what the business goal is, so it’s unclear how much money is needed. Pro football expenses include salaries for players, coaches, front-office and game-day personnel. There are also equipment, insurance and travel costs. Salary caps are a common tool to artificially depress wages to control costs. Former Browns and Ravens executive Jim Bailey for several years was intent on reviving the USFL and said it was a non-starter to even think about without $500 million in the bank, and owners willing to absorb losses for several years. XFL founder Vince McMahon reportedly used $100 million in WWE stock to finance that league in 2020.
What makes success more likely today than in the 1980s?
The rise of legal sports gambling is a potential revenue driver. There are more TV channels as options now, and the advent of streaming means networks are keen to find (and pay for) new content to populate their media properties. Technology advancements mean fans can watch anywhere, and increasingly directly access players and get involved with teams and games. Live sports remain powerful content for networks and advertisers in an age of endless options and competition for eyeballs. And there are plenty of lessons from decades of past failed leagues that the new USFL can study. The new USFL backers don’t appear to be positioning it as an NFL challenger, particularly with longtime NFL broadcast partner Fox involved as an equity partner. The Fox-owning Murdoch family isn’t going to upset the NFL.
What are the risks?
Fans won’t watch, for whatever reason. Initial TV ratings and attendance may be very good, as they have been in other spring leagues, but public curiosity can quickly fade. Especially if the product is bad or not compelling enough to build consistent loyalty. The old USFL gobbled up NFL veterans and young future stars coming out of college. The new version doesn’t seem to position itself that way. Fielding teams of unknown recent college players and NFL rejects is a major obstacle. A league of Johnny Manziels and Christian Hackenbergs isn’t a successful template.
How will the league be organized as a business?
The concept of single-entity league ownership (where team owners buy into a league for the right to run a team rather than buying individually-owned franchises) has grown popular as a way to control expenses. Major League Soccer uses that format. It’s not clear yet what USFL 2.0’s organizational structure will be, but single-entity seems likely.
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What other leagues have played in the spring or a spring-summer combo?
The 2001 XFL, which was a joint venture between Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation and NBC, lasted one goofy season with a February-April schedule. It lost a reported $70 million and TV viewership sank each week. NBC pulled out and that killed it. McMahon revived the XFL for 2020, and it started with decent attendance and TV numbers before COVID-19 halted its season and bankruptcy followed. A consortium of investors fronted by actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bought the XFL out of bankruptcy with plans to return to the field in 2022. However, that’s paused as potential merger talks with the CFL continue.
The February-April Alliance of American Football began in 2019 with broadcast deals with CBS, TNT, and the NFL Network, but failed mid-way through the season because its finances collapsed, and subsequent investors — primarily Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon — pulled the plug before losing more money.
The World Football League was a summer-fall operation that lasted from 1974-75. It lured a bunch of established NFL players and stars to its 12 teams, but the finances were pure chaos.
The United Football League that lasted from 2009-12 was a fall league, but financial issues ended it.
Has the NFL ever had its own developmental minor league?
Yes In 1991, it launched the World League of American Footballwith U.S., Canadian and European teams. It lasted in various forms until 2007, when the NFL ended it because of recurring financial losses. The history is a bit hazy, but there may have been informal local connections between NFL and AFL teams and the minor-league Continental Football League that lasted from 1965-69. Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler and future 49ers coach Bill Walsh spent time in the COFL.
Are there examples of successful non-NFL football leagues?
Two, sort of. The All-America Football Conference lasted from 1946-49 and was dominated by the Cleveland Browns, who won the AAFC title all four seasons. The Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and a team called the Baltimore Colts were invited to join the NFL in 1950 (and the Browns promptly won the NFL championship that season). The Colts folded after 1950, and the current NFL team known as the Colts was an expansion team awarded to Baltimore in 1953.
The second and much more successful alterative was the American Football League that began in 1960 as a direct challenge to the NFL by a coterie of rich businessmen. The AFL and NFL got into bidding wars for talent, and to survive agreed to a gradual merger. That deal birthed what we know today as the Super Bowl, and the leagues formally merged into the modern NFL in 1970.
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Are there other spring pro football leagues today?
Woods’ own Spring League is playing games that air of Fox/FS1. And at some point, the revived XFL may begin spring play again.
Why do people keep trying to make spring football work?
The original USFL did get decent stadium crowds and TV viewership in some markets. Football remains America’s most popular pro sport, and the game has made a lot of people rich. The NFL is a members-only club with an enormous barrier to entry, so alternative leagues are a way to tap into the fame and fortune. But the springtime has mostly been a money pit graveyard filled with tombstones that read XFL 1.0 and World Football League and Alliance of American Football. The world is filled will optimistic gamblers, though, so the lure of spring pro football remains irresistible to some.
How did the original USFL fail?
It began with the so-called Dixon Plan that aimed to manage costs and revenues, and on paper it made sense. It called for a modest start, including a salary cap and low expectations for in-stadium attendance. But some owners wanted to pursue coveted college stars and free agents and spent beyond the plan limits. They got the talent and put on competitive, credible games, but the financial situation was a mess and teams began to fold and merge. Bills went unpaid. Some owners turned out to be con men without the wealth needed to operate a team. A bloc of owners, led by Trump and Chicago Blitz owner Eddie Einhorn, convinced the league to move to a fall schedule after the 1985 season, to compete directly with the NFL in order to land fatter TV deals and possibly force a merger. That, obviously, didn’t happen. The league walked away from TV offers that likely would have helped it survive in the spring for a bit longer, but it’s unclear if that money would have been enough to keep the USFL afloat long-term. TV ratings fell. People lost interest amid the relentless chaos.
Wasn’t there a lawsuit?
Yes. Spurred by Trump’s theatrics with an assist from his infamous lawyer, Roy Cohn, the USFL challenged the NFL’s television monopoly in federal court with an antitrust lawsuit. And it won! A jury agreed the NFL had an illegal TV monopoly, but it rejected the USFL’s other claims. The jury famously awarded it $1 in damages, trebled to $3. That hollow victory (it also got $5.5 million in attorney fees covered by the NFL) finally killed the USFL. The league ended with a reported $160 million in collective debt.
Can it work this time?
Sure, but the odds are slim. The Athletic’s Dan Kaplan tackles that question more in-depth here. Really, it ultimately depends on how the league’s investors define success. Spring football has worked for stretches and in certain places. But it’s costly and requires time and patience. Investors and business partners must be willing to sustain and subsidize losses for years, and expectations of immediate success are foolish. The NFL took decades to achieve profitability and sustainability, and it still has teams jump cities after 100 years. Finding the right mix of product, markets, expectations and finances is akin to finding a needle in a stack of needles. Fans ultimately will render judgment with their wallets and eyeballs. Using the USFL name fuels a certain level of expectation and invites comparisons both good and bad.
(Top photo of Herschel Walker, who played for the New Jersey Generals from 1983-85: Sporting News via Getty Images)
