The Return of the USFL

[Ann]

USFL returning in '22 with eight teams, Fox broadcast deal
 

The United States Football League is back, returning in the spring of '22 with at least eight teams and a national broadcast TV deal. Fox Sports will carry the league’s games and hold a minority stake in the company that owns the USFL.
 

</snip>
 

The Spring League Founder & CEO Brian Woods is co-founder of the new USFL. Details about the league are scarce. A release says cities, teams, head coaches and game schedules "will be announced at a later date.”
 

</snip>

[GG1]

2 hours ago, Ann said:

USFL returning in '22 with eight teams, Fox broadcast deal
 

The United States Football League is back, returning in the spring of '22 with at least eight teams and a national broadcast TV deal. Fox Sports will carry the league’s games and hold a minority stake in the company that owns the USFL.
 

</snip>
 

The Spring League Founder & CEO Brian Woods is co-founder of the new USFL. Details about the league are scarce. A release says cities, teams, head coaches and game schedules "will be announced at a later date.”
 

</snip>

 

Interesting announcement, considering Fox is big with XFL/Spring League this year.

[devnull]

Trump should try to get invovled

[You Dirty Rat]

So far the league drafted a horse, Broken Image

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by HOUSE

[SackMan518]

Hopefully this time they stay as a spring league and don't try to compete with the NFL.

[KD in CA]

On 6/24/2021 at 2:56 PM, SackMan518 said:

Hopefully this time they stay as a spring league and don't try to compete with the NFL.

That 30 for 30 documentary made it pretty clear to me that decision was Trump’s attempt to cut a deal to get an NFL franchise.  If they had offered him admission to the league for the Generals, he would have dumped the rest of the league in a heartbeat.

[SackMan518]

On 6/26/2021 at 11:19 AM, KD in CA said:

That 30 for 30 documentary made it pretty clear to me that decision was Trump’s attempt to cut a deal to get an NFL franchise.  If they had offered him admission to the league for the Generals, he would have dumped the rest of the league in a heartbeat.

Exactly, he was trying to sneak in little the NBA mergers but it didn't work out. Bad business decision.

[Ann]

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[Ann]

...
 

 

[B-Man]

 

 

Should we "adopt" a team for BillsFans ?

 

 

 Pittsburgh Maulers

 Birmingham Stallions

 New Orleans Breakers

 Michigan Panthers

 Philadelphia Stars

 New Jersey Generals

 United States Football League

 Tampa Bay Bandits

 Houston Gamblers

 

 

My vote would be for Birmingham.

[Beer__League__Hockey]

My vote is for the Gamblers, they were a good farm team for the Bills in the 80s.

[Arm of Harm]

On 2/18/2022 at 7:57 PM, B-Man said:

 

 

Should we "adopt" a team for BillsFans ?

 

 

 Pittsburgh Maulers

 Birmingham Stallions

 New Orleans Breakers

 Michigan Panthers

 Philadelphia Stars

 New Jersey Generals

 United States Football League

 Tampa Bay Bandits

 Houston Gamblers

 

 

My vote would be for Birmingham.

I don’t understand the logic here. If you live in Philadelphia you already have the Eagles. Why do you need the Philadelphia Stars? If you live in Tampa you already have the Bucs. Why do you need the Bandits? If you live in New Jersey you have two NFL teams already, so why do you need the Generals?
 

Birmingham Stallions makes sense to me, because there is no NFL team in Birmingham (or indeed anywhere in Alabama). Also the South is big into football. I remember driving through southern Georgia and southern Alabama on a Friday night, listening to the radio. Not much to listen to, except country music and high school football. Any football is better than any country music, so I chose football. 
 

If I was in charge of the USFL, I’d want most of my teams to hail from places like Birmingham. Put them in the South where interest in football is strong. Keep them away from cities which already have NFL teams. Maybe you create a rivalry between Birmingham’s football team and Mobile’s. People could get emotionally invested in stuff like that. 

[Alaska Darin]

1 hour ago, Arm of Harm said:

I don’t understand the logic here. If you live in Philadelphia you already have the Eagles. Why do you need the Philadelphia Stars? If you live in Tampa you already have the Bucs. Why do you need the Bandits? If you live in New Jersey you have two NFL teams already, so why do you need the Generals?
 

Birmingham Stallions makes sense to me, because there is no NFL team in Birmingham (or indeed anywhere in Alabama). Also the South is big into football. I remember driving through southern Georgia and southern Alabama on a Friday night, listening to the radio. Not much to listen to, except country music and high school football. Any football is better than any country music, so I chose football. 
 

If I was in charge of the USFL, I’d want most of my teams to hail from places like Birmingham. Put them in the South where interest in football is strong. Keep them away from cities which already have NFL teams. Maybe you create a rivalry between Birmingham’s football team and Mobile’s. People could get emotionally invested in stuff like that. 

I'm with you on this.  Why not try places like Louisville, Memphis, Austin, Huntsville, Omaha, Birmingham, OKC, etc?  At the very least you get some data points about possible expansion viability.

 

I don't know how much I'd support a Buffalo USFL or XFL team.  I'd probably watch it on television if it was on but I doubt I'd drop much cash on it.

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

5 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

I'm with you on this.  Why not try places like Louisville, Memphis, Austin, Huntsville, Omaha, Birmingham, OKC, etc?  At the very least you get some data points about possible expansion viability.

 

I don't know how much I'd support a Buffalo USFL or XFL team.  I'd probably watch it on television if it was on but I doubt I'd drop much cash on it.

 

Because the TV markets aren't as big.  

 

The smallest TV market they occupy is Birmingham (45).  The largest you mentioned is Austin (39).  There's no comparison, when it comes to negotiating TV rights.  

 

TV contracts take precedence over local support.  

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

Because the TV markets aren't as big.  

 

The smallest TV market they occupy is Birmingham (45).  The largest you mentioned is Austin (39).  There's no comparison, when it comes to negotiating TV rights.  

 

TV contracts take precedence over local support.  

Yeah, I get that.  I just don't think you're ever going to generate television numbers when you tune in and there's maybe 10% capacity in the stadiums.  The optics have never really worked and I doubt they ever will.

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

5 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Yeah, I get that.  I just don't think you're ever going to generate television numbers when you tune in and there's maybe 10% capacity in the stadiums.  The optics have never really worked and I doubt they ever will.

 

So maybe this time, without Trump involved, they'll get a whole five bucks in the lawsuit.

[Arm of Harm]

6 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

I'm with you on this.  Why not try places like Louisville, Memphis, Austin, Huntsville, Omaha, Birmingham, OKC, etc?  At the very least you get some data points about possible expansion viability.

 

I don't know how much I'd support a Buffalo USFL or XFL team.  I'd probably watch it on television if it was on but I doubt I'd drop much cash on it.

 

I think you and I are on the same page.

 

Here's a thought. College football is very big in the South. Huge. A lot of times a guy who's a big star in college doesn't have the type of NFL career he'd want. Tim Tebow being one example of that.

 

How could a league like the USFL benefit from this? For one thing, you could give hometown teams first dibs at signing free agents. If a player has a connection with Memphis for example, either high school or college, then the Memphis team gets first dibs at signing him. If a player has a hometown connection with multiple teams, each of those teams gets first dibs. They can all talk with him.

 

Here's another thought. What if a college star like Tim Tebow isn't good enough to make it in the USFL on his own merits? You still want a team to sign him anyway to build support for the league among Tebow's many fans. Every year the USFL's commissioner could designate up to three star players. To be on the list, you have to currently not be employed by any USFL team, and you have to have been a big name college star with a lot of fans. If a team keeps a college star on their roster for one year they get a 7th round pick. The next year he's on their roster they get a 6th round pick. After that it's maybe a 5th round pick each year. Maybe bump it up to a 4th round pick each year he plays in more than 50% of the offensive or defensive snaps. I realize the USFL's draft works differently than the NFL's, so your "4th round pick" might be getting the #4 ranked offensive lineman for example.

[Ann]

..

 

 

[Fansince88]

When does this league play?

[devnull]

18 minutes ago, Fansince88 said:

When does this league play?

April 16