United Football League (2009–2012)
[6] Early news reports had speculated that based on the UFL's initial plan the league would become a "competitor" to the NFL.[7] The UFL seemed poised to capitalize on fan disgust with the NFL should the established league lock out its players prior to the 2011−12 season.[10] The league was beset by frequent operational interruptions, stemming from systemic financial shortfalls, especially from summer 2011 onward.[12][13][14] Over the course of the league's history, the Las Vegas Locomotives were the most successful team, winning two of the three championships, appearing in (but losing) the third, and having a perfect record for the season at the time of the cessation of operations.[15] The UFL initially had plans to start with eight teams with $12–20 million rosters playing in targeted sites in the fall of 2008.[citation needed] T. Boone Pickens and Mark Cuban had originally been in discussion with the league as potential owners,[16] but both backed out prior to the 2009 season.[17] Michael Huyghue, a former executive with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the head of a sports agency service, was the league's first and only commissioner.The league had identified 21 cities that they deemed possessed strong economic bases, passionate football tradition, and a high number of average TV viewing households as potential team locations.The soft launch called for opening the league with fewer teams than planned and playing an abbreviated schedule.The markets chosen for the premiere season were New York City (Sentinels), Las Vegas (Locomotives), Orlando (Florida Tuskers), and the San Francisco Bay Area (California Redwoods).Additionally, the league had a full schedule of three home games in the same stadium in only one of their selected cities, Las Vegas.Each of the uniforms (and the team logos and helmets that were unveiled on October 2)[20] incorporated the UFL's signature color scheme into their designs, including silver (primary color for the Las Vegas Locomotives), blue (Florida Tuskers), black (New York Sentinels), and lime green and white (California Redwoods).For 2010, the league indicated that five markets were under consideration for expansion teams: Omaha, Nebraska; San Antonio or Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City.[25] In January 2011, Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and majority owner of HDNet (now AXS TV), a cable channel and Web-streaming service which had broadcast some games of the league's inaugural two seasons, filed a federal lawsuit against the UFL for their failure to repay the loan by the October 6, 2010, deadline.[26] For the 2011 season, the UFL announced the addition of a franchise in the Hampton Roads (Norfolk metro area) region of Virginia,[27] originally owned by former CFL owner Jim Speros[28] and managed by former NFL and USFL quarterback Doug Williams.[29] Williams later joined his alma mater Grambling State University as their head coach, resigning as Destroyers' general manager.[37][38] After this postponement, the league confirmed it was considering even further contraction, with the Hartford Colonials potentially on the chopping block.As of that time, final postseason plans remained undecided; the date for the championship game, Friday, November 16, was set, although the location was not.On October 20, 2012, after four weeks, continued financial shortfalls, an uncertain stadium situation in Las Vegas, and dramatically reduced attendances across all four markets, the UFL ceased operations for the remainder of the 2012 season.[57] Frank Vuono, an executive with the UFL in its early existence, stated that Hambrecht had simply stopped paying the league's bills.These players would provide name value and legitimacy for the league and would fast track the development of local fanbases and a national TV audience.By time the initial season began, the league had totally dumped its original salary structure to suit the reality of the soft launch.To make a soft launch financially tolerable, player salaries had to be dramatically scaled back—pro-rated to reflect the shortened season.An agent representing two players with NFL experience, Jack Bechta, reported his clients were offered UFL contracts at a base salary of $35,000.He confirmed with other agents that $35,000 was the league mandated salary for skill players and $25,000 for punters, place kickers and long snappers, at least for the 2009 inaugural season.The arrangement with these two outlets garnered some exposure for the league, but little revenue, as it was obligated to purchase the broadcast time for the games and then attempt to recoup the expense entailed, and potentially any profit, by reselling commercial sponsorships.The Destroyers reached an agreement with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic for coverage of two regular season home games, one of which was never actually played; Glanville again provided color commentary, while CSN broadcasters Brent Harris and Dave Johnson called play-by-play for the Sacramento and Omaha games respectively.For 2012, the UFL stated they would broadcast all games live nationally on CBS Sports Network while supplementing that with regional programming.[3][50] It was later revealed that this deal included no payment of any kind from CBS Sports, and the UFL was required to pay all projected television production costs (approximately $150,000 per game) up front each week: unlike conventional sports television agreements where the network pays the league and/or team, the UFL actually had to pay CBS Sports to air its games,[93] meaning that the league was then responsible for selling advertising time to recoup its expenses and generate any revenues from the broadcasts.During 2009, the UFL used two sites for the teams' training camps and regular season practices, with California and Las Vegas using a $20 million facility constructed by the City of Casa Grande, Arizona,[96] and Florida and New York practicing at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando after failing to come to terms with Vero Beach, Florida, on the use of that city's former Dodgertown facility.
United Football League (2024)2012 UFL seasonAmerican footballBill HambrechtMichael HuyghueVirginia DestroyersLas Vegas LocomotivesCBS Sports NetworkComcast SportsNetVersusprofessionalminor leaguebegan play in October 2009the final one being cut short in October 2012National Football Leaguecollege footballhigh school footballNFL players' unionchampionships2009 UFL seasonTim ArmstrongT. Boone PickensMark CubanPaul PelosiSpeaker of the HouseNancy PelosiWall StreetChase Manhattan BankJacksonville JaguarsAustinBirminghamColumbusHartfordLas VegasLos AngelesLouisvilleMemphisMilwaukeeNew York CityOklahoma CityOrlandoPortlandRaleigh-DurhamSacramentoSalt Lake CitySan AntonioSan JoseLondonMexico CityMonterreyArena Football Leagueinaugural seasonpremiere seasonSentinelsFlorida TuskersSan Francisco Bay AreaCalifornia RedwoodsHofstra UniversityLong IslandNew JerseyTropicana FieldSt. Petersburg, FloridaTampa Bay Rays2009 UFL championship game2010 UFL seasonHartford ColonialsOmaha, NebraskaOmaha NighthawksDallas MavericksAXS TVa franchiseHampton RoadsNorfolkVirginiaJim SperosDoug WilliamsGrambling State UniversityJoe MogliaCincinnati BengalsRaleigh, North Carolina2011 UFL seasonChattanooga, TennesseeNBC Sports NetworkJerry GlanvilleJackson, Mississippi2011 UFL championship gamePlayoff Bowl1969 seasonLas Vegas Review-JournalSouthern CaliforniaBill MayerJim FasselAll American Football LeagueTriple-A baseballRaley FieldPacific Coast LeagueSacramento River CatsCashman FieldSam Boyd StadiumThe Wall Street JournalJacksonville, FloridaDennis GreenVince McMahondefunct football leagueDany GarciaDwayne JohnsonUnited States Football LeagueUnited Football Leaguesalary capJ. P. Losman2010 UFL championship gamenon-compete clauseUFL Premiere Season Draftsecond draft2011 UFL DraftTwitterOrlando, FloridaCitrus BowlJay GrudenStuart SternbergJoe TheismannHartford, ConnecticutRentschler FieldLas Vegas, NevadaRosenblatt StadiumTD Ameritrade Park