United Football League (2009–2012)

The United Football League (UFL) was a professional American football minor league based in the United States that began play in October 2009 and played four seasons, the final one being cut short in October 2012. The small league, which never had more than five teams playing at one time, played most of its games in markets where the National Football League (NFL) had no presence.^[1] Unlike most professional football leagues since the 1980s, the UFL played all of its games in the traditional fall season, competing directly with the NFL, college football, and high school football.

Quick Facts Sport, Founded ...

United Football League

Most recent season or competition: 2012 UFL season
Sport	American football
Founded	2007
First season	2009
Ceased	2012; 12 years ago (2012)
CEO	Bill Hambrecht (majority owner)
Commissioner	Michael Huyghue
Motto	"If you like great football, you will love the UFL"
No. of teams	4
Country	United States
Last champion(s)	Virginia Destroyers (1st)
Most titles	Las Vegas Locomotives (3)
TV partner(s)	CBS Sports Network (2012) Comcast SportsNet (2011) HDNet, Versus (2009–10)

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The UFL occupied the second tier of professional football in the United States, behind the National Football League.^[2][3] The UFL primarily consisted of players who had previously played for an NFL team. Although the league had no connection with the NFL, and had never intended to foster any such connection,^[4] some speculated that it could have become a minor or "developmental" league for the NFL,^[5] including the UFL's own commissioner.^[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.^[8] The thought was that the NFL would fail to reach an agreement with the NFL players' union after the end of their collective bargaining agreement. This would have led to the 2011−12 NFL season being delayed or cancelled, leaving the UFL the only pro football available.^[9] The NFL did lock out their players, but the situation was resolved in July 2011, before the start of the NFL season. This negated any benefits the UFL might have hoped to reap from the labor dispute.^[10]

The league was beset by frequent operational interruptions, stemming from systemic financial shortfalls, especially from summer 2011 onward. The United Football League announced on October 20, 2012, that it was ceasing operations immediately, after four weeks of play. The official line from the league was that they intended to resume operations and complete the unfinished 2012 schedule at an unspecified time in spring 2013, then revert to a fall schedule in fall 2013 without a full off-season.^[11] This announcement, however, was met with widespread skepticism from both within and outside the league, skepticism that was proven to be warranted as the league never returned.^[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.

The UFL's original pay structure plan included a player salary cap range of $12–20 million per team with a staff salary cap of $3 million per team. The UFL hoped to be paying at least 10 players on each roster in excess of $1 million each per season. 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.^[64]

The original plan was predicated on luring very wealthy owners like billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. The UFL however ultimately proved unsuccessful in securing commitments from enough of the deep-pocketed owners their original plan required.

By time the initial season began, the league had totally dumped its original salary structure to suit the reality of the soft launch. The league's original plan would have had the average UFL salary in the $240,000-$500,000 range, far in excess of the CFL's average salary. The short schedule gutted the league's ability to generate TV or gate revenue. 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. One of the players represented by the agent was a quarterback who received an offer of $35,000, although he stated that his negotiations revealed that teams are allowed to pay one quarterback more than the $35,000 salary. Bonuses were limited to $10,000 per player.^[65] In addition to the base salary, the league also paid for all housing expenses for its players.^[66]

The league's initial salaries were roughly equal to the average per-game salaries in the Canadian Football League and, adjusted for inflation, equivalent to the old XFL. In another similarity to the XFL, teams could offer a sizable performance bonus; former Locomotives starting quarterback J. P. Losman has stated that he received a "nice sized" bonus for winning the 2009 UFL championship game.^[67]

In 2010, players earned $6,250 per game, for a total of $50,000 in the regular season; participants in the 2010 UFL championship game were paid a total of $10,000 each, with an additional $10,000 going to each player on the winning team.^[68] Starting quarterbacks earned a $200,000 salary.^[69]

There was a significant delay in payments after the 2010 season, because of a revenue shortfall, a severe underestimation of expenses, and a delay in a $50,000,000 subsidy from one of the UFL's owners.^[70] As of February 2011, the bonuses for the 2010 championship game remained unpaid, as did numerous other bills accrued by the league during the 2010 season.^[71] Most of these bills were eventually paid in March.

According to reports that surfaced in May 2011, the base salary for players was reduced to $5,000 per game (including the championship), with only a $1,000 additional bonus for winning the championship game.^[72][73] This contradicted the word of the commissioner, who had previously stated he aimed to increase compensation to $10,000 per game in March.^[74]

Pay was further reduced to $3,500 per game for the 2012 season.^[75]

Each player was under contract to the UFL through February of the following year, effectively creating a two-month non-compete clause after the season ends, and any NFL team that wished to sign a UFL player was supposed pay a transfer fee of $150,000 (later lowered to $25,000) to the league. This fee was waived after the 2009 season but was more strictly enforced for 2010; in practice, no NFL team ever paid the fee, and the players who did jump to the NFL ended up paying the fee out of their UFL salaries.^[76] The league dropped the transfer fee for the 2011 season.

For 2009, each team was unofficially tied to a pair of divisions in the National Football League. In addition to this feature, the league held a draft on June 18, 2009, the UFL Premiere Season Draft. A second draft was held on June 2, 2010. The 2011 UFL Draft was held on May 2, with player selections announced via Twitter. No formal draft was staged prior to the 2012 UFL season.

The original plan was for owners to pay $30 million to buy a half interest in a team. The league would own the other half. The UFL had difficulties finding willing owners the UFL leadership considered suitable.

The UFL planned for each team to eventually sell shares to the public that they hoped could raise another $60 million.^[77] This never came to pass.

Ultimately, the league accrued financial losses of between $120 million and $150 million over the course of the league's four years of play.^[12] Paul Pelosi's investment alone was between $10 million and $50 million, according to federal disclosure forms filed by his wife Nancy.^[78] For his part, Pelosi initially anticipated losing $6 million per year, based on an anticipated 20,000 fans per game, and hoped to make up the difference from a renegotiated television contract in 2011 that paid enough rights fees for the league to turn a profit.^[79] While he did reach the 20,000 fan threshold in Sacramento in 2010 and 2011, the paying television contract never materialized. Hambrecht sustained losses of $40 million on the league.^[57]

Six teams played in the UFL over the course of its history, no more than five in any given year. The teams that played in the league were: the Las Vegas Locomotives, Hartford Colonials (originally the New York Sentinels), Omaha Nighthawks, Sacramento Mountain Lions (originally the California Redwoods), Florida Tuskers, and Virginia Destroyers. The Florida Tuskers and Virginia Destroyers were legally separate teams, but because the Tuskers folded before the Destroyers began play, the UFL assigned most of the Tuskers' staff to the Destroyers and the two are typically conflated for the purpose of league history.

Only stadiums in which the team played more than one game are listed.

Timeline

In an approach similar to previous football leagues, the UFL mostly adhered to standard NFL and football rules with a few differences of note:

• No "Tuck Rule" – In the NFL from 1999 to 2013, if a passer brought his arm forward in a passing motion and then lost possession of the ball as he was attempting to tuck it back toward his body, it was considered a forward pass (and thus an incomplete pass if the ball hits the ground). This "tuck rule" had become one of the most controversial rules in the NFL;^[84] in the UFL, however, an identical play was called a fumble. The tuck rule was eliminated by the NFL prior to the 2013 season.
• Blitzing/Rushing – On each play, the defense was required to use four down linemen who must have been in a 3- or 4-point stance at the snap. No more than six defenders could rush the passer. Penalty for violating this rule was illegal defense (signaled as unsportsmanlike conduct), with a 15-yard penalty and a first down. This rule was meant to both protect the quarterback and encourage more scoring.^[85] A similar rule was in effect for the NFL's now-defunct Pro Bowl for several years.
• Intentional grounding – A quarterback was allowed to intentionally ground the ball to avoid a sack, provided he got the throw back to the line of scrimmage. He did not have to be outside the pocket to do so.
• Fumbling out of the end zones – If the ball is fumbled forward into and out of the end zone, it is placed back at the spot of the fumble, whereas in the NFL this play is ruled a touchback and possession goes over to the defending team.
• Instant replay – As opposed to the NFL, where the referee reviews disputed plays (other than turnovers, scoring plays, and plays inside the two-minute warning) through a video monitor on the sidelines, all UFL replay reviews were viewed upstairs by a replay official, who had 90 seconds to make a ruling.
• Touchdown celebrations – Player celebrations (individual or group) were permitted only in the end zones or the bench areas.
• Face masks – The UFL allowed the single-bar face mask, which the NFL had outlawed in 2007. Only one player, punter Scott Player, used the single-bar mask.
• Overtime – Starting in 2010 (for the playoffs) and 2012 (for all other games), the NFL has adopted a modified sudden death overtime, where sudden death occurs only if the opening drive of overtime ends in a touchdown (before, any score would immediately end the extra session). The UFL from its inception employed an overtime system that assured each team at least one possession. Therefore, if the first team scored on their opening drive (even if it is a touchdown), their opponent was then given the opportunity to equal that score on the next drive, or surpass it if the other team's first drive resulted in anything less than a touchdown and 2-point conversion. If both teams remain tied after each has had one possession, overtime then reverted to sudden death. If the score remained tied after 15 minutes, the game ended in a tie, except that post-season games will be played to a victorious conclusion. The actual application of the OT rules occurred during the first UFL championship game in 2009 when Las Vegas won on a field goal after the first possession by Florida ended in an interception.

For the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the UFL scheduled its games on non-traditional evenings for pro football: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Though these games conflicted with high school and college football events in some locations, the UFL's scheduling plan was different from that of the National Football League, which is prohibited under federal anti-trust exemption law (15 U.S.C. § 1291, i.e., the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961) from broadcasting any professional game within seventy-five miles of any inter-collegiate or high school game on any Friday or Saturday, beginning with the second Friday in September and ending the second Saturday in December (15 U.S.C. § 1293).^[87]

In 2011, the league originally intended to play its games primarily on the traditional Sunday afternoon time setting for professional football, but starting its season in August, a full month before the start of the NFL regular season. However, financial difficulties forced the league to return to its schedule from previous years.

In 2012 it was announced that games would begin in September and that the schedule would be played over eight weeks. When this announcement was made, it had been anticipated that the league would have expanded beyond four active members. Games were to be played on Wednesday and Friday nights with six weeks of regular season action and two weeks of playoffs, culminating with a championship game in early November. The eventual schedule announced in August 2012 varied somewhat from this, with the regular season extended to eight weeks but only one playoff game. A revision announced in early September moved the opening week back to the last week in September. The regular season was to be unbalanced, with each team playing two of the others three times and the third one only twice. The 2012 championship game had originally been rescheduled to be played on December 1; during one week in late October the games were to have been played on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

All league games except for two during the first two seasons were carried nationally by either Versus or Mark Cuban's HDNet. 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.^[88] The only exceptions were two games involving the Hartford Colonials, games that Versus originally held rights to, rights that were granted to New England Sports Network in 2010.^[89] In 2009, Versus carried eight games (including the championship), mostly on Thursday nights, while HDNet carried the remaining five. All games were available in high definition. Versus' new play-by-play team for 2010 consisted of former TNN announcer Craig Minervini on play-by-play, Doug Flutie as color analyst, ex-NFL linebacker Ryan Nece on the sidelines and Damon Hack of Sports Illustrated included.^[90] HDNet had Kenny Rice as play-by-play commentator, Paul Maguire as color commentator, and Ron Kruck and Paul Crane on the sidelines. The New England Sports Network had Mike Logan for one game and Brett Haber for the other game, with Scott Zolak providing color commentary and John Chandler and Tony Terzi on the sidelines. All of the games were webcast for those fans who didn't have either of the stations.^[91]

Neither Versus nor HDNet agreed to carry games in 2011. Three games were picked up by Comcast SportsNet California, all of which involved the Mountain Lions at home; Grant Napear doing play-by-play while Jerry Glanville handled color commentary, with additional contributions by Mike Lamb, Mike Pawlawski, and Dan Dibley. 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. The date for the second Destroyers game scheduled to be covered by Comcast Mid-Atlantic became the actual date of the rescheduled 2011 UFL championship game, which was then broadcast by Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, which was the game's sole television broadcaster. Internet streaming also resumed for the 2011 season, albeit with a new carrier Veetle streaming the game to the Web and to mobile devices.

For 2012, the UFL stated they would broadcast all games live nationally on CBS Sports Network while supplementing that with regional programming.^[92] The league finalized their deal with CBS Sports Network on July 26, 2012.^[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. The 2012 season was not broadcast on the Internet, in part due to the league Webmaster leaving during the previous off-season.

In 2010, all five UFL teams signed agreements with local radio stations to carry play-by-play, a marked contrast from 2009, when no games were carried on radio. The Hartford Colonials were broadcast on WPOP and broadcast two games locally on NESN that didn't air on HDNet or Versus.^[94] The Florida Tuskers were broadcast on WYGM.^[95] The Locos broadcast on KWWN (or KBAD when conflicts arose). KHTK carries Mountain Lions games, while KOZN was the radio home of the Nighthawks. In 2011, WVSP-FM and WGH-AM became the broadcast homes of the Destroyers. Radio broadcasts continued in Sacramento and Omaha in 2012, but were discontinued in Las Vegas and Virginia.

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.^[97] Beginning in 2010, the league's teams trained and practiced in facilities in their own home markets;^[98] in 2012, Sacramento trained at Charles C. Hughes Stadium, Las Vegas trained at The Henderson International School and Omaha trained at the local Kroc Center.

The trophy given annually to the UFL champions was The William Hambrecht Trophy, named after the Las Vegas Locos owner and UFL founder. When the trophy was first awarded in 2009, the Hambrecht Trophy displayed similar qualities to the Vince Lombardi Trophy. It featured the star from the UFL logo with a streak coming off of one of the corners down onto the base. This design was scrapped after year one. For the 2010 season, the Hambrecht Trophy was redesigned. The second design featured two bases in the shape of the UFL logo connected by four columns with a UFL football on a kicking tee placed on the top base. The previous design was then used as the championship game MVP trophy.

• UFL championship game