Sporting News, August 14, 1984
Just one month after putting on a triumphant Championship Game in Tampa, the owners of the USFL met in New York to determine the future of the upstart spring football league. While the big news of the week was expected to be a report and vote on the proposed move to a fall schedule, sad news derailed the first day of the meetings, leading to a change in tone and focus for the meeting. It was announced by management of the New Jersey Generals that team owner Donald Trump would be unable to attend the meeting. Trump, who was expected to be the loudest voice in the room in favor of a fall calendar, has has some legal issues surrounding properties he owns and was forced to appear in court. Head Coach and GM Walt Michaels would stand in for Trump during the meetings, however, his position on a calendar shift was certainly not as strong or pervasive as the outspoken owner of the Franchise. By the time the vote was taken, Trump had been able to return, but the damage was done.
FALL v. SPRING
Ted Taube (Oakland) and Fred Bullard (Jacksonville) would have to take up the charge for a fall calendar, but in Tampa owner John Bassett they faced a charismatic spokesperson for retaining the spring calendar, and an argument backed up with several months of market research as well as affidavits from numerous USFL sponsors, including television partners ABC and ESPN, all pushing for the league to retain its league structure.
While most of the discussion on this pivotal topic was conducted behind closed doors, it has leaked that while several franchises in non-NFL cities argued in favor of a fall season, the vast majority of franchises, which share cities with NFL rivals, saw a move to fall as a suicide pact, one which would cost them sponsors, television revenue, and certainly gate receipts as the league would be in direct competition with the NFL for fans in the fall.
In the end, what came out of the discussions was a compromise position. The league would remain in the Spring for the foreseeable future, but two actions would be taken to ensure financial viability. The first would be a revision of the revenue sharing agreement to take into account the cost of business in different markets (stadium and office space rental, workers compensation costs in various states, and other business expenses) as well as a tighter gate revenue policy which required teams that fell below 25,000 average attendance to receive a lesser cut of the shared revenue, a motivator for some franchises to adopt more aggressive marketing campaigns or potentially consider relocation.
The second, and more controversial, compromise was a decision to mount an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, citing both ongoing stadium lease conflicts in several cities as well as mounting evidence that the NFL was pressuring current and potential USFL sponsors to avoid signing lucrative multi-year contracts with the fledgling league. The final component of the lawsuit would make use of documents which demonstrate attempts by the NFL to limit TV contracts for the new league. The league will argue that the NFL has been engaging in monopolistic manipulation in several key markets. The proposed suit would be brought to the courts in the fall of 1984 with hopes that resolution could be found prior to the 1986 season.
Of the owners who made public statements after the vote, only Mr. Trump was outspoken about his feelings on the matter. Stating that the league would always be small potatoes if it stayed in the Spring, and that his interests did not provide him with the time to "waste on a project that isn't going anywhere", it seems clear that at least at present Mr. Trump is reconsidering his decision to buy into the USFL, and we may soon be seeing him seek to divest himself from what he clearly views as a losing proposition, spring football.
ATTENDANCE
Leaguewide attendance was a second major topic of discussion and debate within the league meetings. While it was clear in 1984 that the recent expansion was a success, with Jacksonville, Memphis, Pittsburgh and Houston all averaging over 30,000 in attendance (Jacksonville led the league with over 54,000 average attendance), there remain concerns that some of the larger markets in the league--Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Oakland and Washington—had all fallen below the target attendance of 30,000 per game.
New ownership in Oakland and LA made assurances that they would be more aggressive in local advertising and partnerships to increase revenue. Boston, despite moving to a stadium with a 33,000 capacity, still could not account for their attendance hovering in the low 20,000s (still an improvement over 1983). The biggest issue, however, might be Chicago, where attendance hovered just over 20,000 and where owner Ted Dietrich has expressed an interest in backing out of the league. While no official decision on Chicago ownership has been made, the league is very conscious of the fact that television revenue is tied to markets and any disruption in Chicago was likely to make ABC/ESPN wary about future contracts.
NFL SIGNINGS
While not directly discussed at the USFL meetings, it has become clear that the league has largely adopted a strategy to focus on the annual collegiate draft, rather than raiding NFL rosters, as the primary source of “name” players for the league. For the just concluded season, a few teams sought out NFL starters to enhance their rosters, most notably New Jersey with the signing of Brian Sipe at quarterback and Gary Barbaro at safety. Most franchises utilized their exempt positions on college stars such as DE Reggie White, RB Mike Rozier, WR Willie Gault and QB’s Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Todd Blackledge, and Rick Neuheisel. There were a few which stuck to the lower-budget model and have unused exemption slots for the salary cap, most notably Denver and Oakland. As part of the new “calendar compromise” these clubs will have to ensure in 1985 and beyond that at least 2 of 3 exemptions are utilized. Both Oakland and Denver have begun to move in this direction with recent signings of NFL players, and we expect this to continue following the January USFL draft.
There have been a handful of early NFL signings, and some trades within the USFL triggered by the signings. Most notable have been the following:
Jacksonville has signed San Diego Chargers QB Ed Luther to a 3 year deal. The arrival of the Charger backup to work behind ALL-USFL QB Doug Williams strengthens the Bulls’ bench but may mean the end of backup, and former Jets, Bills and Broncos QB Matt Robinson.
The Houston Gamblers, perhaps wishing to take some pressure off of Jim Kelly, have signed former Atlanta Falcon RB Lynn Cain to a 2 year deal. Houston also acquired Denver wideout Robert Johnson in a trade that sent a 6th round draft pick back to the Gold.
Denver enhanced their already stalwart defense, signing former Seattle Seahawk DT Manu Tuiasosopo to a 2 year deal.
In perhaps the most interesting move of the early offseason, New Jersey, Boston, and Oakland completed a three-team trade. After a lackluster season, the Generals part with former NFL quarterback Brian Sipe, who will now play for the Oakland Invaders (a sign that Oakland’s new ownership is serious about bringing some name recognition to their franchise). Oakland, in turn, sends Boston their 2nd round draft pick in the open draft, and Boston agrees to provide New Jersey with their first pick in the Territorial draft. While New Jersey front office staff have been tight lipped about the choice to utilize Boston’s pick, speculation is running wild that the Generals are already in negotiations with Heisman winner and Boston College superstar QB Doug Flutie.
Rumors are swirling about potential USFL signings of additional NFL players, with names like Richard Todd, Steve Fuller, George Rogers, Wilbert Montgomery, Mike Renfro, and Tom Cousineau being mentioned, though many suspect that these established NFL players may also be using the USFL to negotiate new contracts with their NFL franchises. Only time will tell how many and which NFL players will make the leap to the Spring league for their 1985 season.
NEW OWNER, NEW LOOK
The most lighthearted news out of the recently completed USFL Owners Summer Meeting came from new LA Express lead owner Ted Field, who unveiled a new uniform set for the Express. While largely paralleling the Navy & Silver look the Express have worn for the past two years, the uniform adds greater emphasis to the team’s little-seen third color, burgundy. The new uniforms feature bolder burgundy striping on the helmet, sleeves and pants, while adding a burgundy outer piping to the player numbers. No change to the logo was announced. A tweak from the new owner, but one which retains the identity of a team on the rise. Now we just have to see if there will be fans in the stands in LA, well, Anaheim actually, to buy replica jerseys.
