Sporting News, April 12, 1984
Today marks the last day of the 3-day midseason USFL Owner’s Meeting, held in Los Angeles. Representatives of each ownership group spent the past 3 days discussing the league’s calendar, financing, sponsorships, television contracts, and the near future of the league. There were some contentious conversations, particularly around the concept of a potential move to a fall schedule, but in the end, some important decisions were made. Here is a rundown of the major topics of discussion.
League Expansion: While this year’s expansion by 4 franchises has been tauted as a qualified success, owners expressed concern about additional expansion putting a strain on the league as it seeks to develop a solid financial base and a level of equity among the member franchises. It was decided by a 13-3 vote to set 1987 as the earliest date for future expansion. This will certainly come as sad news to the ownership groups which lost out on 1984 expansion and were hoping for another chance in 1985.
League Equity: Citing concerns over the imbalance between higher revenue (higher attendance) franchises and those which are struggling to attract fans, there was broad discussion of strategies which the league may implement to provide shared revenue without offering a free ride to underperforming franchises. A hot topic in this discussion was that of the salary cap and the concerns that some teams were dramatically underspending in comparison to others, creating a competitive imbalance as well as a financial one. A subcommittee of 5 owners have been tasked with revising and proposing the salary cap and revenue sharing model.
Ownership Transfer: The league approved by 11-5 a policy which would provide the league with a strong voice in the event of potential franchise transfer of ownership. It is widely known that the Chicago-Arizona franchise swap, as well as the sale of the New Jersey Generals during the 1983 offseason was largely viewed as too chaotic and too random for the benefit of the league. The decision to increase centralized league power was criticized by all 3 groups cited (Trump in NJ, Josephs and Dietrich in Chicago and Arizona), but was approved and now will allow the league the right of first refusal to take over any franchise and lead the ownership search. There are rumors that Chicago’s Jim Joseph may already be looking to back out of the league, and the league cannot afford to lose a major market like Chicago.
Scheduling: It is no surprise that several owners complained about the imbalance and inequity in the 1984 schedule, one which sees several teams go on extended road trips, play divisional games early in the season, or combine long cross-country flights. Others have complained that the format in which teams from one conference play only a small number of games against the other conference diminishes the national reach of the league. It was decided that the USFL would reach out to both MLB and the NBA to seek advice and potential partnership on the issue of schedule development in hopes of creating a more balanced and less taxing schedule in 1985. It is likely that the 1985 schedule will see a reduction in the number of weeks impacted by byes as well as greater interconference play.
Television & Sponsorship: Reports from key committees reported ongoing discussion with ABC/ESPN for a new multi-year television contract, as well as new sponsorship partnerships with Anheiser-Busch, Ford Motor Company, and United Airlines. The league is also looking to modify its contracts with both Champion sports and Logo 7 for official league apparel and merchandise.
Rules: The league approved the formation of a 6 person Rules Committee, to include 1 owner, 2 head coaches, 2 members of USFL Officiating and 1 general manager would be formed as a permanent committee to assess potential changes to league rules for game play. It is expected that the topic of instant replay will be revisited, as well as potential alterations to the kicking game and to pass interference penalties, all controversial topics within the league and among fans.
Season Calendar: The most heated debates of the week took place around the topic of potential exploration of moving from Spring to a Fall schedule. Donald Trump, the new owner of the Generals pushed for the move and was countered by Tampa Bay Bandits owner John Bassett. Both parties cited economic factors for the different calendar models, but it was clear that there was little data behind their arguments. The league meeting ended with an agreement that an exploratory committee led by Michigan owner Alfred Taubman, would report at the July league meeting regarding the economic impact of a potential shift to a fall calendar.
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