USA Today, Sept. 14, 1986.
While we have come to expect a lot of interesting news out of the USFL’s quarterly owner’s meetings, news of expansion, relocation, sale of teams, and the like, we have never seen a week like this one. We have had team news, player news, trades, controversy, you name it, the USFL provided it this week.
FRANCHISE NEWS
Despite significant debate about the merits of the stadium deal, the value of the market, and the potential for poor outcomes with what may prove to be a temporary placement, the league owners unanimously approved the relocation of William Tatham’s expansion team from San Diego to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team will play in the University of Tulsa’s Skelly Stadium, which holds just over 40,000 with temporary seating. This is far superior to San Antonio’s 20,000 seat Alamo Stadium, but concern about the stadium amenities and the market size remain.
The team, for their part, released their new identity. They will try to draw fans from across the state as the Oklahoma Outlaws, will sport a black and red color scheme, and debuted a logo featuring a masked outlaw with a large black hat. Oklahoma will be coached by former Steelers defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer, and have just announced their first big deal, a trade with the Jacksonville Bulls which we will outline below.
In addition to the vote on Oklahoma as the 20th USFL franchise, league owners approved another increase of the team salary cap, from 35,000,000 to 38,000,000. They also set the rules for the upcoming Expansion draft (below), and approved sponsorship deals with Champion Sports, Burger King, Chrysler, and Hertz Auto Rental, deals which will likely expand the revenue stream for the league considerably. But the biggest action was not between the owners but among the General Managers of each team.
EXPANSION DRAFT
As stated above the league finalized the expansion draft format. In November the 4 expansion clubs-Chicago, Orlando, Oklahoma, and San Antonio—will select from a large pool of currently-signed USFL players. Each of the 16 continuing franchises is able to protect only 8 players from the initial selection, and will be able to protect an additional player every time one of their players is selected. There will be 25 rounds, and there are caps on player selection from any one team so that no USFL team will lose more than 8 players from their rosters. Beyond these 25 players the four expansion teams will also have 3 additional rounds in the upcoming Open Collegiate Draft and will have full access to the USFL free agent pool.
The 16 continuing USFL franchises were required to release their 8 initial protected players, and it is, as you would expect a combination of each team’s major contributors, with a definite focus on younger and rising stars over aging veterans. Kickers, Punters, O-line and several veterans were left unprotected in the list, but may be protected as the 4 expansion clubs pick higher priority slots first. Here are the highlights of the protected lists:
ARIZONA: QB R. Bosco, HB D. Clack, TE T. Orr, WR T. Johnson, DT E. Weaver, LB S. White, LB B. Noble
BALTIMORE: QB V. Evans, HB T. Spencer, WR. J. Flowers, LB B. Apuna, LB. E. Brady, CB L. Frazier
BIRMINGHAM: QB C. Stoudt, HB J. Cribbs, WR E. Givens, DE A. Still, DE. B. Barber, LB K. Greene, SS W. Cesare
DENVER: QB B. Gagliano, TE J. Novacek, WR B. Brooks, DT L. Short, DE L. White, LB. K. Gouveia, CB D. Martin
HOUSTON: QB J. Kelly, WR R. Sanders, WR C. Verdin, DT M. Carter, DE S. Fletcher, LB. K. DeAyala, FS D. Dykes
JACKSONVILLE: HB G. Adams, G D. Love, WR G. Clark, WR H. Jones, LB V. Johnson, LB C. Bratton
LOS ANGELES: QB S. Young, HB T. Boddie, G G. Zimmerman, TE T. Christiansen, WR J. Townsell, WR E. Martin, LB C. Banks, CB R. Cherry
MEMPHIS: QB W. Lewis, HB R. Williams, G J. Dukes, WR M. Gray, DE R. White, DE B. Reese, LB E. Simmons
MICHIGAN: QB J. Trudeau, HB J. Williams, WR A. Carter, WR D. Holloway, DE R. Paggett, LB J. Corker, CB K. Bostic
NEW JERSEY: QB D. Flutie, HB H. Walker, FB K. Byars, TE B. Jones, WR L. Jones, CB T. Daniels, SS G. Barbaro
NEW ORLEANS: HB M. Dupree, HB D. Hilliard, TE D. Ross, WR N. Franz, DE D. Wilkerson, LB M. Marek
OAKLAND: QB B. Sipe, HB A. Whittington, TE R. Chester, WR M. Duper, WR H. Ellard, LB G. Plummer, CB D. Martin
PHILADELPHIA: QB C. Fusina, HB K. Bryant, C B. Bush, T W. Wolford, TE S. Folsom, DT J. Geathers, DE W. Fuller, LB S. Mills
PITTSBURGH: QB A. Risher, HB M. Rozier, FB R. Wolfley, WR J. Jefferson, DT A. Carreker, LB M. Tuiasosopo, CB R. Osborne
TAMPA BAY: QB J. Reaves, HB G. Anderson, WR E. Truvillion, WR C. Collinsworth, DT W. Perry, LB P. Plurowski
WASHINGTON: HB C. James, TE M. Bavaro, WR J. Walters, WR W. Slaughter, DE C. Haley, DE D. Manley, LB B. Zavala, CB L. Lyles
MAJOR TRADES
The USFL’s 4 Expansion teams are not simply sitting back and waiting to select players from the unprotected list. All four are already in the thick of the offseason and have proven to be aggressive in signing players who will serve as faces for their franchises. In some cases, using disgruntled players as leverage to sign away a star, in others simply offering more than face value to secure a needed marquee player. This has been a week of one domino after another falling and one big name USFL player after another shifting from team to team. Only Chicago stood pat, but after signing Iowa’s Chuck Long and the NFL’s Clay Matthews, they had already made their mark. Here are the big trades that everyone around the league is talking about.
Oklahoma acquires QB Doug Williams from Jacksonville
It was no secret that Williams wanted out of Jacksonville, and Oklahoma, with a wide open roster, had the funds and the picks necessary to make it happen. The deal signed by Williams last month had many suspecting a sign & trade deal was in the works, and this past week it came to fruition. Williams was sent to the Outlaws and a fistful of picks made their way to the Bulls. Oklahoma sent the Bulls their 1st pick in the Territorial Draft, their 2nd in the Open Draft and the two teams swapped 5th round open draft picks. Williams will be the undisputed star of the new franchise, and will now have to wait to see what kind of talent surrounds him on the roster.
Arizona parts with QBR Leader Rick Neuheisel
No one even suspected that Neuheisel was on the block, but that did not stop the San Antonio Gunslingers from making an offer that Arizona could not refuse. The Wranglers not only receive San Antonio’s #1 and #4 Open Draft picks this year, but a second #1 in the 1988 draft. It seems clear that the performance of Robbie Bosco in relief of the injured Neuheisel this year helped to make this trade possible. Without a solid option at QB it is doubtful even this haul of picks would have swayed the Wranglers away from their top-rated quarterback. Neuheisel, who has had a series of injury-plagued seasons, has still proven to be one of the most accurate and effective signalcallers in the league. The question now becomes what kind of offensive talent will the Gunslingers put around him, and will Neuheisel have any voice in the expansion draft as the team builds up its roster.
San Antonio signs a defensive captain, obtaining LB Putt Choate from Denver
Clearly the Gunslingers are not big believers in building through the draft, as they give away a second wave of picks, this time their #2 picks in both the Territorial and Open Draft, to acquire a defensive parallel to Neuheisel in Denver team captain Putt Choate. The hard-hitting linebacker will likely lead the Gunslinger defense as he brings a blue collar attitude to the defense.
Orlando becomes Washington South
We are not sure that the Federals are the team to model your franchise on, since they have yet to reach the playoffs in their 4 years of play, but the combination of available talent and a new coach in Sam Rutigliano who is eager to retool the Feds in his own image, made for a formula that worked for the Orlando Renegades. Orlando sent several picks, including their 1987 #2 and their 1988 #1 picks to Washington and acquired both QB Reggie Collier (displaced after the Feds signed Neil Lomax from the NFL) and platooning HB Curtis Bledsoe, who rarely got on the field with ironman Craig James in front of him. Washington also sent kicker Nick Mike-Myer off, in a low key trade with San Antonio for yet another draft pick.
Tampa Solves their TE problem
Despite the modest success of rookie Mike Tice, Tampa needed a dual use tight end to block and catch balls from John Reaves. New Jersey found itself with two high end players after rookie Brent Jones displaced veteran Sam Bowers, so the Generals opted to build up their offensive line while Tampa solved their need for a blocking receiver. Tackle Stanley Padilla and Tampa’s 3rd round pick will go to New Jersey for Bowers and the Generals’ fifth rounder in a trade that helps both teams.
As we said, this was a huge week for the USFL, with major tectonic shifts still being felt from the Hebert and Ah You losses, the arrival of stars from the NFL like Lomax, Long, Mitchell, Wilder, Quick, Jeter, Matthews and Morgan, and now blockbuster trades that help stock up the newest teams in the league, this has been an offseason to remember and one which may shift the balance of power in the league. Can Michigan get production from Jack Trudeau? Will Baltimore’s defense wither without Ah You? Can Lomax bring wins to Washington, and what should we expect from these aggressive new teams? So much to look forward to, and the expansion and rookie drafts are only weeks away.