In what has been one of the most tumultuous offseasons in the USFL’s short history, the league’s 20 ownership groups find themselves trying to navigate a precarious relationship with the NFL, while also coordinating a transition in leadership as Chet Simmons steps down and Wayne Duke takes on the mantle of the commissionership. When the owners met this week in New York, they had a lot to discuss and not a lot of clear paths forward. There were some decisions postponed, others backburnered, but the issue of NFL-USFL player and staff acquisition could not be deferred or ignored.
A NEW LAWSUIT
After vigorous debate, the owners, by a 15-5 vote, have opted to move forward with a second major lawsuit against the NFL. Unlike the Anti-Trust lawsuit from 1984-1985, which looked at NFL stadium and television exclusivity, the current legal efforts will focus on what the USFL claims to be tampering with players and coaches under contract. Not every offseason acquisition by the NFL will be included in the claim, but it seems clear that the league will be focusing on the signings of Philadelphia Head Coach Jim Mora by the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco’s signing of LA Express QB Steve Young, San Diego’s signing of Tampa Bay HB Gary Anderson, and the Washington Redskin signings of both Doug Williams (QB-TEX) and Ricky Sanders (WR-HOU). The league feels that after internal investigation as well as supporting materials from the USFLPA that there is good evidence that NFL officials acted improperly and prematurely in working with players and their agents while the players remained under contract.
While the USFL may have evidence to prove their case, the line between appropriate and illegal or inappropriate contact or comm-unication is a very grey area in sports labor law, and the ability to provide solid testimony and first-hand accounts of who said what to whom may be nearly impossible to obtain. Several USFL insiders seem to indicate that the lawsuit itself may be a strategy to force the NFL to consider a form of mediation or arbitration which could help forge a more structured player recruitment, signing, and transfer system. Several mentioned the success of the European soccer leagues to develop transfer windows and a system of reimbursement payments when players shifted between leagues as a potential model which could both cool tensions between the two leagues and allow players to consider multiple offers when their contracts expired. It is, of course, much to early to know if this gambit will bear fruit, but it is an intriguing concept to envision.
OTHER LEAGUE BUSINESS
The USFL owners released a “highlights” listing of other decisions made this week, though we imagine that most of these items were discussed in committee and quickly passed as the main topic of discussion clearly dominated the proceedings. Among the highlights listed we find the following which would be of interest to fans:
• The league voted to retain the current salary cap at $55M and to retain only 5 cap-exempt positions on each roster. There had been significant speculation that one reaction to the NFL raids would be to allow greater cap and exemption flexibility, but this was offset by owners concerned that a bidding war would quickly drain the coffers of the league and its franchises.
• The league extended their moratorium on league expansion. The previous cessation was due to expire in 1990, but by a unanimous vote the league owners expressed that they did not believe the timing was correct to allow for expansion, so the moratorium was extended through the 1992 season, meaning that any league expansion beyond 20 clubs would not likely occur before the 1994 season.
• The Competition Committee proposed, and the body of the whole accepted, several changes to on-field rules, including further expansion of the Instant Replay Challenge, now to include both ball placement and automatic review of all turnovers. Plays which were not ruled turnovers may still be called to review by a coach challenge, but any play ruled a turnover on the field would be reviewed automatically. The other significant change deals with cut blocks in which a player, typically a lineman, engaged with an opponent cannot be cut or blocked below the waist by a 3rd player. Several injuries from these engaged blocks have occurred over the past 3 years, and this new rule will provide greater protection for linemen. The new offense will be treated as a form of clipping.
The league also approved, as expected, the next two Championship Game locations. While there was no news on the proposed renaming of the USFL Championship, the league announced that the 1990 Championship would be held in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, while the 1991 Championship would be held in Los Angeles, not at Angel Stadium where the Express play their games, but at the larger LA Coliseum. The selection of Orlando was considered something of a surprise as heat, even at night, in Orlando in July can trend very high (with humidity as well), but the city itself is such a tourism mecca that it seems clear that the USFL is hoping the location will bring very high attendance for the game.
• Finally, the league approved a sub-committee to research the prospect of a formal All-Star Game to take place the week after the USFL Championship. Declining attendance and revenue at several other All-Star games, including the NFL’s Pro Bowl, may be evidence that adding such a game will not prove a revenue generator, and the USFL is open to exploring other options such as a coordinated Fan Fest, Skills Competition, or international exhibition game in place of a more traditional All-Star game.
Outside of the USFL Owners’ Meeting there was still plenty of news for the league’s 20 teams over the past 10 days. We have coaching hires, more player movement, and the first of three anticipated team redesign reveals from uniform partner Russell Athletic, so let’s get right to it.
COACHING HIRES
Two of the league’s three open coaching slots (PHI, POR, HOU) have been filled. The Portland Thunder did not travel far from home, announcing Washington State Head Coach Dennis Erickson to be the new man in charge of the 1-15 Thunder. Erickson, who had been in negotiations with the U. of Miami, was lured away from the Hurricanes for a shot at pro football with the Thunder. He has a lot to deal with helping get this team up to a competitive stature with fellow USFL squads, however with major salary cap space, the Thunder, who have already signed NFL quarterback David Archer, may be in a position to be big players in free agency this year.
The second hire was in Philadelphia, where the Stars, still reeling from the departure of Jim Mora, had reached out to Memphis for permission to try to speak with former Stars DC and current Showboats HC Vince Tobin, but with Tobin still having 3 years left on a recently extended contract, and with Memphis now a playoff contender two seasons in a row, the Showboats were in no mood to allow the Stars to speak with Tobin. Philadelphia moved on, held several interviews with both NCAA and NFL coaches, as well as a couple of USFL coordinators, before settling on their man. They, like Portland, look to the college ranks, announcing Boston College Head Coach Jack Bicknell as the next coach of the Stars. Bicknell, who has led the small private school in Chestnut Hill, MA to an impressive run of success in the Big East. Of course, Bicknell is no stranger to USFL fans as he coached New Jersey QB Doug Flutie to a Heisman tropy. Bicknell will take over a roster filled with veteran leaders, particularly on offense, where Chuck Fusina and Kelvin Byrant have been there since the league was founded. There is work to be done as Philly’s defense was sub par last year and the team slumped to a 5-11 record after 6 consecutive playoff seasons.
The third coaching vacancy, the Houston Gamblers, is expected to be filled soon. Houston has had interviews with three prospects expected to be at the top of their list: former Arizona State HC Al Luginbill (now with San Diego State), former Cal HC and Raiders RB Coach Ray Willsey, and TCU Head Coach Jim Wacker. Wacker is an interesting choice as his time at TCU has been controversial, with the Horned Frogs being cited for various NCAA violations.
TRADE WIRE
Three big trades highlighted the hot stove for the USFL this week. The first may have just answered our questions about how the LA Express would handle the QB position now that they have lost Steve Young, their 6-season starter, to the NFL. While they have expressed confidence in the growth of rookie Rodney Peete, they have been feeling out several USFL teams hoping to acquire a veteran who can perhaps bridge the position as they groom Peete. They have found a taker in the Memphis Showboats. Memphis, confident in the arm of Mike Kelley after his first full season as their starter, have opted to trade away veteran Walter Lewis.
Lewis, who had been somewhat vocal about his desire to find a potential starting gig after being demoted behind Kelley, will likely be the new starter in LA, at least at the start of the season, and will have a chance to hold onto the job with solid performances. Memphis, for their part gets not only a 2nd round pick in this year’s draft, but also picks up a solid wideout to add to the mix of Mel Gray and Bobby Joe Edmunds. LA will send the promising 1989 rookie, Robb Thomas to Memphis along with their 2nd round pick. It solves a major problem for the Express, who now have a veteran and a good-looking 2nd year player at QB, and for Memphis, the added speed and skill at the wideout position helps them position themselves to take on Tampa and Birmingham once again.
The second big trade saw Washington trade wideout Webster Slaughter to Portland for a 4th rounder this year and their 3rd round pick next year. The signing of Slaughter is hoped to offset Portland’s loss of Willie “Flipper” Anderson to the NFL, while Washington, which still has Duane Gunn and Joey Walters as starters now gains some more draft options this year.
Finally, in a cap-saving move, Denver has opted to move veteran DT Laval Short, who was scheduled to make over $1.2M this year through a bubble payment to the Texas Outlaws for another veteran, but one on a much lower salary, Dave Butz. As part of the deal, Denver also sends backup HB Lee Rouson to San Antonio, who lost both Scott Stamper (retirement) and Stump Mitchell (NFL) this offseason. Texas will also send their 5th round pick to Denver this year. So, Texas gets an upgrade at DT and a contributor at HB, while Denver gets a slightly younger and much cheaper DT with good production and a draft pick.
OTHER PLAYER NEWS
On the player front, the past week has not seen further incursions from the NFL into USFL rosters and the only signing from the USFL of an NFL player over the past 2 weeks has been Arizona's signing of former San Diego Charger Lionel James, likely in a backup role. But, there have been several noteworthy retirements announced in advance of the owners’ meeting. Among the well-known names and league starters we find Baltimore wideout Stanley Morgan, Philadelphia (and former Houston starter) HB Steve Howell, Houston’s starting strong safety Keith Moody, Birmingham corner Kenneth Howard, and LA free safety John Skinner.
The other big item is the issue of salary cap roster adjustments. Generally teams hope to go into the free agency and draft periods with at least $5 million in available cap space. This year that may require some significant roster adjustments as there are several teams who are not only below that desired total, but are significantly over the cap if their current contracts stay in effect. We expect some teams will reconfigure or extend contracts to provide a smaller 1990 footprint, while other teams may have no choice than to trade away some significant talent.
The teams in the worst condition right now appear to be Arizona ($6.5M over the cap), Pittsburgh ($3.5M over), LA ($2.5M over), Philadelphia ($2.3M over) and Birmingham ($2.2M over), while the teams who are in a position to spend big this offseason remain mostly the 1987 and 1988 expansion clubs. Portland leads the bunch with over $18M in cap space, while Orlando has $14.6M, Chicago has $13M and Texas has $17.2M. The non-expansion clubs who could make some moves are Michigan ($9.4M), Tampa Bay ($8.1M), Baltimore ($7.4M) and the 1989 Champion New Jersey Generals ($7.2M). So, expect to see even more trades this offseason. The wheeling and dealing seems to have just begun.
NEW UNIFORMS
Denver was the second of the three anticipated Russell Athletic redesigns to be revealed, with only Memphis left to be seen. The Denver design is more of a “tweak” than a complete reimagination. The golden starburst logo remains as the primary logo, though the team did add a secondary logo in which a black “D” is filled with white-capped mountains and a golden sun. It seems very “tourism bureau” as logos go, but since it only appears on the uniform in the form of a small helmet sticker, it certainly does not take away from the team’s overall look.
The larger changes are the addition of a black set of pants, with white and gold stripes; the shifting from two identical stripes on the jerseys to two distinct stripes, white and gold on the home uniform and black and gold on the road jersey. Finally the Gold have opted to drop the stripe from their helmet and increase the size of the starburst. A modest change all around, but one in keeping with the look that fans have come to expect from this year’s league runner-ups.
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