It did not take long for the league to realize that there were major concerns with two of the expansion franchises from their 1987 expansion.  By midseason of 1987 there were regular reports that the San Antonio Gunslingers were having difficulty meeting payroll or paying vendors. After a brief investigation into the team's finances it was discovered that owner Clint Manges had exaggerated his net worth and available reserves.  The team was living on a shoestring budget and required a major influx of funding.  In Oklahoma the funds were there, but owner William Tatham remained adamant that Tulsa was not a long term solution for his franchise, which had originally been approved to play in San Diego.  In an effort to deal with both concerns, the USFL began negotiations betweeen the two franchises to set up Tatham as the majority owner of a merged Oklahoma/San Antonio franchise.  With this agreement the two teams would be combined into one Texas-based franchise, providing Tatham with the larger market he craved, and now with significant financial backing.  The league then returned to the original pool of 1987 expansion clubs to find an ownership for a 20th franchise to replace the lost team from the consolidation, and selected the bid from Portland, Oregon as the most advantageous combination of ownership and market.  And so, after only 1 year of play, the Oklahoma and San Antonio franchises gave way to the Texas Outlaws and Portland Thunder.