Word is that Mark Cuban is part of a group that is investigating the formation of a new professional football league, to compete with the NFL. This league would begin with eight teams, and would play on Friday nights.
Cuban has a good point: the NFL salary cap drives down the salaries of players drafted in the third round and lower. He sees where the new league could offer those players more money, and can build their league around them. They don't see the need to start a bidding war for stars, like the AFL and the USFL. Like NFL scouts, they see plenty of quality players chosen on the second day of the draft.
However, I'm not sure if there is a market for another pro league. First, there are stadium issues, as most quality stadiums are occupied by NFL teams. There are a handful of universities willing to rent out their stadiums (are you listening, SMU, Rice, and U of Houston?), and there are the old reliables of Birmingham, Memphis, and Orlando (I think Birmingham has had a team in every pro league not called the AFL or NFL). Second, who is going to televise this league? The NFL is on every broadcast network except ABC, whose sports department is now owned by NFL TV partner ESPN. Friday nights are a wasteland for networks, but what network is going to risk the wrath of the NFL by televising its competitor? I guess they could join the NHL in anonymity by playing on Versus. Third, playing on Friday nights in most of the country is suicide. Friday nights are traditionally reserved for high school football. Will a second-rate pro team in the South or Midwest be able to compete with lower-priced high school football? I don't think so. There would be a TV audience, as Friday night college games draw viewers. However, pro games from empty stadiums get really dull really quick. Ask the XFL or USFL.
I like renegade football leagues. I loved the USFL in the 80's. I watched one week of the XFL, then turned it off like the rest of America. However, unlike Mark Cuban, I don't see enough remaining market for pro football to justify the creation of a new league.
Good luck with all that..
6 comments:
They're not crazy. They're genius. I think this thing could really take off and kick butt. I hope they start it and have fun with it and give the NFL a run for their money! I can't wait!
I'm all for a fun football league. I loved the USFL. But, I just don't see this thing taking off playing on Friday nights in the fall.
Spring is another story. I still think a spring football league, done the right way, would do well. I'd watch the UFL, or whatever it'll be called, on dull Sunday afternoons in the spring.
Players aren't a problem. They won't get superstars, but they'll get good players, especially if they go with their plan of targeting players taken in the third round or later in the NFL draft.
The biggest drawback is stadium availability. NFL teams have a lot more control over their stadiums now than they did in the 80's. This league will be banished to old dumps like the Cotton Bowl, Legion Field, and the L.A. Coliseum.
Maybe Laura Miller could finally have the pro football stadium she never wanted. ;)
Maybe Cuban could recruit her as an investor in the league. :-)
She isn't making that much as mayor.
No, she's not making much as mayor, but her husband is a lawyer and ex-state rep. Still, I doubt if she'd want any part of a football team, especially one connected with Mark Cuban.
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