Sometime in the near future, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to make his ruling on whether Michael Vick will be reinstated into the League.  Most insiders anticipate that Vick has a very slim chance of returning for the upcoming season.  Even if Vick somehow convinces Commissioner Goodell that he should be allowed to participate in the 2009 season, many teams are caution in pursuing the troubled quarterback because of he is still a controversial figure.  However, not all of football is worried about signing Vick.  In fact, one team currently owns his rights.

That team belongs to the United Football League, the upstart expansion league that is due to begin its inaugural year this fall.  With the discontinuance of NFL Europe and the uncertain financial future of the Arena Football League, the UFL is positioned to become the top developmental league that feeds into the NFL.  Although not currently organized in this manner, the NFL could contract with the various UFL teams, designating specific franchises as the minor league affiliate of specific NFL member franchises.  Striking this sort of agreement could be one that financially stabilizes the young startup league, as part of such an affiliate agreement would almost certainly involve the NFL compensating various UFL franchises. 

The UFL is expected to operate at a loss for the first few years, and then hopefully become profitable after its third year or so.  The upstart league already inked a television deal with Versus, though it is most likely a revenue sharing deal similar to the one signed between NBC and the AFL.  Regardless of the deal’s specifics, the UFL now must make the most of its spotlight.  However, what may also help the UFL in this regard is the possible participation of players currently under suspension (or likely to be suspended) like Vick. 

Another situation the UFL is most likely monitoring closely is the brewing labor uncertainty between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.   Ever since ownership opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement over a year ago, rhetoric from both sides has begun to grow in severity.  Both sides are attempting to pad their respective war chests in anticipation of funding a long, protracted labor dispute. 

Most recently, several NFL players have been quoted as saying that it is almost a guarantee that there will be some type of labor stoppage, most likely coming in the form of a lockout.  However, if there is a strike or a lockout after the 2010 season, it will most assuredly be more damaging to the NFL than to the PA because the UFL will be the likely destination for many of the players who will be most likely locked out of the NFL stadiums. 

UFL teams will reap the benefits of this labor dispute and could potentially challenge the NFL as the top league if the labor stoppage is long enough in duration.   It is unclear how realistic this scenario is, considering the NFL is most likely aware that the UFL’s existence threatens the success of a lockout and is planning accordingly.  Taking all of this into consideration, the UFL’s inaugural season this fall will provide players with a potentially viable alternative to the NFL, and may cause the NFL to rethink its labor relations strategy.

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Jeff Levine is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is a sports attorney, and the Executive Director of One Sports and Entertainment, International. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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