Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Media & Entertainment Law Blogs -> Sports Biz

Media & Entertainment Law

: Sports Biz

New Football League Launches in Fall

Defying all logic, the United Football League will actually launch this fall, according to league founders, but with fewer teams than originally planned and without a certain celebrity owner who needs to be spending his time battling the SEC rather than selling football tickets.

The UFL was originally conceived as a six team league but will launch with only four teams. A group led by Paul Pelosi, yes that Pelosi - he's her husband - paid $30 million for the privilege of launching a new sports enterprise in the midst of the worst economy since the Great Depression. If you think that is not exactly the smartest move they could make, you would not be alone. The teams will play a 12 game roundrobin type schedule on a barnstorming basis with no fixed home field. That may come in 2010, should the league survive. No television contract is yet in place.

One factor in their favor, and perhaps the only one at this point, is the cooperation of the NFL. The UFL is receiving assistance from the NFL, especially in technical areas and officiating. With the demise of NFL Europe, the NFL may be looking at the UFL as an eventual replacement. Formalizing that relationship may be the key to the UFL's ultimate survival.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).