Mavs' Cuban hopes to create league to rival NFL

[VJCPatriot]

If they had hot chearleaders and slightly different rules and gave it a catchy name like "XFL" it might just work... seems like an idea worth throwing a few billion $$ at

Well you gotta admit that the HeHateMe jersey was a pretty hot seller. But that's about the only thing remaining of it...

BTW don't we already have arena football?
How's Cuban's idea going to be better?
I guess it would be like NFL Europe, except that the scrubs get to stay home to play.

Make it CHEAP and make it in the offseason and it might have a chance to work. They'd probably need to play more than once a week to generate enough revenue though. Dunno maybe 2 or 3 times per week? Have the players' uniforms all covered with logos and ads like Nascar?

 

[Kontradiction]

This is a really bad idea. I'd watch it, but the NFL is a monopoly for a reason. It's already trampled over other franchises looking to compete such as the XFL and USFL. There is no hope. Stick with basketball or buy an NFL franchise.

 

[DarrylS]

This is a really bad idea. I'd watch it, but the NFL is a monopoly for a reason. It's already trampled over other franchises looking to compete such as the XFL and USFL. There is no hope. Stick with basketball or buy an NFL franchise.

Don't forget the WFL, Cuban is just another media whore who says he loves the game, IMO he likes the gate revenue more than the game and his antics are just an opportunity to show his "passion" and fill the stands. Not sure if the opportunity presented itself, that his meddling ways would fit within the NFL expectations.

 

[Fogbuster]

Mark Cuban is just annoying. Did he learn nothing from he tried to make his own version of the Apprentice?

Post of the thread, so far. Should hold up, too. Cuban is the poster boy for someone who has too much time and money on his hands. I could put both to better use than he can.


//

 

[QuiGon]

It's a stupid idea doomed to fail. First of all, who is going to broadcast those games...? All 4 major networks are in bed with the NFL so they won't be broadcasting a competitor league. So that leaves what..? TNT and Versus..? Gimme a break.

Second of all, the old WLAF from the early 90's had all the backing and support of the NFL and it still failed here in the United States. It eventually morphed into NFL Europe, but simply never caught on in America.

 

[QuiGon]

By the way, does New England have an Arena Football team?

EDIT: I just looked it up and we don't. Not that I'd watch it anyway...

New England has minor league Arena Football League team - yes, believe it or not, there is minor league Arena Football called "Arena 2". Manchester, NH, has a franchise called the Wolves.

I have heard rumors that the AFL is looking to get back into the Boston area... but who knows...

 

[Pats726]

Yes..it IS an idea that just needs to die...Off season it MIGHT have some kind of a chance..up against basketball/hockey..NFL Europe..AFL....but to go Friday with college/pro and high school...NO...just dumb!!
And trying to hoodwink fans into investing in teams?? I lOVE the fact that GN is publically owned....but why throw money with a bad idea..I agree McMahon tried it HAD exp in entertainment and flopped..and?? This is like a lead ballon...destined to air shot out before it starts.

 

[amazinPats]

The problem is that the NFL is the best sports league in the business. There is no need for any competition. The crappy league is the NBA. There are tons of meaningless games and there is a strong cult of personality for individual players. It's actually the totat opposite to the NFL which promotes team over the individual.

The ironic thing is that the NBA needs competition, and not the NFL.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Looking at the reasons for failure of other leagues as well as their successes, I don't think the UFL has much chance

There were many cities of substantial size without a pro football team when the AFL and AAFC started. Today the only unreresented municipalities of size are LA, San Antonio, perhaps Las Vegas and then what? Salt Lake perhaps and then it gets really hard to identify other cities. Hartford? Birmingham?? Even a small league of 8 is hard identifyas franchise sites. By comparison the AFL could put clubs with no competition into major cities or geographical regions like Boston, Miami, Denver, Cincinnati, Houston, Seattle, KC/St Louis , Minneapolis and San Diego even as they were being driven out of LA and Dallas and Minneapolis by the NFL. There were still large metropolitan areas like Atlanta available to transfer a team.

Virtually every viable market save two or three, already have Teams.

The second constant failure was the greed of the owners. The AFL and AAFC established itself for a few years before a player war developed from a low base. That low base doesn't exist today. Perhaps if the league set itself up as a single company with divisions (franchises) and signed players to the league and then dispersed them every year in a draft to ensure competition and control salaries, they might survive, but how do you build fan loyalty or continuity? The Browns were simply too good for the AAFC (and the NFL), but it killed the AAFC.

The third problem is simply over exposure. Fan interest is cyclical. Baseball and Boxing were fan favorites at one time, as was the NBA for a short time. Just how much football can you broadcast? I suspect that this may be the highpoint of TV money. I'd wager a few bob that the next TV package will pay LESS money to the NFL than the current one.

This does open a opportunity as players discover that the cap is LOWER. Few can be resigned for even the same money. Many would be asked to take pay cuts. Many players will be disgruntled, but where is the resources for the UFL to compete and sign them? That time is still several years off when the just renegotiated TV deals expire.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Apparently Cuban is further ahead with this than was previously known.

Reportedly he has a plan to add a new twist to the game by using an alternative football design.

I'm not sure if the design is meant to reflect the symbolism of Cuban's involvement or not, but apparently he already has the Arizona Cardinals trying out the new equipment in this photo leaked out of Cardinals closed practices.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

It's a stupid idea doomed to fail. First of all, who is going to broadcast those games...? All 4 major networks are in bed with the NFL so they won't be broadcasting a competitor league. So that leaves what..? TNT and Versus..? Gimme a break.

Second of all, the old WLAF from the early 90's had all the backing and support of the NFL and it still failed here in the United States. It eventually morphed into NFL Europe, but simply never caught on in America.

BINGO!!

At least the XFL had NBC, who was in football exile, but knowing the way the NFL does business. Their is no way that they will let any network that they are on to broadcast any other league (remember that both NFL Europa, and the Arena League are both owned in part by the NFL).

I liked the XFL rules, I loved the no fair catch, and the scrum for the opening kick. What the XFL did do, was invent the "sky cam" that the NFL uses now. And hearing the QB call the plays live.

But Cuban's league has zero chance without a network, and their is none.

 

[QuiGon]

I liked the XFL rules, I loved the no fair catch, and the scrum for the opening kick.

"Scramble for the ball" was the greatest football innovation since the forward pass

 

[solman]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2887465

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6863932

Cuban said in his e-mail he believes the salary cap makes it easier to compete financially with the NFL because of the salary imbalance that leaves lower-level players with lower salaries. That would allow the new league to fill its rosters with players taken lower than the second round, as well as late NFL cuts and free agents who escape the NFL draft.

Oh well here we go again.

So far, the UFL has decided to put teams in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Mexico City. Cuban, unsurprisingly, is considering buying the team in Vegas, according to the report.

I understand the desire to do this, but the NFL in 2007 sets the all time standard for a well run sports league. I think its a little bit insane to try competing with this.

The downside in my opinion, is that the new league will inevitably create an LA franchise, and because of this the NFL may have to create a 33rd team in LA (instead of taking their time and moving Buffalo there, like any sensible league would). 33 teams would wreck our current beautifully symetric scheduling (not to mention creating the unpleasantness of an imbalanced schedule, and diluting the talent pool.)

 

[Boston Boxer]

i wonder if his idea could be merged with the NFL and create a minor league. Teams could pick up players if they had a spot for them.

 

[QuiGon]

i wonder if his idea could be merged with the NFL and create a minor league. Teams could pick up players if they had a spot for them.

NFL already has minor leagues in NFL Europa. I wouldn't be surprised if one day some of those teams migrated back to the U.S., but there would be no need to merge with an outside group.

 

[patchick]

It's a stupid idea doomed to fail. First of all, who is going to broadcast those games...? All 4 major networks are in bed with the NFL so they won't be broadcasting a competitor league. So that leaves what..? TNT and Versus..? Gimme a break.

Great point...and the decision to play Friday nights during traditional football season could also limit their ability to rent college stadium space.

Everybody here has done a great job of documenting the carcasses of other pro-football wannabee leagues, but it's not just football. USBL and CBA, anyone? A lot of money has been lost over the years by people seeking the AFL/ABA jackpot. And football, with its huge rosters, expensive equipment, etc. is the fastest route to bankruptcy.

 

[Va_Pats_Fan]

I'd guess this is dead in the water. The economic angle (that the NFL's current salary structure leaves a large group of players underpaid) is kind of intriguing. Kind of. But the problem with that theory is evident in the very guy they chose to illustrate it.

Does anybody think that Tom Brady -- the guy who turned down a sure starter spot at Cal to compete with crazy depth at Michigan; Mr. "I'm the best decision this organization has ever made" -- would have turned his back on the NFL to play in a scrub league, just to boost his rookie contract a little? The most talented and confident players will just want a chance to prove their worth, knowing that it's the second contract that really counts. Brady wasn't paid like a 6th-rounder for long. If a new league doesn't offer that possibility of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it will never attract better than the dregs.

Oh, and Mark Cuban, mark of quality.

While I agree they will have an uphill battle, using TB as an example of why players would not go to this league is a stretch for either side of the argument. TB is a once in a lifetime happening. Freak tackle injury to a franchise QB. A coach that had the genius to adjust the system to get wins. There was a reason TB went in the 6th round

The majority of players chosen in the 6th round don't even make the rosters. They would then gravitate to this league for employment (probably some 5th and a few 4ths). Alot of players have egos which will cause some defections. Reche may be a great example of a player. He's potentially our 3 or 4th option right now. He could be a #1 in that league.

There will be an abundance of players. Fringe, older, second string, etc. Some of the owners may step up and pay big $$$ for a marquis name occasionally. The success of this league depends on one thing alone. Will the teams be profitable?

If they can put a product on the field that fills stadiums they will compete.

 

[bronk37]

I am so glad Cuban doesn't own an NFL Franchise and I hope this expansion league fails like all in the past we already have a minor league the NFL Europe. I can just see it now Incredi-boy cuban sending tapes of bad calls to officials and whining to the commisioner of UFL , we could call him Polian 2nd

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this idea as crazy.

The NFL is huge and, to date, has managed to hold at bay many of the rules of free market capitalism. The NFL is massively lucrative for a small group of 32 owners and a handful of television and cable networks who, in reality, comprise a small part of the world's largest economy. When a pie is this profitable and when its benefits are limited or constricted, free markets typically conspire to expand both the number of those who can benefit from the pie as well as the size of the pie itself.

The NFL's success formula has been tied in recent years to a hard salary cap that keeps teams in smaller media markets like, say, Indianapolis, competitive with teams in major media markets like New England or Chicago. This means that the players at the top and bottom are all earning less than a "free" market would pay them. Historically, capitalism also figures its way around this kind of inequality.

Finally, I doubt that Cuban's long term objective is to compete with the NFL, but rather to be merged into it (making himself and his fellow upstart owners very rich).

So, I'm not saying that it will be easy or that Cuban will be the one to succeed, but there's nothing economically compelling that would, in the medium or long term, limit the massive wealth created by the NFL to "32" franchises with 53 active players each and three or four television networks.

 

[patchick]

While I agree they will have an uphill battle, using TB as an example of why players would not go to this league is a stretch for either side of the argument. TB is a once in a lifetime happening. Freak tackle injury to a franchise QB. A coach that had the genius to adjust the system to get wins. There was a reason TB went in the 6th round

The majority of players chosen in the 6th round don't even make the rosters. They would then gravitate to this league for employment (probably some 5th and a few 4ths). Alot of players have egos which will cause some defections. Reche may be a great example of a player. He's potentially our 3 or 4th option right now. He could be a #1 in that league.

I don't disagree with you (except the sentence in bold -- I believe the majority of 6th-round picks do make an NFL roster, have to dig out some stats I ran on that once.) But the article I was referring to described a UFL argument is that all players after the 2nd are underpaid and thus ripe for picking. Brady may be the fringe case, but I'd stand by the statement that the talented, competitive and confident players after round 2 would rather take a chance at the NFL brass ring. Which leaves only the dregs, which was my point.