Competing with the NFL
is it crazy to try to compete with the NFL ?
I don’t think so. Here is why:
1. There is obviously demand for top level professional football. That is exactly what the UFL hopes to be someday, an equal of the NFL, if not more.
2. The NFL wants and needs competition. They have grown so big and powerful that every move they make is scrutinized by local or federal officials. A competitor allows them to point to us and explain that their moves are for competitive reasons rather than the move of a monopoly.
3. They just extended their CBA. Their CBA structure is not designed for a competitive environment. Competition for top players, even if the UFL gets just a few, increases prices at the top end for all teams. Every star will get paid more, but still have to fit under the cap. That forces teams to use more low cost players, at the expense of signing the middle of the roster. That gives us access to quite a few very, very good NFL players. The downside is that it will significantly impact small market NFL teams and its unclear how the NFL would respond to that and what the impact would be on the UFL.
4. There are a lot of markets that are bigger than some current NFL markets that do not have teams that would love to have a pro football team.
5. There are a lot of smart people involved in the UFL
6. Its a great TV product.
These are just my personal reasons for having an interest in being involved with the UFL. They still have a ton of work to do before a game can be played. Like all good ideas with a great opportunity available to it, the hard part is in the execution.
Hopefully they can get it done.
Mark, you are one of the best owners in sports and a very smart man, but this is just plain foolishness. Please take a look at what a fellow billionaire, Vince McMahon, did with the XFL and realize that it will not work. Just stick to getting the Mavs back to the finals and maybe consider taking the Rangers off Tom Hicks\’ hands so they might win a few games.
Comment by Nathan Nichols — May 30, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Mark, does the ufl have a site yet? I can\’t find it via google. What are the potential markets other than LA and Vegas you are looking at?
Please don\’t do stupid rule changes like the xfl had. people care less about the theatrics and wwe type stuff they threw in there and more about the quality game.
Comment by Brian Breslin — May 30, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
Sorry, I just don\’t think this will fly. I have suffered most of my life as a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan and I can\’t imagine anything changing that. But, it\’s not my money so knock yourself out. Good luck!
Comment by Jackie — May 30, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
I would have said the same thing, but I believe that with patience it can happen. The AAFC and the AFL both survived and eventually merged as equals with the NFL.
Comment by Phil green — May 30, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
This doesn\’t sound completely stupid; I\’m wondering how nation(continent?)-wide this league would be if the cities so far mentioned are LA, LV, Mexico, Orlando, and San Antonio. But perhaps being more regional would help justify its existence. And those are the markets everyone wants to be in right?
It can only end successfully if it doesn\’t seem like a second rate product (especially in LA, fans in non-NFL cities can turn to college football instead), but it sounds like the untapped gate revenue holds appeal. 30,000 fans at 50 a seat for 8 home games is 16 mil, and if you call that your player budget it\’s enough to pay 50 players an average salary of 240,000. Those are your optimistic numbers 2-3 years in.
Is that enough to keep a group of owners together and serve as a launching pad for a real league with a quality product? (I wouldn\’t count on big TV or merch deals in the first couple years, but you guys are savvy and connected so maybe I\’m underestimating).
I wish I had the money to buy in and see.
Comment by MJK — May 30, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
It\’s all about execution Mark. I wish you well against the NFL Juggernaut. It\’ll take more than money.
Comment by Blackjsus — May 30, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
Mark,
You understand a target audience….I am your target and no way I am watching a second rate league on a Friday night. The NFL has a true competitive advantage so don\’t waste your time or money. I truly respect your views on a variety of subjects but respectfully, don\’t think you can pull another Broadcast.com.
Johnny \”I ain\’t no yes man\” Ballson
Comment by john qb — May 30, 2007 @ 8:30 pm
Great idea!! Maybe you can get rid of the age limit for players.
Comment by Jill — May 30, 2007 @ 8:34 pm
God bless you and good luck competing with college football.
Comment by solomonrex — May 30, 2007 @ 8:37 pm
Excellent point about professional football supply and demand, but Friday nights in the Fall and Winter? A real spring football league would fly a lot further with NFL fans like me. I love pro football. I even watched the XFL. A pro-rules SPRING league would appeal to me more than watching NFL castoffs play the Friday before the game.
Comment by John — May 30, 2007 @ 8:42 pm
i don\’t think trying to compete with the nfl is great idea
maybe have the ufl play in the off season of the nfl and then maybe it could work and put a team in LA not a good idea at all unless you want to move the team later to oakland or st.louis
i wish you luck no matter what you do i\’m a fan yours for life
just for what you did with the mavs what evere happened to your intrest with cubs? thats a no brainer easily make a profit and turn a loveable loser into a winner but anyways good luck
Comment by jacob — May 30, 2007 @ 8:53 pm
I subscribe to your blog, Mark, and have never commented until now. While the curiousity will likely bring some intitial success to the UFL (as it did for the XFL), the fact of the matter is that the talent pool is diluted enough in the NFL, so there certainly isn\’t enough out there to field an entirely new league. Assuming there are initially 8 teams fielding a roster of about 50 players each, you\’re looking at 400 more players. I just don\’t understand where they\’re coming from?
It would seem to me that a more viable option may be to try and privately aquire the CFL. You\’d be able to inherit existing broadcast contracts, talent, fan bases and league infrastructure, so it could be a foundation to build what you\’re really looking to acheive.
Comment by Natron — May 30, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
Mark, if anyone can pull this off it\’d be the brain trust involved with this new league of yours but obv there are a lot of doubts. Images of the XFL and \”He Hate Me\” with wheels of cheerleader costumes and white trash fans still linger in my mind.
Personally I\’m with fans that would like a minor league system rather than a head on competitor. It seems like you\’ll be losing money for years before you\’d be making any money, but what do I know.
It just seems to me that Football season would get pretty crowded TV-wise with a slew of NFL games, college and then UFL games happening at the same time. I\’d kind of be interested in a season that started in February but I suppose that might be failed from the beginning. Good luck sir.
Comment by Jay — May 30, 2007 @ 9:03 pm
mark u wanna blow the NFL out of the water?
here\’s how:
totally remove any age restriction, ie let kids come right out of high school to the league. get the top college recruits and prospects to come to ur league instead of the college football. what if the next peyton manning goes straight to the pros and instead of biding his time in NCAA. or michael irvin? adrian peterson if he had gone straight to the pros? we all know the fight the NFL has had with keeping kids out. reverse that trend and ull get the talent. connect it all to full scholarships at top tier schools that dont have football teams for the kids as a kind of fallback for the future.
these guys will remember the loyalty and if they dont the NFL will still have to buy out their contracts when they goto poach them a la european soccer.
Comment by Jay Slick — May 30, 2007 @ 9:05 pm
Hi Mark,
Dilution of football talent is a significant issue. The colleges do not generate enough talent currently and I don\’t think Europe can fill the gap. The NFL should undergo a slight reduction in the number of teams so the talent is more concentrated. This should improve the quality of competition and produce some compelling must watch (at any cost) scenarios. The AFL offers a decent bridge between seasons and the format is interesting. AFL-2 is not a viable alternative because the talent is not worth watching (sorry AFL-2 fans).
The NCAA seasons are exciting and it\’s a great experience and journey to watch the future of pro basketball & football develop and then transition to the NFL and NBA.
How the heck can you expect to improve on the issue of limited talent by further diluting it (and fugging it up to the point that no one wants to watch pro football anymore)? I feed my passion with tickets, trips, cable and Dish packages. Why would I want to pay for a second rate experience?
Lance
p.s. HDNET rocks!
Comment by Lance — May 30, 2007 @ 9:05 pm
Mark,
God bless you for trying to get this thing going. I don\’t care what kind of football is shown to me … I\’ll watch it anyway. I\’ll stay at home Friday nights to watch football, I don\’t care. People who are quick to judge this league aren\’t real football fans. People need to give it a chance. Football is still America\’s sport and there are quite a few good players that would be willing to play in this league. The more football the better! You can never have enough!
I only wish I was a billionaire because I would take part in this league just like you are.
Top 5 things to make the league go:
1. Lower the age limit. Let athletes from high school make the jump.
2. Don\’t make colossal changes to the game like the XFL did … even though I watched the XFL religiously regardless of what rules they had. We have to appease the \”fair-weather\” football fans out there.
3. Start the games as early as possible on Friday. It\’s tricky because you want to make sure people get home from work/school, but you want it before they go out for the night.
4. Keep the uniforms as basic as possible and don\’t try to sway too much from the NFL\’s uniforms (big mistake, xfl)
5. Make sure the cities getting football teams have the biggest media and fan base possible. Simply put: if you can\’t see it or can\’t hear it, you can\’t follow it and keep up with it.
PS I\’m a Chicagoan and I\’m just wondering how your pursuit of the Cubs is shaking out.
Comment by Ryan — May 30, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
Mark, do you know what city you will end up owning, let me go down a list of potental cities
ORLANDO FL
San Antonio TX
Las Angeles CA
Sacramento CA
Las Vegas NV
Oklahoma City OK
Milwaukee WI
Birmingham AL
Richmond VA
Maybe one of the CFL cities
and Mexico City
please do Orlando, their renovating the Citrus bowl for 2009 so it should be good.
Comment by Nawaid — May 30, 2007 @ 9:18 pm
Mark,
Imagine, if you will, twenty years from now, when the Super Bowl champ plays the UFL champ in a continent-wide extravaganza. Is this so far fetched? I think not! As long as you do not fight head to head with the NFL on a city by city basis during the first few years of infancy, I think there is a strong chance for success. I wouldn\’t compare the UFL to the XFL like others have The XFL was all about nicknames, rough play, and wrestling-ness. I think the UFL could be a fierce competitor to the NFL with cities like Vegas, LA, Ok City, and others in the mix. Please, I\’m on board, if you need help, call on me. I BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Micah Fening — May 30, 2007 @ 9:18 pm
Mark, please buy the Pittsburgh Pirates. Please.
Comment by Brad — May 30, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
Is professional football really a growth industry? Can the fan base support both the NFL and another major league? I\’m not convinced.
Considering that a full generation of kids (both girls and boys) have been brought up playing soccer, and the worldwide appeal of that sport, I would think that bolstering the U.S. soccer presence would be a growth endeavor.
What are the numbers of U.S. households whose children currently participate or have participated in league-based and/or school-based soccer vs. league-based and school-based football? Soccer has a fan base that can span genders and due to the participation of their children in the sport, both parents and their children would enjoy watching professionals participate in the sport as well.
Football is to sports as long distance is to the telecommunications market. No growth in a flat industry.
Comment by Scott J. — May 30, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
Mark,
Don\’t do it. The NFL will crush the league in a year,two tops. They are the strongest league in all of professional sports and have shown since the 70\’s that they don\’t like outsiders playing on their turf. You want a football fix? Then buy a struggling franchise and move them to LA. However, I doubt the NFL will let you buy one of their teams for various reasons. Good luck though if you decide to pursue this…..you are gonna need a lot of it!
Comment by Mike — May 30, 2007 @ 9:23 pm
I have no idea whether or not the UFL will work, but I have to assume that there\’s a market for second-tier sports leagues, since the market for both pros and college is huge. Counting on revenue from local fans and expecting some losses, rather than trying to cash in on huge TV contracts also makes a lot of sense.
My real skepticism is the schedule, like a couple of other commenters have pointed out. NFL football is already on all day Sunday in the fall, Monday evening, and occasionally on other days. College football is on all day Saturday. Are people really clamoring for more football in the fall? Will women, who already endure their husbands watching hours upon hours of football on fall weekends, really be okay with their husbands tying up literally the whole weekend with watching football? Will men want to do nothing with their lives but watch football?
College football has an incredibly loyal fan base which makes it a solid product; pro football has the best talent in the world. A new league would effectively be competing with not one but two ridiculously formidable products.
So why not spring? Or summer? By late Spring, I think a lot of people would like to watch football, which is why Arena Football, which is fairly silly, has managed to do well. I just can\’t figure out why a new league would try to launch in the fall.
Comment by brad — May 30, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
There already is a rival to the NFL. It is called College Football. Overall not a horrible idea, but I think it will be an uphill battle the entire way. I don\’t see it being overly successful, just another version of the Canadian Football League or the NFL Europe. A place athletes go after college where they will try tune their skills up in order to compete in the NFL.
Comment by Jonathan D. — May 30, 2007 @ 9:50 pm
Best of luck with this venture!
From a competitive perspective, not only do you have the CBA in your favor, but you have the NFL\’s own culture of monopoly. They simply aren\’t used to the idea of competing for audiences, and it will take them some time to adapt.
If you show fewer (or shorter) commercials, there will be fewer TV time outs. That\’d be a big plus for fan satisfaction, not only at games but also at home.
Just whatever you do, don\’t go the XFL route of favoring spectacle over sport. In fact, you could very well establish yourself as more sporting than the NFL by offering more offense/defense balanced rules, whereas the NFL has become so score centric that it\’s practically illegal to defend anything, especially in the passing game.
If you focus on quality, integrity, and a great fan experience, you\’ll have great success here.
Comment by Brooks — May 30, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
cuban please give up
Comment by Mao — May 30, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
Mark,
I like the idea of a professional product which could compete for the football demand in this country, but I don\’t like the idea of Friday nights. Why not Tuesday Night Football? I like the idea of Friday nights if the season starts after high school football season is over. So you could begin in late November and run the playoffs in March and not be messing with pulling any attention away from the high school sub-culture. I don\’t even watch high school football, but it would still seem unnatural for me to see pro games pitted against HS football. If you wanted to compete for viewers during the NFL season, Tuesday Night Football would be awesome. The whole league plays during prime time. You could have the regional games on at 6 and a national game at 9. Sunday is the NFL. Monday night is the NFL. Wednesday night is church night for your teenage audience. Thursday night is college football. Friday is HS football. Saturday is college football. Tuesday would be the way to go with putting an attractive product out there people could embrace. Otherwise, start after the HS football season and overlap the end of the NFL season and get the football only people exclusively for a couple months after the NFL season is over.
Comment by Tim D. — May 30, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
I am very much a believer in the free market. However, I am also a lover of football. I think, if successful, a second pro football league at the same level as the nfl would dilute the over all talent level.
As of right now, less teams = higher concentration of talent and a higher level of football
Comment by Josh — May 30, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
Mark -
You are on crack, but I love it!!! Being an entrepreneur myself, I think its a good idea. I think it would be a better idea for you to buy the Cubbies instead. Take something that already has a ground to stand on and some players and build it into a Championship team like you have done with the Mavs.
Aaron
PS - Fantastic PR stunt. I love it. You get more PR when you fart in public than most people get their entire life. Keep up the great job!
Comment by Aaron — May 30, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
This is an outstanding idea and there is definitely a market for it if the teams play in the right cities.
I would not count out some current cities with NFL teams, such as Washington.
The league would do better as a minor league playing during the NFL season. You can have somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-16 teams that affiliate with NFL teams and play their players under a certain age, or over a certain age if they clear waivers.
This brings in an enormous, ready-built fan base.
As a second tier league, you are really competing with college football and Arena football. People will want to watch the stars of tomorrow. A minor league would allow star draft pick quarterbacks to play in their first year under the same system as their affiliate.
Competition with the NFL might work if you get some names at first but the real market is for a minor league system.
Comment by Rick Davis — May 30, 2007 @ 10:15 pm
there are some markets that want pro sports teams until they get them. And if you don\’t bring them a winning team, fans aren\’t really up for wasting their money and afternoon. look at Charlotte NC. When the Panthers aren\’t winning, you can\’t give away tickets to that stadium.
You might want to consider the true \”pro league\” that competes with the NFL - it\’s called the NCAA (or at least the BCS teams). You don\’t see USC as a pro team? Or LSU? Or Bama? Sure the players don\’t get paid, but fans still have to pay a fortune for those tickets - including donations to the scholarship fund to get the best seats.
For a guy who complained about hearing the same old pitches for HDNet, you are giving the same reasons that came out of Donald Trump\’s mouth during the USFL.
Comment by Joe Corey — May 30, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
You guys have probably found some info on the UFL by now, but just in case….
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=New+Football+Leagues&btnG=Search
Comment by Ed Parrott — May 30, 2007 @ 10:30 pm
Hmmm… didn\’t we try this before? AFL (subsumed by NFL), WFL, XFL, NFL Europe. Plus there is Canadian Football.
Do you want really diluted talent in this league? There\’s a reason there are only 1,760 NFL players. The rest are good enough.
Whenever you expand a league the talent get diluted. If I want to watch teams made up of players not good enough to play in the NFL, I can do that today by watching the Arena league or the CFL. Or NFL Europe.
Trying to start another football league with the NFL around is like trying to start another cola beverage. You won\’t get the shelf space or distribution.
Comment by Dave — May 30, 2007 @ 10:31 pm
I have a couple thoughts. First off, I think having no age limit is a foolish idea. I think it\’s easy to say that everyone will want to come to the UFL because they can get started there faster, but there\’s some pretty blatant flaws…
1) Wouldn\’t those stars rather wait a few years and then go for the guaranteed money that the spotlights of the NFL bring?
2) For every all-star you get jumping straight into the UFL, another all-star will get horribly injured and people will wonder if that could\’ve been prevented with the training and extra growing time that college provides, and for each career-ending injury because of the age restriction, the more people question the league…
I guess I\’m not really sure why you want to compete with a product that isn\’t really… broken. If you had, for example, jumped in on hockey during that one year and completely renovated it, you could\’ve done something powerful indeed.
Instead of fixing a sport that doesn\’t need it, focus on the other things. I agree with the poster who talked about soccer…
Either outdoor or indoor.
There used to be an indoor soccer league… but I believe it folded. Indoor soccer is just as fast/exciting as hockey, and I think you\’d have both a challenge and a great success on your hands if you could figure out a way to bring indoor soccer to the masses.
Or professional lacrosse?
If you give customers what they\’re expecting, it won\’t be new. If you give them something novel and with substance, they\’ll be interested and then won over.
Comment by Alex Jeffries — May 30, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
oops! Meant to say the rest are NOT good enough.
By percentage, how many draft picks lower than 7 make it in the NFL? That\’s the type of talent you will be dealing with. The guys that were CUT by the NFL. I\’ll watch college football if I want to see the majority of players that aren\’t good enough to make it in the NFL
Comment by Dave — May 30, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
Football works because Friday night is for high school ball, Saturday for college and Sunday for the pros. No one wants to see pro ball friday night.
Comment by DOug Kovacs — May 30, 2007 @ 10:40 pm
the great thing is that all the games will be in HD. right now i still get CBS regional games that are not in HD.
also, if you need some help. let me know. i would love to be a part of it.
Comment by ty webb — May 30, 2007 @ 10:56 pm
Mark,
I believe the demand for more top level professional football from the day after the Super Bowl until NFL preseason begins greatly exceeds excess demand during the college and NFL seasons. During that time, fans, including myself, track potential trades, draft prospects, and how those players perform in camp. We\’re trying in part to fill a void. I expect we would still follow those NFL transactions and activities, but would like to have games too. If you decide to compete in the NFL season and Friday night\’s work for UFL, couldn\’t the NFL simply add games that night? I also agree with those who believe league play should resemble the NFL. Many fans are looking for more of the same, but only after the Super Bowl.
Comment by Jim — May 30, 2007 @ 10:59 pm
Mark
Please all I ask is to make the seats close to the field CHEAP.
I would want to go to a game and pay no more that $10 instead of watching a nfl game.
Comment by MidgetMarine — May 30, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
Love the idea. One rule change from the NFL though. No field goals. 4th down or nothing. You should also beat the NFL and put a team in London, England. Wembley just got a remake. Or maybe get a team in Cuba and call them the Cuba Cubans.
P.S Buy Arsenal!!
Comment by Leovaldo Rodriguez Jr. — May 30, 2007 @ 11:04 pm
this has problems. the average age of an nfl football fan is like 50 i.e. they have a big problem on the horizon. studies show that sports are passed from parent/adult role model to child. in other words, get them while they\’re young. the breakup of the nuclear family leaves a big gap in future fan recruitment with a lot of males. another thing is that sports watching is pretty passive and competes with the same base that gaming does - where gaming is active.
i read some comments above that indicated friday night games in the fall? wow. how will u compete with beer - and chicks, and …?
IMO sports is huge growth market in Europe because of the older demo. football can definitely grow there - as can basketball, etc.
i\’m 27 - and despite playing high school and college sports - i don\’t watch any at all. i do participate a lot in athletic activity but i don\’t watch and neither do my friends. it\’s anecdotal evidence but sports in general has to deal with that issue of dimishing generational returns.
Comment by blyx — May 30, 2007 @ 11:11 pm
When the UFL does start to materialize, do yourselves 1 huge favor. Sign a contract with Visual Concepts and 2K, the creators of the ESPN 2K series football games.
Visual Concepts made better football games than EA did with Madden back in 2005. ESPN NFL 2K5, the game, was a superior game to Madden \’05 quality-wise, yet the price point was $19.99 for the 2K football game. This point caused Electronic Arts to drop the price of their Madden game. Clearly this angered or annoyed EA, and then EA went ahead and signed a deal with the NFL to give the Madden game franchise exclusive player and team rights. No more 2K NFL games, and it was a sad day for the gaming community.
The 2K NFL game brought competition to the Madden games and each company had to innovate to better the other. Now that competition is gone and only the consumers and gamers suffer.
One other thing: don\’t be an intellectual property whore like the NFL. The NFL gets pissed if someone uses \”Super Bowl\” and they got pissed when someone used \”The Big Game\” and then the NFL wanted to trademark \”The Big Game.\” Plain foolishness.
If you ever need anything that has to do with the gaming industry and the UFL, I\’ll gladly give my ideas and input.
Comment by James Stevens — May 30, 2007 @ 11:12 pm
I like it.
It seems like the UFL folks have a pretty good plan. Friday nights are open for pro football on network TV (Thursday too really since most don\’t have NFL network). NBC needs sports, verses network needs it. There is a demand.
The UFL is basically following the best parts of the USFL plan — sign free agents and secondary players and then a few headliners. If the league is competitive and the games are interesting it could work.
As for the XFL, that is a totally different animal. That was a single-entity wrestling spin off that tried to claim it was more violent and more sexy than the NFL. But there were no wrestling story-lines or rivalries (though they tried) and when the WWF-fan viewers realized it was just plain football, they quickly lost interest. The XFL sucked, but that doesn\’t mean the UFL has to suck too.
If this league is marketed as a supplement to the NFL or alternative but not a rival, it could succeed.
First 8 cities…
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Mexico City —all make great sense and can be geographic rivals. Add to those three Orlando and San Antonio for obvioius reasons. Then you have 3 spots left. If the league adds Chicago and NYC for TV purposes, I think it will be a mistake. THe XFL did the same and those franchises didn\’t do well –but in the fall it would totally not work. Better to go to other markets like Columbus Ohio and Detroit (since the Lions continue to suck –Michigan Panthers of USFL were popular) and perhaps Portland or Shreveport.
Comment by Fez — May 30, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
Cuban,
you dumb son of a pumpkin….I feel like Talia Shire in the Rocky movie…\”YOU CAN\”T WIN\”!!!
Is it possible, sure..I guess….but my wife won\’t give up Friday nights now too….Saturday afternoons (college) and Sundays….
Plus, I\’m in Eagles fan….maybe twice a year, I scrape up $200 and go to an Eagles game….so you put a franchise in Philly…maybe you\’ll play your games at Villanova or something….and you want me to pay $800 a year for season tickets…twice what i pay to go see the Eagles, even if it is only twice…McNabb, Westbrook…what are you givin me …Tony Hunt and Kevin Kolb??
Anyway..Good luck…I\’d love to see you do it…everyone needs competition..
But you know what might work, bro??
Take 8 average guys and their friends…armchair QBS….fantasy draft junkies…etc….give the $100K each to go out and build a team of 21 players for 10 weeks…..8 teams total …they coach them..they are the GMS…everything…and then get corporate sponsors…..you\’ve got the Pepsi team in Pepsi uniforms…..Viagara team in purple…whatever…play in the Coliseum, the Astrodome…any stadiums where they\’ve played in the past that are still viable….and give all access in the locker room and on the field in HD….the American Idol and Survivor meets Joe Football…now I\’m excited!! But then again, what do I know?
topwop
Comment by Frank D — May 30, 2007 @ 11:15 pm
Cube,
I disagree with all those other idiots who posted here. Great idea.
Consider the two most recent legit independent leagues that have tried to steal some of the NFL\’s thunder: the USFL and the XFL. Both were actually solid in theory, and could have succeeeded. What killed them was stupidity.
USFL: Died because Donald Trump was stupid. He tried (against the will of the other owners in the league) to move the league\’s schedule into the fall, to directly compete with the NFL, in an attempt to force an AFL-style merger. Instead, Trump killed the baby. They had the star power (in terms of players) to give the NFL a scare had they lasted, say, another four years and just kept plugging along.
XFL: Died because of Vince McMahon\’s stupid TV deal with NBC. Had the XFL negotiated a smaller-scope TV deal, with, say, a network like ESPN, FSN, Spike, or Versus (had it existed then), then the enormous investment that NBC put into the league would not have been necessary, and thus been the collateral that the network had to sacrifice after one measly season. The XFL could have lasted more than one year, had NBC not killed it.
The moral of the story: this can work, if you and the owners are smart about it. If you guys don\’t get greedy and try to cut the NFL\’s legs out from under it in the formative years, and if you are able to negotiate lucrative TV deals without mortgaging the financial future of the league, it has a chance. I know I\’d watch.
PS - And while you\’re at it, how about a team in Orlando? If so, I\’m your play-by-play man.
Comment by Jeff — May 30, 2007 @ 11:17 pm
Mark,
This is a tremendous business opportunity with a great upside. People who say the XFL is an example of why it cannot work are obviously not familiar with the realities relating to the XFL. Projects like a new football league take time and patience. The XFL was a great concept that was not given enough time to grow. I hope you go for it!
Comment by Matt Johnson — May 30, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
Mark,
Please move forward with all due haste. Make it fun, make it a little different, I\’ll watch and I will buy the sponsors products. I loved the XFL if only for the fact it made the titans of the NFL squirm and they had the guts to challange the \”ivory broadcasting tower\”. Ha, I still have a jersey! Be different and take them on, it\’s what you do best.
Comment by Joe Adkisson — May 30, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
The key to competing with the NFL is to duplicate as many aspects of their product as possible:
1) Play in the fall and on Sundays
Maintain a hard salary cap and the same rules regarding talent. (Pro football is a man\’s game - kid\’s simply cant compete on this level.)
2) Put teams in the same cities to capitalize on existing rivalries
3) Play in the same stadiums (to the extent possible)
4) Utilize the same rules
5) Hire top NFL coaches
6) Play an \”unbalanced\” schedule like the NFL to create the perception of parity
7) Utilize same draft approach and format
Etc., etc., etc….
Early on the talent will be weaker but perhaps not discernable by the average fan. This lack of talent could be mitigated somewhat by bringing on the brightest NFL coaches. I would estimate that over 5 years the UFL will have similar talent to the NFL. There is no reason the NFL can\’t compete but dont change a very successful product/game!
Comment by John Koepke — May 30, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
People keep mentioning the XFL as a failed league. It was never given a chance to make it. After the first season NBC wanted out, but the other broadcast partners (UPN and TNN) wanted to go on. McMahon\’s mistake was total league ownership of all teams. Thus, when his partner, NBC, wanted out, he had to pull the plug. If he\’d taken an approach similar to what is being proposed for the UFL, namely split ownership between the league and an owner for each team, they would have been able to continue.
As for cities for franchises, there are a host of places:
Orlando
Virginia Beach
Long Island
Hartford-Providence
Rochester
Columbus
Milwaukee
Shreveport
Oklahoma City
San Antonio
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Sacamento
Portland
And if you do this, you have to revive the best rivalry in pro football that no one knows about:
Birmingham and Memphis
BTW, some have mentioned the USFL….people don\’t seem to realize that they WON their suit proving the NFL was a monopoly. If the lawsuit was filed in Memphis, Birmingham, Oklahoma City, or Jacksonville, instead of New York, they\’d have broken the bank.
Comment by TLDietrich — May 30, 2007 @ 11:49 pm
Mark i think you are on track with this but then again i am a football junky having been to two Grey cup games when Baltimore played and actually saw kurt warner play for the barnstormers. some things to remember when fighting the NFL.
Don\’t spend too much money, keep in budget. This is what destroyed the USFL. Lots of good players for good prices. Don\’t overspend on offensive linemen and punt returners etc.
Also the game needs to be offensively oriented. The UFL needs to be the pac-10 of pro football high scoring. No one wants to see the coaches killing the clock at the start of the 4th quarter.
Find a broadcast entity that will show your games on free tv on Friday nights. And on free tv on thanksgiving evening when the NFL games are on the NFL network and most people can\’t watch them. Put something on free tv when the NFL network has the NFL game. I think this is crucial to your success as the NFL is gradually moving games over to the NFL network to force fans to subscribe to their channel. I think the UFL will have a fighting chance if they can stay on free TV as the NFL migrates to pay per view over the next decade.
Anyhow good luck hope it works well. I will be watching.
Comment by gp — May 31, 2007 @ 12:07 am
Mark,
I say good luck to you. I think trying to become the equivelant, or better, of the NFL someday may be a bit of a reach. But, I do believe there are enough football fans to support another league that offers a quality product.
There are many quality football players not on active NFL rosters, you will still need to pull some stars. I think being a supplement to the NFL could be a successful business venture, but trying to take the NFL on mano a mano won\’t work, at least until your league proves it has staying power and star power.
But hey, I will watch and be a fan as long as the league offers exciting players and quality teams.
Comment by Shotzy — May 31, 2007 @ 12:07 am
Mark,
This is a great idea, but the wrong season. I have always thought the USFL would have survived and grown strong if they stayed in the Spring. Why do people think the draft got so popular in April, because fans want football year-round… and Arena football is NOT football.
Instead of playing Friday nights in the Fall, why not have training camp start January 14th, have two exhibition games and then Opening Weekend on February 17 and 18th on Presidents Day.
Play in two divisions. Each team plays two games against the division opponents and one against the other division for a ten-week schedule of Sunday and Monday Night games. have the UFL Championship played on Memorial Day every year… a national holiday!
Anyway, good luck with the league but please consider the Spring.
Comment by Sean McEnany — May 31, 2007 @ 12:11 am
Roger Goodell and the empire known as the NFL will eat you alive and spit out your carcass! Find a good public company to invest in instead; a better use of your funds…
Comment by Ryan — May 31, 2007 @ 12:12 am
I can see you haveing a successful 8 leauge team LA, Mex City, San Antonio, Portland, Anaheim, Toronto, Las Vegas, and Orlando would be ideal…then eventually you could be engulfed into the NFL..which would then have 40 teams 5 divisions of 4…north south east west pacific maybe? then you would have your dream of becoming an nfl owner for a lot less than you could now…sounds like a plan to me!
Comment by Z-man — May 31, 2007 @ 12:17 am
you have to fill a niche if you\’re not the nfl. the cfl\’s niche is canada and their league\’s history which is almost as long as the nfl. nfl europe\’s niche is teams 5,000 miles away from us and being funded by nfl owners who want a minor league for their players. arena football\’s niche is the gimmicky part and a concerted effort to be fan-friendly.
people will NOT watch this league if it\’s too similar to the nfl. the USFL proved that. they also will not watch this league if it\’s too different. the XFL proved that.
Comment by robert — May 31, 2007 @ 12:17 am
Mark
This idea can and will fly. The CFL (Where some players go if they get cut or unsigned) only has 8 teams but they are limited by a rule that there must be a minimum amount of Canadian players on each team. I am from Canada, but I disagree with that rule. LET THE BEST PLAYERS PLAY !!!
I believe this endeavour will work and good luck to getting it started and thriving. Cheers.
Comment by Donny — May 31, 2007 @ 12:18 am
Mark,
My first reaction to this is to say, no way, it will be second rate and nobody will care. Then I was reminded of my Friday lunch crew. It\’s a bunch of guys that get together for lunch every couple of Fridays at a sports bar.
Nearly every time NFL news pops up on the screen and someone remarks how badly they want the season to start now and how much they want year round football. Several discussions have popped up regarding why in the world the NFL doesn\’t bring NFL Europe to the US and play a spring/summer schedule.
Why do we care? As insane as it is, we want to play fantasy football every week of every month of the year. The growth and attention on the NFL is due in large part to fantasy football. We all want to know the next sleeper or underground star. If you had a league with strong fantasy support the media and your target demographic will take notice.
1. Don\’t go head to head.
2. Cater to FF freaks.
I don\’t see any other way to succeed.
Good luck.
Comment by Josh Lewis — May 31, 2007 @ 12:22 am
Mark,
This idea is awesome. Don\’t listen to those who immediately mention the failures of the XFL. The WWE was so good at promoting the XFL they convinced the general public the XFL was direct competition with the NFL when it wasn\’t. It was an alternative. The XFL suffered from lack of clear brand identity. Plus, you can\’t expect good football with only two months prep time. You have to give the teams at least a year.
The XFL financial model was solid. Unfortunately, football played second fiddle to the WWE style, which didn\’t go over well. The whole cheerleaders/stripper image thing was horrible too. Enough bashing on the XFL.
Despite all the problems with the XFL, they did prove a couple things. One, the beloved xcam or skycam is now used heavily in the NFL games. That came from the XFL, much overused in the premiere game though.
Like you said, there are cities who crave pro football. The USFL and the XFL proved that. Look at Las Vegas. The UPN station in that market killed in the ratings. We\’re talking double digit Nielsen numbers in a fifty-plus market.
I think starting fresh allows you and the other principal interests to start a solid foundation. Take what the NFL does and improve it. However, I wouldn\’t attack the NFL. I would approach the UFL it as a pro football alternative. Let the football people do their jobs and make it a viable alternative, something the WWE/XFL didn\’t do.
I loved football when it was only Sunday and Monday. I\’m not a fan of the Thursday games. It really messes with tradition. But since the NFL has tossed tradition to the wind, why not put games on Friday nights. However, I do think the numbers might not be there because of how big high school football is in various parts of the country. But if the model is there to do it, then go for it. Don\’t do it in the spring. Football is a fall/winter sport. That\’s where it needs to stay.
As for getting television coverage, the television landscape has changed quickly since the XFL was around. I\’m sure MyNetworkTV would jump all over it. Heck, they\’re running movies on Friday nights.
I would also embrace the fantasy football fanatic. Fantasy football drives the NFL. It took them too long enough to recognize it. Heck, I\’ve been doing it since \’89.
With today\’s media landscape, you never know what will or won\’t work. I mean, if cornhole is on television then why not a second pro football league?
Thanks.
Matt
Comment by Matt — May 31, 2007 @ 12:29 am
This could work out well, if you do it right. You have to skip the growing pain years of the NFL years when the Uniforms looked plain and unsophisticated. With all the creative design talent, (not over the top stripes) they need very professional styled uniforms, high level (not low level showboats. Players with skilled but football/basketball athletic maneuvers and player showmanship. It could be great and plenty of women with cash have never been to an NFL game. The quality of the fan would be very high in some cities, esppecially if the talent was coached and managed at a \”very higher standard\” than the NFL. Think about talent that is overlooked for a bunch of reasons that are more personal and subjective. The NFL expects you to come in shape, but the guys just gain more weight instead of getting faster and stronger. It slows down the game. You don\’t need to be over 300 lbs to block, you need to be stronger, and everyone else needs to be more muscular, and faster, with more knowledge about the game. I have looked into technology to improve the athlete by orders of magnitude from the knowledge and decision making standpoint. I am interested.
Comment by Will Ray — May 31, 2007 @ 12:31 am
I wish I could believe this was a money making proposition, but it seems more like an ego driven proposition (especially given Bill Hambrecht\’s previous involvement in the USFL). I think the demand for football in this country is very high, but that is adaquately fulfilled by High School football, College, and the NFL. Arena football has even succeeded in surviving, and now has a contract with ESPN primarily by trying to complement the NFL, not eclipse it. Your first major problem is finding a TV deal. The XFL was only created because NBC lost its NFL television contract. Now with CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC/ESPN all having NFL games (plus the NFL with its own network), there is no network to show the games. The existing networks are not going to step on the NFL\’s toes for a chance at some startup league, and you\’ll just end up showing games on HDNet. I think from an investment growth standpoint, you would be best served by building up a lesser known professional sports league for a different sport such as the WNBA, MLS, or MLL (Major League Lacrosse). MLS would love to have an owner with deep pockets such as yourself, and it would benefit from the promotional experience you could provide (you already provide great coverage on HDNet). Major League Lacrosse could probably be bought completely as a league, and it has the potential for tremendous growth because Lacrosse is the only team sport in this country with Elite division 1 completion and no adequate professional sports league. Lacrosse is played in almost every high school in the nation and packs the Baltimore Ravens stadium every memorial day weekend for the final four. It is the final frontier of sports growth in this country, with enormous upside supported by tons of high school and college fans and players.
Mark, you\’re a great business man that has pulled off two legendary accomplishments (sale of Broadcast.com, resurrection of the Mavs). Don\’t tarnish your legacy by taking on the NFL, even if the initial cash outlay is not too heavy. Go for the higher upside, and seriously take a look at Major League Lacrosse.
Comment by Damian — May 31, 2007 @ 12:36 am
Marc, if there was money to be made in another league the NFL would have done it long ago…even their development league is in Europe.
And speaking of a developmental league, are NBA\’s minor league teams making money?
Lower level talent may serve a need for pro development, but it isn\’t going to pay the bills.
Comment by Jim R — May 31, 2007 @ 12:45 am
Stick with the MLL. Just like Hockey, MLL in HD is worth the ticket.
Fastest growing sport in the nation.
Investment is a lot less than the UFL and the market is growing instead of tapped out.
Let\’s see.. Spend a combined $200million or more hoping to create demand.
Or spend about $10Million increasing awareness and creating demand?
Right now it is the die hard fans who watch because they grew up on the East Coast playing, or played in college and understand the rules. I say change the MLL rules to allow more violence (big hits) and you\’ll see the fans who don\’t understand the game go nuts.
Comment by PSC — May 31, 2007 @ 12:52 am
Mr. Mark Cuban I believe this could be potentially a good thing, but why compete in fall, why not compete with World Football League during minicamp times with the drafts that didn\’t make it, this way they will also compete with CFL, but it sounds lucrative and interesting. If you need help with thoughts or ideas on cities like San Antonio, El Paso, Las Vegas, Omaha, Des Moines, Portland. thank you
Comment by damian — May 31, 2007 @ 12:52 am
UFL Vision = To Change the World
To compete against the NFL, do something different. The UFL is built to change the world; help end world hunger, help end world poverty and to create peace all around the world.
In the NFL there are constant problems with players and owners making way too much money, and players getting into way too many problems. I beleive fans are tired of this.
There is a huge market for football and there are thousands of amazing atheletes that would play for less money, especially if they are making a difference in the world. So how about creating the UFL so that the players are change agents in the world. Instead of drastic salaries, half their salaries are donated to non-profits around the world. In the off season each player could be part in building a self-sustaining community. They could get children of the streets and into good homes and or schools. The league itself could be a stand against all the poverty in the world. Not only would each player make a huge difference, the league itself could make HUGE changes. Your \”superbowl\” could benefit all types of work. Each commercial, specially at 1 mill a pop, could make such a difference.
I believe the world is changing. I believe all types of entertainment needs to change. Fans are wanting more. We want to see more than some guy that\’s making 10 million a year complaining about not getting paid, breaking the law, and getting off because who he is. We want more players who play for the love of the game. Now add to that. They play for the love of the game, and they play to change the world.
I believe there would be a amazing market for this, and this would be an amazing alternative to the monolopy of the NFL. Take all the money and profits out of it, and instead, be a service to the world.
Thank you for reading.
Comment by Jeremiah A Forest — May 31, 2007 @ 12:55 am
What about Grand Rapids, MI? it\’s a larger media market than Oklahoma City, Las VEgas and only two spots back from San Antonio. It is not a not a well-known area nationwide, but there are a lot of football fans on this side of the state that have no loyalty to any nfl teams outside of bandwagons because the lions are terrible.
Comment by Rob Clark — May 31, 2007 @ 1:01 am
Personally, I can\’t wait. I think it\’s a great idea.
Comment by yogi — May 31, 2007 @ 1:02 am
Mr. Cuban,
I believe that a Spring/Summer league would be nice. I disagree with those who disagree with rule changes. Look at the other successful non-NFL league, the AFL. The Arena Football League has been ultra-sucessful, mainly because of its uniqueness. And, as much as I am a WWE fan, I do not recomend resurecting the XFL in any way shape or form. The changes should not be too extreme and keep to the basic NFL rules. Okay, well this does sound like an extreme change:
No punting
A field goal post hoised over the 50-yard line
Well, there\’s my only sugestion that could give life to this league.
Comment by Travis, 14 — May 31, 2007 @ 1:12 am
Mark,
I agree with you that this is an idea far overdue, and it could be something very doable in the future. I have played semi-pro football for the last 3 years, and it would give guys overlooked by the NFl a chance to showcase their talents on a national stage. I\’m all for it! In all seriousness, if you are looking for a football mind to work on this project, I can do anything! Marketing, broadcasting, anything. I am a football junkie!!! Email me!
Comment by Jeremy — May 31, 2007 @ 1:18 am
http://z11.invisionfree.com/NFL_Return_to_LA/index.php?
Mark, does the UFL have a site yet? I can\’t find it via Yahoo!
Please post contact info,
Thanks!
Comment by NFL2LA — May 31, 2007 @ 1:23 am
MR CUBAN I THINK IT IS A GREAT IDEA , SOMETHING I WOULD REALLY BE INTERESTED IN .I\’M A FORMER COLLEGE PLAYER WHO WOULD LOVE TO BE INVOLED IN SOMETHING BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP. PLEASE CONTACT ME KWES-WES@YAHOO.COM
Comment by kevin wesley — May 31, 2007 @ 1:53 am
Mark,
I\’m a big Mavericks fan and I really applaud your efforts for raising them higher than they\’ve ever been. Being a devout Mormon in Utah, I really do love the NFL, but it\’s always nice not having to watch football on Sunday. (Thankfully, my favorite team, the Broncos, is an NFL favorite as well so they get to play lots of Monday night games). Hopefully, in your league you\’ll put a team in Utah. If you don\’t want to go into Salt Lake City, I can tell you that placing a franchise in St. George, Utah may be quite beneficial for you. In Washington County, Utah (where St. George is located, in the southwest part of the state), state statisticians project the area to boast 450,000/500,000 residents by 2025. Utah is a rich market for you and because I\’m a Mavs fan, while I\’m here, I\’ll be a staunch supporter of yours. I\’m grateful for your efforts to promulgate HDTV as well. Professional sports are better with you around. Hopefully, our Mavs bounce back from the doldrums and win the Larry O\’Brien trophy next June. Thanks again for your extensive labors.
Comment by Brad James: Bronco and Maverick Fan — May 31, 2007 @ 2:05 am
Whether this works or not remains to be seen, but the reason it has a chance to work is really because of the way the NCAA is setup. The new league will have to take advantage of the weaknesses in BOTH of those \”leagues.\”
There are a variety of journalists and academics who have taken the NCAA football industrial complex to task and exposed it for what it is…the athletic version of walmart style employee relations.
If you think this league will fail consider how many very talented (but not quite talented enough to make the NFL) players attend college exclusively to play football. They do not go to class, they play football in return for essentially room, board, and memories. When the bowl games are over, and their eligibility is up they head home to get a \”real job\” or kick around a semi pro league.
Now consider the offer of a well funded(!) league owned and run almost exclusively of owners who made their own fortune. They come to you whether in HS, after your freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year and say \”We will give you everything Notre Dame will give you except the charade that you are a \’student athlete\’ and we will pay you $250K a year.\” You are naive if you think VERY talented players will be very interested in that conversation. Not all of them. And most likely the new league will not have the same talent as the NFL, but you are foolish if you do not think there are weaknesses in the NFL armor.
Comment by Nic — May 31, 2007 @ 2:17 am
i think the sticking point for a new league is the media coverage. there might be curiosity initially, but don\’t underestimate the NFL\’s ability to bully networks, cities, players, and media that want to participate in this new league. anyone willing to participate for you might be risking their football future should this not pan out.
Comment by robert — May 31, 2007 @ 2:53 am
Mark,
I think it\’s a great idea, but there\’s one problem…you\’re gonna play in the FALL? Few people remember, the USFL actually was pretty successful because it played in the SPRING. I think spring football is the way to go here. Instead of competing with the NFL, you\’ll be competing with the AFL and NFL Europe. If you go against the NFL, no offence, you\’ll be laughingstock. The reason the XFL failed was because NBC didn\’t want it, but attendance was really good, even in San Francisco! Good luck, and if you want someone to work for you, lemme know
Comment by David Livingston — May 31, 2007 @ 3:29 am
Sounds great, though given your blog last july about basketball (http://www.blogmaverick.com/2006/07/15/making-money-in-basketball/ ) I\’m a little surprised you want to take the NFL head-on, but you\’re right on #5, there are a lot of people involved in this who are a hell of a lot smarter about sports and business than I am.
Will the UFL put a higher priority on parity within the league (salary caps/league-financed salaries) or attracting eyeballs? If you want to put together the UFL equivalent of the New York Cosmos, can you do that? Or will you have a league full of owners who are willing to take big losses in the short term to cash in down the road?
Comment by James — May 31, 2007 @ 3:58 am
God bless you and Good luck
Comment by ziare — May 31, 2007 @ 3:58 am
I think this could be a very good idea. Here is another that might go along with it a little. I don\’t know how it would work, or if i could work, but make your team a true World Champion by getting the CFL and NFL Europe (might be harder to get then the CFL b/c its owned/operated by the NFL) to agree to a playoff with all three leagues. If you could get the top three teams from UFL and CFL and the top two teams from NFL Europe that would make it a great tournament. This might even be good for the other two leagues b/c people from other countries will see how their teams hold up against the American teams. Again this is just a wild thought.
Comment by Brandon — May 31, 2007 @ 4:29 am
My one piece of advice to the UFL: don\’t name teams things like PRIDE or POWER or SOL ala WNBA. Plural team names, like all 32 NFL teams, make the league more credible and less tacky.
Comment by He Hated Me — May 31, 2007 @ 5:32 am
I like the idea of signing college players and having them enter into contracts requiring buyouts if the NFL wants them.
I also think the XFL had some decent ideas, particularly the removal of PATs. Instead having the ball on the 2 yard line for 1 point, and the 5 for 2 points and finally the 10 for 3 points.
For announcers, I\’d like each team to vote one announcer by a fan vote. Now of course this would lead to a \’glorified cheerleader\’ (to borrow the phrase) but if you put each team\’s announcer in each game for a commentary, it\’d create a great live broadcast intensity.
Oh, and if the UFL can be the only US sports team to actually have a rational outlook on sports betting, that\’d be a nice change.
Comment by Adam — May 31, 2007 @ 5:57 am
Thank u for your sharing!!!
Comment by wow powerleveling — May 31, 2007 @ 6:36 am
Good morning, I found this blog following a link from a newspaper article discussing the idea of a new Pro Football League in the United States.
If I may I\’d like to bring to Mr Cuban\’s attention a few things to consider regards Football as a sport, it\’s international appeal and how taking on the NFL model isn\’t going to help the sport.
1. The NFL is a successful pro football league, the success of the league can easily be measured by the cost of purchasing a franchise in the league.
The NFL Model works well for the NFL. At most 4 days a week of competition (Thursday&Saturday game are rare of course) but normally played over 2 days.
There is not really more demand for Pro Football than there is supply. There might be demand for quality football for players who have since graduated college or have missed out on even getting into college. But Pro Football of the Megabucks market ala the NFL isn\’t suffering from demand higher than supply.
A low cost league paying fair wages (and one that delivers on after playing pensions to cater for later in life complications from playing football) may succeed. Offering those priced out of NFL and College tickets an alternative might succeed. But on a Friday evening it would clash with high school football which already has too much pressure on it to succeed.
Adding an additional NFL Model League or USFL Model etc - won\’t help the sport and I doubt it will make money.
2. Internationally the sport of Football is played in hundreds of towns and cities. From New Zealand to Mexico to Scotland. These leagues are at best semi-pro and in most cases are self funding with the players paying to play the game. These leagues are always in the Shadow of the NFL. Often football fans will choose to watch the NFL rather than support a local team.
However if investments were made in these leagues to help provide marketing power, advertising and cover the costs of training and playing (my team\’s budget in Scotland is close to $20,000 a year) then it would benefit the sport internationally and lead to more people playing and supporting the sport.
Assuming that 50 teams in the UK were given a grant of $20,000 each that $1m investment year on year would allow the clubs to expand rapidly and build the sport. I doubt very much that an investment like that is forth coming, but it would make an impact and help the sport.
If football is the key driver here to improve the sport by investing internationally would be a far better use of the money earmarked for another professional league in the USA.
3. While there may be demand in other areas in the USA with out a professional/NFL franchise the demand will disappear if results don\’t go well or ticket prices increase. Look at Jacksonville as an example.
I argue there are other ways to invest in the sport which would have better ramifications for the sport internationally than setting up a Pro league to try and take on the NFL. However the reason for a pro league is to make money and in that case it probably will make financial sense to keep within the core sport market of the USA.
Douglas Adamson
Edinburgh Wolves American Football Club, Scotland, United Kingdom
Comment by Douglas Adamson — May 31, 2007 @ 6:42 am
IT\’S A GOOD IDEA ,FROM PAST EXPERIENCE WITH FINANCIAL PROBLEMS WITH UPSTART FOOTBALL LEAGUES; I\’ D SUGGEST USING SEMI PRO PLAYERS (NAFL.ORG:UFLONLINE.COM]INSTEAD OF COLLEGE DRAFTED TALENT;THEY ARE CHEAPER, MORE DEVOTED ,EQUAL TALENT, MORE DEDICATED,WHAT IS THE LEAGUES NAME GONNA BE? IS THERE A WEBSITE?
Comment by DEVON MALIK SCOTT (IHNDUST3 — May 31, 2007 @ 7:09 am
Mark
I was a season ticket holder of the USFL\’s General\’s and I agree with you, there is a huge untapped market that is there. Its not just in secondary cities, last year I finally become a NY Giant season ticket, I put my name on the waiting list in 1979, I have heard the list is now longer.
Comment by phil — May 31, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Mark, trade Jason Terry and Josh Howard for Kobe. That will be 2/5 of the All NBA team starting next season!
Comment by matt — May 31, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Mark if you think that some negative publicity on the NFL might help this league succeed I have just the story. Hint: some trades in NFL are not what they appear to be.
Comment by inside guy — May 31, 2007 @ 8:06 am
Mark,
I\’m a football fan, so I\’ll say good luck. You\’re intelligent enough to know the risks involved.
If I can offer one bit of advice to the UFL, it would be to balance smaller markets where you will actually get a lot of media coverage (Memphis, Birmingham, Oklahoma City) with the larger markets that are necessary (LA, Chicago, NYC). Also, stay away from markets where high school football is a way of life; I would think this would be the case in Dallas and Houston?
Look at the cities that had XFL teams — absolutely perfect begininng lineup and it left tons of room for expansion had it worked out.
Comment by Alfred Sumrall — May 31, 2007 @ 8:21 am
Mark -
Nice idea with the UFL, but let\’s take it a step further. Have an 8 team league with one team managed by the people. Charge people $10 for the right to participate in a season of management decisions as it relates to player personal. Examples of management decisions would include: having live streaming tryouts, where the \”Virtual Owners\” watch and then vote on who to sign…maybe a live draft and the managers vote on you to select. I would love the idea of making fantasy football \”real\”.
-J
Comment by Josh — May 31, 2007 @ 8:36 am
Hey Mark - My advice to you would be to bring back the name and spirit of the USFL. 20+ years later and there are still many devotees of the important Spring League. Bring back the USFL name and you\’ll be able to tie-in special appearances by former USFLers on your Friday night telecasts.
Also, bring back a franchise name or two and you\’ll solidify your effort!
A league reformation is not unprecendented - look at the recent rebirth of the long dormant MISL!
Comment by Rich — May 31, 2007 @ 8:53 am
I think the idea has some substance. Depending on how it is structured will depend on its success. I dont believe competing head to head on Sundays will be the best strategy, but if you get dynamic players that people want to see and that make the game interesting (see the controversy storms of players like TO, Chad Johnson, etc.) it can be a package that I believe people will buy into, especially in areas that have large potential for a football franchise but for whatever reason, the NFL has not placed (or in some cases replaced) football in various cities (Los Angeles, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, etc.).
Furthermore, what is the timeline of the creation of this league, even though it is still in its infant stages, and will more information be made available soon? While there\’s interest would be a good time to start recruiting potential players from the 2007 draft (and cuts) instead of allowing these players to go play in the Canadian or Arena Football Leagues. Just a thought.
Comment by James — May 31, 2007 @ 8:53 am
There\’s no demand for more pro football. One of the reasons football is so intensly loved is that it\’s only a 16 game season. College football fills in any other urge or need a fan would have. Another league now would always be viewed as second tier.
So unless you have a Joe Namath up your sleeve DON\’T DO THIS.
Comment by Steve — May 31, 2007 @ 8:57 am
Trying to start another league to compete with the NFL has been tried a couple of times before without staying power. The idea to broadcast on Friday nights conflicts with local football ro dating or anything else. There more pro football than most people care to watch and cities with marginal markets. But it you want to blow your fortune down that hole, how about shipping a couple of million to me. I can put it to good use for my daughter\’s college education and such. You\’re a good NBA owner and have had success in that arena, but that doesn\’t mean you have the formula for success in other arenas. What should be done in professional sports is cleaning up the image and setting standards and roles to live by. There are a lot of good athletes who are good people, but the bad apples are hurting these folks so peer pressure need to come to bear down. Kids really need the good examples and they need to be out there in front showing the way.
Comment by Paul — May 31, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Mark:
Greetings from Northern Kentucky, I am Sensei Kurt (http://www.myspace.com/karateanimal). I am with the Tribat Fighting Society (TFS) in the greater Cincinnati area. I also am a working martial arts instructor (in Shotokan karate and jujitsu) and a life long student of the martial arts. When the UFC first started, I grew increasingly tired of the grapplers claim that grappling is superior to stand-up fighting. We both know that in reality it is not that cut and dry! We both also know it is not as exciting as a good slug-fest with lots of kicks and stikes!!!
I have studied and taught jujitsu (both Japanese and Brazilian) for many years and know all to well its inherent strengths and weaknesses. With that in mind, we would like to talk to you and discuss and unleash an exciting world event that would take the ultimate fighters to the next \’ultimate\” test of ones fighting skill.
With UFC, IFL, etc. are out there, now is the time to take it to the next level!!
Today provides a perfect opportunity to capitalize upon our world\’s fascination with and involvement in the martial arts as entertainment. All that is needed is a unique and exciting martial arts concept that transcends normal and familiar events. Our new and inovative concept fulfills this need. With the right marketing, it is guaranteed to draw in HUGE viewership.
Would you please let me know if you would be interested in looking further into our new ideas (I have a Powerpoint I can send you). I would really like to discuss these ideas and concepts with you!
This is the next stage of Ultimate Combat!
Mark,hope to hear from you soon.
Best Regards,
Sensei Kurt
sensei_kurt@yahoo.com
Comment by SENSEI KURT STREUTKER — May 31, 2007 @ 9:03 am
I just don\’t think you can have more than one \”top\” league in any sport. Basketball has the NBA. Football the NFL. Hockey the NHL. I think most people view it as the natural order of sports. The best talent advances to the \”next\” level, and naturally there can only be one \”ultimate level\” for talent, and therefore that level should be the best league. Any other league that is started to compete with the current \”top\” league will be viewed by most as kind of a minor league where players that couldn\’t \”cut it\” in the NFL, NBA, NHL or whatever, go to play. Much like Arena Football. People will watch it to some extent, but I don\’t think they will ever be as devoted or crazy about it as the current top league.
Comment by Jay — May 31, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Good arguement - wrong sport. How about something to compete with NASCAR? They have turned it into a IROC truck non-sport with the COT (Car Of Tomorrow or more correctly Crap Of Today). There is a huge market for racing by cars off the showroom floor (Or slightly modified for safety). I want to see that Monte Carlo go against that Fusion - for real. They have ghost rules and mostly go to boring look-alike tracks (their\’s).
Comment by Mike McClain — May 31, 2007 @ 9:07 am
Mark,
I have always enjoyed \”rival\” leagues, for their novelty. I don\’t know if you read these comments, but if you do, let me offer some suggestions.
1) Choose a fan of the game as your commissioner. The players will have their union (you know they will). The owners have each other. But the fans have no voice in the sport in terms of how it\’s run. Having a fan (not a celebrity fan, like Bob Costas) running things means that the fans are always represented in the league.
2) No gimmicks. Keep the scoring system and method of scoring the same as in the NFL. No \”Action Points\” like the WFL. No funky scoring for long field goals. Keep the game true to the game.
3) Lighten up. Football is a sport played with passion, and enjoyed with passion. Let the players show their emotions and passion when they make a great play. If the celebration takes too long, then, yes, flag for delay of game and move on. Have a uniform code, but be reasonable in enforcement.
4) Hold the players to a standard of conduct from Day One. The whole situation with NFL players being arrested left and right is embarrassing to me as a fan of the game. Establish the fact that it is a privilege to play in the UFL from Day One. Get that statement into every player contract. Establish a policy for off-field behavior that makes it plain and clear, up front, that players are expected to behave as model citizens while under UFL contract. And make sure the rules are \”one size fits all\” … that the star QB in the league and the fourth-string punter are equal in the eyes of this policy.
5) Steroid use. I read your remarks about this, but I think that the UFL should be a drug-free, steroid-free environment from Day One. Steroids are illegal in many cases, and I don\’t believe condoning the breaking of a law that one may disagree with is the right thing to do. Establish a drug, alcohol, and steroids policy before you open the doors. Make it something that is non-negotiable in any collective bargaining agreement so that the league can control it.
Just some ideas from someone who loves football, and would enjoy seeing the UFL get started and stay in business.
Brien
Comment by Brien Martin — May 31, 2007 @ 9:10 am
Spend your money on buying the Rangers. Surely you are pulling our leg with investing in this third rate joke.
If you\’re needing to funnel some cash into a lossing operation for a tax write-off, feel free to contact me.
Comment by bsmall — May 31, 2007 @ 9:11 am
Mark -
I think it is a great idea and once the teams are aligned I would like to be a part of one of the organizations.
Comment by Craig — May 31, 2007 @ 9:17 am
The odds are against this working… just look at the XFL and USFL… Although the WLAF did become NFL Europe, so that has been a success.
Who cares if this isnt going to work. It\’s worth a shot, don\’t you think. If anyone can pull this off its Mark Cuban. If I had 2 billion dollars, I would try every business venture that was interesting enough. I just hope a team comes to Portland, Oregon. We really need some football in this market. With the Blazers on the verge of being a contender this would be a perfect time to expand this market!
Comment by Rickey — May 31, 2007 @ 9:22 am
Count me in if you need sports marketing expertise on this winning endeavor.
Comment by Joel Cohen — May 31, 2007 @ 9:23 am
As a current NFL fan and a former USFL fan, I say go for it, but but here\’s three pieces of advice:
1. Play during the spring and/or summer. Don\’t be hubristic and compete directly with the NFL.
2. Work out something with the *Pro Football Hall of Fame* so great players who play in your league teams aren\’t penalized in the future.
3. Stay true to the spirit of the game (no \”stupid new rules\”).
Best of luck.
Comment by Will — May 31, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Mark,
Execution will be the navigation around a myriad of obstacles.
Lower level talent is actually in my opinion one of the NFL\’s greatest assets. How often are aging stars released or asked to re-work their contracts for a 5th, 6th or 7th rounder?
I attended a Big 10 school and still keep a keen eye on how many players are in great shape, have a head for the game yet…end up in NFL Europe or Arena leagues. Some get called up, but paid the minimum. By the time they work their way into the premier pay schedule, the team cuts them or buys out the package at a discount.
Friday nights are for high school…blah, blah, blah. The only places that\’s crucial is OH, TX, CA and FL. Most people would be willing to watch if the game is good, going back to your talent, if the rules were slightly different and if the consumer related to the product.
The one thing I\’d say NOT to focus on is taking on the NFL so hard initially, focus on the product, delivering what the consumer needs and staying true to the brand, whatever that comes to be.
Of course advertising is key, so identifying great allies as you know…I\’m sure any player in this future would have been happy to partner with the recently sold Vitamin Water…imagine if that had been the official league drink.
In addition, carrying games on HDTV as well as online would be great…
Either or, best wishes as you and the group pursue the opportunity, because it does exist.
Comment by Q — May 31, 2007 @ 9:29 am
Mark,
Just curious if this is the same UFL that I had heard about. I used to work with Jon Brod, and when he announced where he was leaving for, I was VERY VERY excited! I think it\’s a fantastic idea, that it will be in all major markets… especially if you slide a team into Shea Stadium! I only wish that I could land a spot as an assistant GM.
Comment by Gary — May 31, 2007 @ 9:29 am
Enough with the XFL remarks. Does everyone forget that it was mildly successful when it launched? They had TV deals, merchandising, etc. all lined up, and regardless of what you say about the rules, some of them have had an impact on NFL and Arena rules changes.
The real thing that went wrong with the XFL was 1) it was showcased from prime time, when NBC clearly needed something stronger for their liking (when the ratings and interest waned) and 2) McMahon tried to spark interest with stupid cheerleader and announcer/coach story lines, which obviously did not fit the product and doomed it to failure.
There were other XFL players that \”made it\” other than Rod Smart, which I would dare say is not the most \”note worthy\” player from the league. That honor should go to Tommy Maddox, who won the XFL MVP in the only year they played, and revived his career, getting a starting spot with Pittsburgh and having a decent run for about a year and a half.
Comment by Scott Prodigy — May 31, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Mark, I think the idea is great! Being a football coach at the high school level, I beg you to reconsider playing games on Friday nights however. A majority of football fans are somehow involved with HS football, which is played on Friday nights.
More football is always a good idea, but make it on a night that most football fans can attend without conflict.
Comment by Labz — May 31, 2007 @ 9:33 am
Hey honestly
- did you say \”The NFL doesnt have competition?
- How about College football? …
- Your going to play on friday nights? / umm I would say 20% of more of your audience is going to be at or watching highschool games / or partying …
- Sry but I wouldn\’t fund this idea …
- Please save your money and better ideas for landmark theatres…
- Ever think of buying some AMC theatres?
Comment by forklift extensions — May 31, 2007 @ 9:34 am
Agree with competing in the Spring and Summer, especially during the dead time. If you enjoy football, then the NBA and hockey can\’t end soon enough but I\’m not so sure about competing with the NFL and college football. I like your idea, but already, in the fall that would be third on my list if I was a quadraplegic.
Comment by kemit — May 31, 2007 @ 9:35 am
The NFL has stayed on top and squashed competition before. All the XFL managed to produce is a new camera angle. They are succeptable to competition because of the salary cap, but they can increase the cap to squeeze out that opening.
Fall fridays will lose about 1/2 of the potential audience to HS football games. Off fall-season football has some chance.
I think the best shot would be ultimate frisbee. it already starts with a 50,000 active member structured base (probably 10x with past players and second teir players) and is flashy & fast enough to grab casual viewers. There\’s some room for a cheap pro-player sport.
Comment by dan — May 31, 2007 @ 9:40 am
Mr. Cuban,
Having studied the USFL and having talked with a wide range of owners, both commissioners, general managers, players, and coaches for an independent study project I did at SMU, I can offer some assistance. Not all of the information about the USFL\’s successes or failures was chronicled in Jim Byrne\’s \”The $1 League: The Rise And Fall Of The USFL.\”
Additionally, there are several ways you can monetize various features of the new league, create a loyal fan base rather quickly, and also improve ways that your fans will want to watch commercials instead of changing the channel (thereby increasing Nielsen ratings). There are also ways in which technology can be used to lock out the NFL, thereby creating exclusivity.
While I am sure that you, your trusted staff, and the UFL are more than qualified to create a viable league, feel free to e-mail me privately if you wish to discover a few more possible low-cost ways to make this venture a success.
Best wishes and have fun. Most of the USFL alumni will tell you that while the financial situation was exasperating (especially during the 1985 season), the league was also the most fun they ever had in professional football. I wish you and your staff the same experience!
Matt
Dallas, TX
Comment by Matt Mc Dermott — May 31, 2007 @ 9:41 am
Mark,
I am still not sure if this works in your case, but I always thought it would have worked for Vince Mcmahon. Instead of starting the XFL, I always thought that Vince should compete with football by starting a professional rugby league. No pads, same violence, and a more dynamic game. USA rugby already has sold the rights to their sevens program, maybe 15s is next.
Thanks,
Kurt
Comment by Kurt Nienberg — May 31, 2007 @ 9:41 am
When I heard that someone was taking on the NFL again, I thought \”Oh boy, here we go again.\” Traditionally, this venture fails. However, I think that if you don\’t compete with the NFL, you stand a decent chance of succeeding. The idea of moving UFL games to Friday is just silly. Football is on Sunday. You\’d have no competition. You could do 4 games on Sunday, assuming an 8 team league. I think the best move might be to make it a more fun version of the NFL. Let the QBs get hit. Correctly call pass interference. Allow touchdown celebrations. Don\’t radically change the rules like the XFL did.
As far as cities, divide the league into two divisions: East and West. The West division could be LA, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. The East could be Orlando, Mobile, Louisville, and Memphis. They\’re all major cities that could use a major sports team, and in most cases already have the infrastructure in place.
Just some thoughts to consider.
Comment by Adam Licht — May 31, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Mr. Cuban,
There is very little chance for this to succeed. This is why: The NFL will not let it happen. The XFL folded for one reason. The NFL said: We own all of the footage from our games, and you(ESPN, local news, etc…)will be able to show it if they show highlights from the XFL. If your paper continues to report scores from the games, you will not be granted press access.
The main chance for this to work is with the \”blessing\” of the NFL. Without it, your league WILL be shut down.
Now, if this league was part of an internet broadcast situation, you may have a chance. Let people register for their team and let them have an interactive voice. Should the coach go for it on 4th down? Vote, and see the results after this commercial break. It obviously couldn\’t be done on every play, but you could have set situations….4th downs: punt, FG, go for it; extra point or 2 point conversion; kick or take the wind(Marty); etc…
You need to keep the football very close to the same, but give it a twist to get the fans.
Clint
Comment by Clint — May 31, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Mark… Football??? Come on now. Listen up you are one to take advantage of cutting edge technology. Here is an idea, invest in LaCrosse. That is right LaCrosse. I do not know very much about this sport but I do know they are two leagues and is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation. I am becoming a fan and I can see this sport rising quickly once it gets some real exposure. If you want to invest in cutting edge sports… I think this may be an investment worth going forward. Merge the two leagues and market the heck out of it. A huge ROI is waiting.
Comment by Jeff Pedigo — May 31, 2007 @ 9:45 am
Mark, it would be smarter to make this new American football league into a AAA American football league for the N.F.L. All of the other major American sports already have minor league systems in place, but not the N.F.L.! I don\’t understand why with the high number of injuries that do happen in American football, the N.F.L. doesn\’t have any minor league system in place that concurs with the regular N.F.L. season! Newly signed N.F.L. players that take the places of injured N.F.L. players would not be \”rusty\” if they continue playing in the AAA League. Having a minor league system in place for the N.F.L. would also help financially with the new league because of its importance to the N.F.L. in having players readily available whenever N.F.L. teams need new players to replace injured players.
Comment by John Manning Moore — May 31, 2007 @ 9:45 am
I agree with the person that said a spring league would be better. Feed the need when the others are not around. During fall you will have too much competition and your target audience will be occupied already. At least do it when there is not already football is being played(spring/summer) I would rather watch football than professional basketball any day of the week.. Good luck. (if you need anyone in marketing or an announcer call me, I will be your first female, in the booth, announcer.
Comment by Emma — May 31, 2007 @ 9:46 am
I don\’t think you\’re crazy. I love the NFL, but there have been sucess stories for rival footbal leagues (if only few). The AAFL in the 40\’s survived for a few years and that\’s where the original Cleveland Browns came from. The AFL was definately a sucess because they went after top talent. However, I do feel that you\’ll be taking away attention fromt he high school kids on Friday night. You should consider some other part of the year or another night. Monday night may be good because it has been a big night in the past for MNF, but the MNF games the past few years haven\’t been great. And I do think that you\’ll have to compete for high talent to have a chance. See the AFL.
Comment by Barry — May 31, 2007 @ 9:57 am
What about regional teams that pull talent from respective College Football conferences initially to build a fan base? I would love to see a Midwest team that pulls from the Big Ten, MAC, etc. Growing up in Michigan and being a UM fan, you learn all the players from UM, MSU, Wisc, ND, CMU, etc. So I would pay to go see John Navarre throwing passes to the likes of Agim Shabaj or handing the ball off to Ron Dayne whose following the crushing blocks of big Aaron Gibson. Or David \”Circus\” Kirkus from GVSU returning punts and kicks.
Comment by David Petrovski — May 31, 2007 @ 9:57 am
All new ideas meet with great resistance, thats what makes it fun when it takes place. Sports is an area which does need to be \”Revamped\”. I am a Football official doing various levels of games. Would love to believe there are other opportunities to grow. This new league would give more officials opportunity to move up in levels of play. Please keep at it.
Comment by Adolph Lopez — May 31, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Mark,
If you have connections with Warren Buffett, get him involved. I would love to see more football in the Omaha-Lincoln area than just the Huskers. This is a population area of about 1.5 million people within 60 miles of Omaha.
I agree with a lot of the comments that it might be more accepted in the Spring. I think it would be easier to compete against the AFL rather than the NFL (especially at first) But it\’s your money, your call. GOOD LUCK.
If you get it in Omaha, you already have one season ticket holder!
Comment by Jeff from Omaha — May 31, 2007 @ 10:11 am
Mark,
you are absolutely correct that Professional football is very popular and we can\’t get enough of it. If I had the money, I\’d join you.
It is a great idea. Put the plan together and stick with it. Make minor changes as necessary. Keep direct competition to a minimum.
You are a very smart man and I am sure, if handled properly, you will suceed.
I wish you well.
Comment by Bill — May 31, 2007 @ 10:11 am
Mark,
Instead of competing with the NFL, have you thought about making your proposed pro football league a minor league for the NFL? Your points about the NFL are valid, but I think you can still accomplish most of them without trying to slay the giant. As a minor league affiliated with NFL teams, you\’ll instantly have legitimacy as a real league, a built-in fan base and the best advertising and promotional opportunity for football that there is–the NFL. I\’m sure everyone would agree that the WNBA wouldn\’t be around without its relationship and promotion from the NBA.
Good luck.
Comment by Bill Swatling — May 31, 2007 @ 10:11 am
Mark,
I would rather see you buy the Kansas City Royals, instead of getting involved with an unproven football league.
Comment by Tony — May 31, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Please consider Albuquerque as a future market for your league. I would bet that if you were to contact the Maloof brothers or even the Unser family they might be interested in backing a team in Albuquerque. The city is attempting to attract a football team and the Governor Bill Richardson has been in contact with the NFL for a team in Albuquerque. Good luck and I hope Albuquerque is considered.
Comment by Jim P — May 31, 2007 @ 10:14 am
You are investing in the wrong football. If I had your money I would buy an English Premier League team. Even investing in a Major League Soccer club will end up making you more money than competing with the NFL.
Why did Google become so successful? Because they had a better product than any of the other search engines at the time AND this better search engine was accesible to all internet users.
How will you create a better football league than the NFL AND how will you make this superior product available to all football fans?
If you can do that then I can see this project succeeding.
Good luck!
Comment by Peter Rath — May 31, 2007 @ 10:17 am
Mark,
very rarely do i have good ideas but i\’ve shared this with numerous people and they think it\’s brilliant.
Make a minor league football league where the players are assigned to teams by where they went to school. Texas would have a team made up of Big XII south players. LA would have a team of PAC-10 players. Put a team in Birmingham of SEC East players. Little Rock with players from the SEC west and so-on and so-on. With the popularity of college football and fantasy football, i think the following for something like this would be significant.
Comment by Matt — May 31, 2007 @ 10:23 am
MARK- I\’VE BEEN WORKING ON A G-R-E-A-T IDEA THAT WOULD INSTANTLY BECOME ONE OF THE, IF NOT T-H-E MOST POPULAR SPORTS IN THE COUNTRY. WHEN I SAW THAT YOU ARE CONSIDERING A NEW FOOTBALL LEAGUE A LIGHT FLASHED, YOU ARE THE PERFECT GUY TO BRING THIS IDEA TO THE PUBLIC. IT\’S A NEW SPORT CALLED \”RUNNINGBALL\” THAT\’S A COMBINATION OF BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL, AND IT WOULD START WHEN THE NFL SEASON ENDS SO THAT MANY OF THOSE ATHLETES COULD CROSS OVER. WE COULD SNARE THAT NFL AUDIENCE. IT CAN BE PLAYED IN EITHER A FOOTBALL OR A BASKETBALL STADIUM / ARENA. IT IS VERY ACCESSIBLE, SO THAT AN AUDIENCE WILL INSTANTLY BE ABLE TO GET INTO THE SPORT AND FOLLOW IT. THIS IS A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA THAT WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF PRO SPORTS AND MAKE YOU A LEGEND FOR BRINGING IT TO THE PUBLIC! PLEASE, PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR DETAILS, YOU WON\’T BE DISSAPOINTED… JOAQUIN.
Comment by Joaquin Soliz — May 31, 2007 @ 10:35 am
Mark, forget a TV contract. Broadcast the games on the net, via Yahoo or Google or something like that. Streaming internet TV is the way to go and possibly cheaper than mainstream TV-bet you can get more people watching too.
Comment by Micah — May 31, 2007 @ 10:41 am
You\’re competing with college football, but you\’re also competing with/for the allegiances of fans in the cities where you have franchises — who likely have loyalties to existing NFL teams that have been built over their entire lifetimes.
To think that they\’re going to abandon ship and pour cash into a new team — especially right away — is very far fetched.
It COULD work, if you take the MLS approach and build slowly from the grass roots with say a 25 year plan to catch up to the NFL. But from my uneducated view, big time money guys lack that kind of patience. That\’s one of the reasons the USFL and the Women\’s soccer league failed.
I\’m curious whether you\’ll also go with the single entity approach as a way of limiting costs. People laughed at MLS when it started but by taking the long term conservative approach, they\’re succeeding.
Also, you can\’t build lasting fan loyalties in a year or two. It takes decades. The Patriots for example started out as an expansion team in NY Giants territory and it was only once Bob Kraft took over that the team really made the leap to where they\’re part of the landscape here. But Kraft\’s tenure came 30 years after the team was founded and that gave fans plenty of time to live and die with teams success and (many unfortunately) failures.
Looking at it from the long term and having the patience to build a loyal fan base is the only way this works — especially in this age of limited attention spans.
Comment by scotbo — May 31, 2007 @ 10:47 am
NFL contracts are not player friendly. Partially because the NFL is a monopoly. At macro level this creates an opportunity for competitors to try to exploit, along w/ the other variables Mark listed. Competition is always good. I hope they do well - they have their work cut out for them.
Comment by gzino — May 31, 2007 @ 10:50 am
Mark,
Waiting for the day someone steps up to the NCAA. It would be a big hurdle to overcome, but they seem to be a monopoly in the truest form.
Comment by Jeff — May 31, 2007 @ 10:53 am
Mark-
First off I love Football, and after suffering through the Basketball (sorry man I live in MN and it just does nothing for me) and Hockey season that would just not end, and while Baseball is a nice distraction, when the Football season is over there is just a void in my life (that is not to say that I am lacking in my spiritual life) and every year I miss the NFL and I just know I can\’t be the only one.
The growth of the NCAA and college football is reason why the professional football needs to expand. For example look at the QB\’s currently in the NFL, with the ever increasing number of QB prospects coming out of the NCAA many QB\’s who have the talent and the ability will be cast aside if they can\’t put it together fast enough. Case in point: this year the MN Vikings will be starting something called Travris Jackson a player with only half a year of professional playing time under his belt, and he comes from something called \”Alabama State\”? A kid that wasn\’t good enough for a NCAA Div 1 school is one of the 32 best QB\’s in professional sports? How can he be deemed worthy of the NFL but College standouts like Jason White can\’t get drafted and even the guys who put out one of the best Bowl games ever Like Jared Zabransky can\’t get drafted. If not for a few injuries allowing some of the backup guys a shot the world wouldn\’t know a Tom Brady and a Kurt Warner from a Steve Evans or a Bob Revell. So why not have a place where these other guys can get a shot? Because only 32 QBs get a chance, there will be talent riding the bench and not very many of these backup QB\’s will get a chance to prove themselves like Tom Brady did (only when he was given the opportunity to play did he prove he didn\’t deserve to ride pine) also my man Big Ben.
So I think your right, either another league needs to step forward or the NFL should expand (in some fashion).
In the defense of the NFL, they\’ve done a pretty good job structuring their organization. Out of all the sports the demand is greater than the size of the product, and that\’s straight from the page of how something like the NFL should be run. But just like any business that successful they tend to be slow to react, deaf when it comes to problems and concerns, and ignorant of fans yet to receive a team. Mr. Cuban you are the type of owner that fans need, you are excitable passionate and protective not only about what you own, but about the sport itself. I am from MN and I\’d flip if you were to become the owner of any of my local teams (as a former PA native I\’d also wish you would buy the Pirates) because you are just as much a fan as we are. The NFL Owners and some reporters may not get that, and for that very reason may be hindering your efforts to own a part of the NFL. Leaving you to investigate other options, I can not think of a bigger loss to the future of the League than preventing someone like yourself from adding some new blood into their veins.
There are two ways you could do another league
Another league could survive by adding a summer league over here in the states, if you were able to establish such a venture with the NFL an Ideal system would be:
Assign each division a team to place either players under contract that need seasoning or a place to provide tryouts to locals within the region that division plays. So in this way the Summer team has a built in fan base, and by playing it\’s home games in the stadiums around it\’s division it can be a way for fans within that division to see developing talent within the division. Now this is not meant to eliminate the NFL\’s inbred brother the \”NFLE\” (instead think an NFL version of MLB\’s minor leagues), but when the allocated players from a specific team are spread throughout a league with no consistent basis like that it\’s hard for a US fan to root for a specific team, a stateside summer league would provide more opportunities for player development for every organization as well as adding a sense of rivalry between divisions.
Another prospect with the NFL is Expansion, something that the NFL needs to do but would take someone like you to help orchestrate. Right now the two conferences have four divisions each with four teams in each division. By adding a new team to each division and upping the total number of teams to an even 40, it would be opening the game up to more fans, giving more under the radar players a chance to play, and would bring in more revenue for the league. Some people would say there is no place for the NFL to put 8 more teams and that\’s just not true. I been thinking about it for a long time and here is where they should expand:
AFC East: Ottawa/Montreal/New Jersey, Yes, Canadians play football and it\’s about time the USA displays there dominance in the sport, plus it would rid us of any mention of the Canadian Football League. The Garden State could be also be a possible site, if the New York teams ever actually move to New York. Out of all the sites this is the one I am the most unsure of.
AFC North: Chicago (or one of it\’s boroughs), Yes, another team for the Windy City, it\’s nothing new and if New York can pull it off I imagine someone to root for in the AFC might appeal to some when the Bears are down big in the 4th.
AFC South: Oklahoma City/Las Vegas, If they can pack a stadium as well provide a healthy fan base for college they could do it for the NFL, plus imagine that tailgating that starts with the Saturday Oklahoma vs. Texas and continues all the way through to a Sunday Houston vs. Oklahoma match up, awesome. Another Choice would be Las Vegas, this city is hungry for a new image and the first sports team to franchise there, will be embraced by the city as part of forging an identity separate from its gambling roots.
AFC West: L.A., If only to tick off Al Davis, an L.A. expansion team could draw on anger over the Raiders as well as match ups against the Chargers for some instant rivalries.
NFC West: L.A./Vancouver/Portland, Like New York (and Chicago, see above), L.A. could do two again (it is a rather large city) former L.A. Rams fans would cherish an opportunity to be a rival for the city that stole there team and it\’s history (even if L.A. stole it from Cleveland). If not L.A., Vancouver or Portland could provide a pretty good fan base as well as provide a very good rival for those Seahawks (who I found out during Super Bowl XL, apparently is the most ignored franchise in football).
NFC South: San Antonio, This city proved itself worthy of a football team by packing an aging stadium to see a poor homeless Saints team, they are a feasible market and there seems to be a lot of new residents that might want to watch football in their new home.
NFC North: Toronto, Baseball has worked here, it\’s near Detroit, during the couple times I\’ve been there it seems like a very nice, clean city (it is a sound choice, except by those who don\’t want a Canadian football team.
NFC East: Orlando, It certainly is a growing city, and because football is a bigger sport in Florida I believe Orlando would be more accepting of a football team then they are of the Magic, sell the team to Disney and put it in their \”ESPN wide world of sports\” park, between the millions of visitors as well as the locals, this team could be establish themselves very quickly.
The problem with so many new teams is an old one, \”How do you get them to become competitive like the Jags and Panthers have been in years past and not bottom feeders like the Texans, Lions and new Browns have been? Once again the answer is you (and other \”fan\” Owners like you) would need to nurture any growth the NFL would do. A successful home team can mean the world to people looking for something to smile about, there is something about that feeling I wish everyone could enjoy.
If you build your own league (and I Really wish I could help you, but sadly I am not rich), I will come (because I believe you have nobler intentions than Vince McMann).
And if you were t
o read anything of my post I want you to know that you Mark Cuban, are the Anti-Carl Pohlad and your only regret should be that there are not enough of you