A League Of Their Own?

About every other year the agent community gets inundated with propaganda from a new start-up football league.

 

Last February at the NFL Player Association agent seminar, we were pitched by former NFL Agent and executive Michael Huygue of the United Football League (UFL), about a promising 6 team venture that will compete with the NFL, play on Friday nights in the fall, and have a 60 million dollar cap per team.  Commissioner Huygue was promising agents that he had some prominent investors/owners (Mark Cuban), NFL coaches and GMs lined up to take the reins, and that the UFL would start play in August, 2009.  The last I heard is that the investors have dried up and Commissioner Huygue has not returned any calls since March.  (Former NFL great Herschel Walker, below, got his start in the USFL).

 

 

Last year we also had the All-American Football League that was to start play in the spring of this year.  The league was started by San Diego entrepreneur Marcus Katz, who invested 8 to 10 million (maybe more) of his own dough to get his dream off the ground. It was actually an interesting concept as the games would be played in college stadiums with teams made up of former college stars who didn’t quite pan out in the NFL.  It is my understanding that the League had problems securing all of the college venues it needed and Marcus discovered he needed a billionaire with the same dream to make it work.

 

Today, we have the “United National Gridiron League (UNGL)” making their attempt to capitalize on America’s growing appetite for year round football.  I received the following email recently, which I have copied and pasted below.

 

“Dear Player Representative,

 

With our exclusive, invitation only combine less than a month away, I am writing to remind you and your clients about the United National Gridiron League (UNGL), the first ever professional, developmental football league.

 

Designed exclusively to create professional opportunities for qualified collegiate players, the UNGL will provide a truly competitive landscape to help improve the draft or free agent status of your entire client list. In addition to providing an opportunity to showcase their skills, our player personnel department will have in place the structure and technology that will provide your client with exposure to all Professional Football Leagues.

 

Our league vision is simple; provide a forum/venue to showcase your clients’ abilities, further develop their skills against the highest available talent and in doing so improve their draft and/or free agents status. Along with film, exposure and opportunity each player will receive $1,000.00 per week for their efforts.

 

The UNGL is a Pro-Agent league that will provide your clients with the opportunity to better their status and increase their odds of playing professional football at the next level [i.e. the National Football League (NFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL) and/or the Arena Football League (AFL)].  Our season kicks off on January 25, 2009 and ends right before the 2009 NFL DRAFT.

 

We ask that as a player representative; please consider the UNGL as an option to further your clients’ professional careers.  Not only will we develop your clients, but we will also provide you with exposure and knowledge of other Un-Signed (SRA) potential clients.

 

Who is eligible?

 

-Any Player that has not been on an active NFL, AFL (1) or CFL roster -Any Player that has exhausted his entire collegiate football eligibility -Any Player two (2) years or LESS removed from his collegiate football eligibility *All Players are subject to UNGL Review

 

If your clients meet our league requirements, then please advise them to visit our website at www.UNGLeague.com.  Then, they should click on the Player Info tab and download the 2-page questionnaire.  In order for a player to be considered, this completed questionnaire must be submitted, along with a 5-10 MINUTE highlight DVD, to our league office for review.

 

Thanks in advance and we look forward to working with you!”

 

I’m not sure how this league is going to help improve a players’ draft status or help “my entire client list.” I think Al Harris and Eric Steinbach are doing okay in the NFL. I think I speak for all agents when I say that another league would be helpful to the development of our street free agents (players without a job or who have fallen through the scouting cracks). Therefore, most agents would welcome this new opportunity. But the reality is this:  very few players from any other league will get a realistic chance at making it in the NFL.  The Arena Football League has had a few success stories (Greg White, Kurt Warner) in helping players keep their dreams alive and giving them a stage in which to keep honing their skills. However, less than 1 or 2% of all players in any league not associated with or owned by the NFL, will get a shot at an NFL camp or work out.  The UNGL or any other start up will be nothing more than a platform for guys to extend their love of playing the game of football.