'88 Chronology-Exit Strategy

Event Date: September 27th, 1988

Event Description: Merger Moves Closer

Source: Inside The USFL

The owners of the Oklahoma Outlaws, Houston Gamblers and the Orlando Renegades are willing to exit the proposed merger between the U.S.F.L. and National Football League—under one condition. The remaining U.S.F.L. teams must buy out the teams that would be left out.

That general principle was agreed to yesterday in a meeting of U.S.F.L. owners in New York. The teams that would apply for entry into the N.F.L. are the Memphis Showboats, the Baltimore Stars, the Jacksonville Bulls, the New Jersey Generals, the Birmingham Stallions and the Oakland Invaders.

“We have given permission to those six teams to make their application to the N.F.L.,” said commissioner Harry Usher.

The U.S.F.L. will now give this proposal to the N.F.L., which has indicated it would accept four “expansion” teams from the spring league and left the final selection up to the league. owners with input from commissioner Pete Rozelle.

However, there is still the possibility that the N.F.L. may reject the offer, or that the U.S.F.L. may continure to operate as a separate entity.

“Basically, we still have our league,” Usher said. “We still have our teams until the N.F.L. approves an amalgamation or declines it. I don't think you can assume anything until a final deal is reached.”

One thing that cannot be assumed is that approval by the N.F.L. owners will guarantee a merger. There are a number of issues—including which U.S.F.L. owners would be worthy of entering into an agreement with the senior circuit.

Many inside sources have said that their are only four U.S.F.L. owners which would deemed acceptable. Those include A.Alfred Taubman (Oakland), William Dunavant (Memphis), Myles Tanenbaum (Baltimore) and Stephen Ross (New Jersey). 

The other obvious stumbling block is the distribution of players from the defunct U.S.F.L. teams. Obviously some players would be welcome by surviving teams, as well as the N.F.L. teams that hold player rights through previous drafts.

There is also the less publicized but perhaps as complicated a question of how much the Baltimore Stars would have to pay to the Washington Redskins in indemnity for entering the league. 

The same problem could also be applied to Jacksonville whose entry would create greater competition for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins. The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Raiders could also seek damages if a team returns to Oakland.

more to come......