Event Date: July 15th, 1988
Event Description: N.F.L. Gets U.S.F.L. Merger Proposal
Source: Football News
The United States Football League sent the National Football League a “substantive offer” this week in an attempt to bring about consolidation of the two rival leagues.
Six of the ten U.S.F.L. teams would be admitted into the older league next season. No mention was made as to which teams would be eliminated.
However, the teams in U.S.F.L. cities which had previously hosted N.F.L. teams would be given top consideration, which would mean Baltimore and Oakland. Other cities to be included would most likely come from the Sun Belt including Jacksonville and Memphis.
The U.S.F.L. would pay a sum reported to be $50 million over a span of several years. According to the terms of last years’ anti-trust suit victory the U.S.F.L. was to be awarded in excess of $100 million dollars in damages. That case is still under appeal and has been tied up in the courts for months.
The U.S.F.L. would not share in any national television revenue for two years.
The U.S.F.L. would allow its free agent players to move to either the N.F.L. via a supplemental draft or to the C.F.L. via free agency.
The U.S.F.L. offer was presented by Commissioner Harry Usher to N.F.L. commissioner Pete Rozelle. It came after a series of meetings between the two leagues’ legal teams, as well as a four person committee representing the N.F.L.’s expansion committee.
If the offer were to be accepted it would end current court actions and save both leagues millions in legal costs. There was no progress made at the talks, but Rozelle did ask Usher to put the offer into a more formal proposal.
more to come......
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