Let’s just forget for a moment that ever since the AFL-NFL merger, there has not been a successful alternative to the NFL.  Not the USFL, not the World League of American Football, and not the most laughable of them all, the XFL.  We don’t even consider the CFL and the Arena League, because these have always been looked at as more of a training ground than anything else.  The USFL, the WLAF and the XFL all went south quickly because of one glaring issue; lack of Money.

Now we have the United Football League set to start play in October of this year.  If you didn’t know, our country is in economic turmoil.  The inaugural season will include only 4 teams, that are based out of 7 cities (figure that out).  The original plan called for 6 teams, but it was scaled back to only 4 due to the economic situation in the US.

There is currently no TV deal in place, no sponsorship, and expectations for ticket sales is going to be extremely low.  This is what drives revenue and why the NFL is the most successful sports league in the country.  They sell tickets (even bad teams) and receive ridiculous amounts of money from TV coverage and from corporate sponsors.

The owner of the first 4 teams in the UFL?  Paul Pelosi.  Does the last name sound familiar? It should.  He is the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  As you can see, the Pelosi’s are very much in tune with current struggles here in the United States.

The ultimate hope of the UFL is to become a minor league circuit to the NFL, but there is a really good chance that unless the NFL puts their hand into it soon, the league may not even make it to a second season. The wise decision would be to hold off on this league until things are a little more settled in this economy.

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