Television was an essential part of Dixon's plans from the
beginning, and the deals made with ABC and ESPN almost lived up
to his expectations. Each of the USFL's 12 teams for 1983
would receive a total of $ 1.1 million in television rights fees
- a figure that represented 70% of the $ 1.56 million Dixon had
projected for first-year player salaries. If USFL teams
managed to attract the 25,000 fans per game Dixon had projected,
and if team owners could keep their expenses reasonable, the
league would be a winner.
Rather than to get excited at the prospect of their new venture
being telecast nationally on both network and cable television
however, USFL team owners were almost immediately upset over the
deal Trager had negotiated for them. The devil was in the
details: the league was required to make 3 of its games
each week available for Sunday telecast (half of its 1983
schedule), with the network entitled to broadcast either one
game nationally, or two regionally, at its discretion.
Worse still was that no "blackout" provisions existed
- if for example, the Bandits played the Stallions in Birmingham
and ABC wanted to air the game as its sole USFL telecast of the
week, fans in Birmingham could see their home team simply by
staying home and tuning in to their ABC affiliate.
Further
complicating the ABC/USFL relationship was ABC's right to alter
the league schedule itself, a forerunner of sorts to today's
"flex scheduling" used by the NFL: if that
Bandits-Stallions game was originally scheduled for Saturday,
ABC could force it to be played on Sunday to accommodate
telecast. Finally, the ABC deal was contingent on the USFL
keeping active franchises in the nation's three largest
television markets: New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
While this didn't raise any eyebrows initially, by 1984 it would
be an issue and by 1985 this provision would cost the USFL's
owners millions. The television contract so sought by
Dixon, one that should have been seen as a lifeline for the USFL
in 1983, had by 1985 become perceived as a noose around the
league's neck. Countless efforts to renegotiate terms of
the ABC deal, and even the threat of lawsuits by the league,
held no sway with ABC. Instead, it only served to alienate
the network, making it less inclined to reach a new agreement
for any version of the USFL, spring or fall.
The
perception of the USFL as a "made for television"
league was further imprinted when Simmons, who had less than a
year earlier been approached by Mike Trager regarding putting
USFL games on ESPN, was hired as the league's first
commissioner. Simmons brought decades of broadcasting
experience, both through ESPN and through service as President
of NBC Sports. Simmons also played a role in putting a
prior pro football league - the AFL - on national television in
the 1960's.
Dixon's plan
included features for the USFL that were truly innovative:
playing games from March to July, implementing a territorial
draft that allowed its teams exclusive access to local talent
that would help at the gate, tuition assistance for players who
wished to continue their educations in preparation for their
life after football, a 20-game regular season schedule (later
pared down to 18 games), and extensive marketing and public
relations.
The involvement of others in the USFL further enhanced the
perception that the USFL was going to be "major
league:" legendary head coach George Allen would be
head coach of the Chicago franchise and would own part of the
team. Revered former Denver Bronco head coach Red Miller
was hired to guide the Denver Gold's panning for
victories. In Tampa, John Bassett took a different
approach, hiring Steve Spurrier. Only 37 he was young for
a head coach but Spurrier had a different quality in his favor -
he was a Florida football legend, winning the 1966 Heisman
Trophy before a decade long NFL career that came to a close with
the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both Washington and
Los Angeles opted to trek north in search for their head coaches
- Ray Jauch joining the Federals and Hugh Campbell, fresh off
his Edmonton Eskimos' unprecedented fifth consecutive Grey Cup
victory, joining the L.A. Express.
By March 6, 1983, the vision that David Dixon had in 1965 had
taken root and blossomed into an entirely new concept - a
professional football league that played in the spring.
Had it stayed true to that original vision, who knows what the
USFL might have become. Instead, others would make their
own imprint on the USFL, shoving its founding father aside and
eventually his entire vision along with it.
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