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Michael Huyghue Remains United With Football

In Chris Lesley’s Sept 24-31 Wash Up column, he mentioned that Jacksonville, Florida based sports agent Michael Huyghue has handed back his NFLPA agent license in order to head up a new football league: the United Football League (UFL). In fact, Huyghue seems to be leaving it all behind with the hope that the UFL turns out to be nothing like the USFL, XFL, or NFL Europe.

The UFL aims to begin fielding games in August 2008 with Huyghue as the commish [Huyghue is in a new huddle]. Why might the league end up working out? For one, the aforementioned NFL Europe league has recently folded, leaving many football players looking for a job. But there are also some other good reasons to start looking at the UFL as a league to place your clients that are unable to make an NFL roster.

  1. Teams will be stationed in large market cities (Las Vegas and Los Angeles are 2 cities under consideration).
  2. College players may still be drafted by an NFL team after being selected to play in the UFL.
  3. The playoffs will end before the winter holidays, allowing your clients to be with their families.
  4. Teams will be bound by a salary cap of roughly $20 million

Why is #4 a selling point? The NFL allows a $109 million cap. The answer is that you do not want your clients to join a league that will not be fiscally responsible and fold within a year. Huyghue and company believe that the league will have longevity and want to encourage owners to buy into it. Plus, the top 10 players on each team will make around $1 million per year. With the option of playing on an NFL team’s practice squad or making $1 million per year while getting exposure, I think I know what my choice would be.

The season is scheduled to kick off in less than a year. This is definitely something to keep your eye on if you anticipate having football clients that are not signed onto an NFL roster.

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

13 replies on “Michael Huyghue Remains United With Football”

Interesting. There’s definitely room for the right kind of league if it can find its own marketplace niche, i.e. not trying to replace the big guys but rather accent them.

It seems it will hinge on getting that television contract, and the financial viability of its underwriters.

It has some great backers – TicketReserve Chairman referred to it as deep capitalization. Mark Cuban, a Google exec, Williem Hembrecht from Wall Street are all on board. Apparently other NBA and MLB owners are interested and may have bought in…

It will be financially viable. The Commish (Huyghue) has also said that they are in negotiations with two networks for a TV deal…

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