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United Football League’s Woes Continue

In the past couple of days, many football players have been informed that training camp for the United Football League (UFL) will be suspended for 30 days.  While training camp will be shortened, the UFL had originally stated that the move will not affect the UFL season schedule, including the number of games played by each of the league’s 5 teams.  However, yesterday the UFL said that games will be pushed back from August 2011 to September 2011.  The news certainly raises quite a few eyebrows (as it should), and at least makes me wonder how much longer the fledgling league will survive.

As my friend Brian Finkel noted yesterday, I went on a Tweeting rampage after I let the UFL news truly sink in.  My main goal was to alert agents and players that there could potentially be negative consequences of locking into a UFL Standard Player Contract.

The issue is that there are not many alternatives out there for professional football players who cannot quite grab the attention of NFL decision makers.  As Martin Fischman discussed on May 19, 2011, the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League, in addition to the UFL, provide options for agents trying to find the best opportunities for their clients.  But as Fischman correctly stated, as an agent you have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of your clients.  Consider advising your football clients of the following items before they sign a UFL Standard Player Contract.

  • The UFL lost $45-50 million in 2010 in addition to losing $32 million in 2009, and has owed millions of dollars to creditors in the past [Las Vegas Review-Journal].
  • Mark Cuban is one of those creditors, who filed a federal lawsuit to get back his $5 million loan [Dallas Observer].
  • The UFL could not even pay off its medical bills from player physicals, radiology, and an advisor fee [First Coast News].
  • And even agents fought long and hard to gather their agent fees which were due to them [SAB].

The list is not intended to scare any agents from giving their clients the option of playing in the UFL.  In fact, if the UFL is able to play out a full season, whether it suffers financially or not, it remains as a great platform for professional athletes to show off their skill.  The purpose of the list, and this post, is to stress providing this type of information to clients prior to them signing a binding contract.  As long as you and they understand the situation they could be getting themselves into, they have no one to blame if things do not go according to plan.

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.