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United Football League Ends 2012 Season Early; Plans On 2013 Return

Last year, the United Football League (UFL) delayed the start of training camp and regular season games, and continued to lose money (a trend that started in its first year of existence).  The UFL eventually announced that the 2011 season would be shortened, leading many believe that it would not return in 2012.  But lo and behold, the league came back earlier this year, albeit to little fanfare, and teams filled their rosters with athletes holding on to a dream of showing enough skill to get a chance in the NFL.

The UFL picked up in 2012 where it left off in 2011 – in financial trouble.  The regular season kicked off in September; it has already come to a close after an announcement that the second half of the season will not be plead.  For weeks, UFL players, their agents and unaffiliated third parties have complained that athletes signed to UFL contracts were not being paid on time, and the money that they had received came in mere partial payments.  Owners would keep players from packing up their belongings and leaving by continuing to promise players of forthcoming payments.  A couple of weeks ago, at least one owner even went as far as to provide players with personal guarantees that they would receive all outstanding fees by October 31.

But then came the news that former UFL coach Marty Schottenheimer was suing UFL founder Bill Hambrecht for $2.3 million owed, which was alleged to have been personally guaranteed.  And CBS Sports cancelled its coverage of the second half of the 2012 UFL season.  CBS Sports Network had a deal to broadcast two UFL games per week throughout the league’s eight week season.

Meanwhile the UFL is acting as if it is actively planning (and seemingly excited in doing so) for a 2013 season.  While it would be nice to have a meaningful, stable “minor league” to the NFL for the purposes of player development, it is unfortunate that so many players have put their faith in a league that just cannot seem to get things right.

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.

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