UFL siezes control of Virginia franchise

I am starting to have serious concerns about the folks running this league. I was all set to write a story about Joe Theismann buying all or part of the Florida Tuskers. That should have been the news of the day. A big time football name buying into the league, as of yet the league has not confirmed this story. Instead they released a statement that the league had seized control of the Virginia franchise, which is due to start play next year. Jim Speros was supposed to be the owner of that team.

The official release from the league said that Speros would still be considered, but after doing a lot of leg work and having his team ripped out from underneath him, does anyone really think he will want anything to do with this league? Speros is a big time football executive. He brought Canadian Football to the United States, and would have been an excellent addition to the ownership ranks.

There has to be something that everyone wants to remain undiscovered, but this is very strange. My first thought was they are going to hook up former Washington Redskin Theismann with the Virginia team’s other former Redskin QB Doug Williams who is that team’s General Manager, but who really knows.

After doing a little digging it seems Speros was unwilling to move forward under the terms of the original agreement. The thought here is that this Virginia team, known as the Hampton Roads franchise, will be one of the most successful UFL teams. However the league is still unwilling to give its team owners the kinds of freedom say NFL owners enjoy. This is still a very centralized league, and that is going to have to change sooner rather than later.

Related Links:

•The Business of the UFL
•UFL Examiner