Sports versions of “state of the union” addresses almost always offer interesting tidbits of information. United States Football League president of football operations Daryl Johnston gave his on June 30th, the day before the Birmingham Stallions claimed their second consecutive USFL crown.
The former Dallas Cowboys fullback and special teams standout turned executive touched on everything from hubs (they’re set to return in 2024) to expansion (it won’t happen until the current lineup of teams are placed in their home markets).
What intrigued me most, however, is the possibility that the USFL could one day be a place where NFL players find a spring home.
“When I was in the Alliance of American Football (as general manager of the San Antonio Commanders), Philadelphia was one of my teams,” said Johnston, who was also director of player personnel for the XFL Dallas Renegades in 2020. “Jeff Stoutland is the offensive line coach for the Eagles. I asked him, ‘Wouldn’t it be great for (tackle) Jordan Mailata to come to our league and actually play the game? He said, ‘Absolutely … but as soon as I let him go do that, I have to get into a bidding war with the other 31 teams to get him to come back, because everybody’s gonna see how talented he is. And we’ve got time and money invested in him right now and I don’t want to get into a competition for services by letting him go to that league.’ So, there are some things that we are hoping to start conversations with the NFL and allowing some free flow, and some different things that gives access but returns that player back to that team.”
Things turned out fine for Mailata, who signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Eagles in 2021 and has now started 40 games. Still, the point is well taken.
The AAF had an informal relationship with the NFL, with each of its eight franchises assigned four big league teams. The Commanders, for example, were connected to the Cowboys, Eagles, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.
Of course, the AAF folded after just eight weeks of play in 2019, so the development of any kind of player pipeline – formal or otherwise – was over before it began.
Yet with the USFL already planning for a third season, such an arrangement seems closer to reality.
“You know, these are things that are in their infancy as we start to talk about them, but they would be better for both leagues,” Johnston said. “It makes the NFL better to get their players down in our league to play at game speed in the offensive line and the quarterback position, as opposed to practice speed. The NFL preseason has gone from five preseason games when I played to three now. So, we’re continuing to reduce the number of preseason opportunities in games for these players. The practice speed never matches game speeds.”
Ideally, an actual minor league for the NFL (modeled after the NBA’s G League) would play at the same time of year, allowing the parent team to pluck a player in-season when needed or send one down. But such a circuit would drown trying to compete with the NFL and major college football.
Utilizing the offseason USFL (and XFL, for that matter) is the next best thing. In a loan situation the spring league teams could boast that they have NFL players on their rosters, and adding quarterbacks to the mix would certainly draw more eyes to the product.
(That said, assigning QBs to the USFL would no doubt create challenges. The NFL club that sent a signal caller down would want him running the same offense, and that might not fit with what the USFL coach has already installed).
“It makes sense for there to be conversations about allowing key positions – or all positions – to come down into the spring league, but be able to go directly back to the NFL team that has your rights,” Johnston said. “Don’t open up a bidding war with everybody else when they see how good this guy could be. If he was yours going down, he’s yours coming back.”
For me, one of the draws of Triple-A football is seeing guys come out of nowhere and do enough to get on an NFL team’s radar. Each day I check to see what USFL or XFL player has received an invitation to camp.
But from a business standpoint, sharing players makes sense. There will still be plenty of opportunities for diamonds in the rough to be uncovered, but I’m guessing quite a few fans – and I’m one of them – wouldn’t mind seeing an NFL practice squad guy getting first team reps in the spring.
It’s something to keep an eye on, anyway.
As much as I dislike having to say it…Danni and The Rock may not want to make another season’s attempt at survival? 60 million is a chunk of change they may not be willing to risk? Can’t say as I blame them either…