Post by Banana Cat on Nov 22, 2011 20:48:32 GMT -5
hamptonroads.com/2011/11/many-ufl-players-still-waiting-full-pay
Many UFL players still waiting for full pay
By Tom Robinson / The Virginian-Pilot
November 18, 2011
Hold onto your helmets, but the United Football League is behind in its payments to players, including the champion Virginia Destroyers.
Most non-quarterbacks were paid $5,000 per game last season. To date - nearly a month removed from the final night of UFL games when the Destroyers beat Las Vegas for the title at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex - they've received 40 to 50 percent of what's owed to them.
"There is a delay in payment right now," said UFL spokesman Michael Preston. "From what I've been told, not all players have been paid. The ownership group is looking to make those payments as soon as they can. The payments were delayed last year as well. It's a similar deal to that."
"Sad!," said Norfolk's Bobby Rome, a fullback for Las Vegas, in a text message confirming he's waiting for half his money.
It took months to pay off the UFL's players after the previous season, when in addition to tardy game checks the league also committed to championship bonuses of $20,000 per man on the winning team.
Though there had been discussion of a smaller championship bonus this season for the Destroyers, Preston said he was not aware the league had done anything toward that end.
UFL directors have said they are committed to playing next year - if the league is able to find fresh money in two more cities to create a six-team league. The league also hopes to secure a television deal and a financial relationship with the NFL as a developmental source of players. (Good luck with that)
Bill Mayer, the New York investor who funds the Destroyers, is out of the country. He said during the season he has drawn up future sustainable budgets that include no TV revenue.
However, Paul Pelosi, owner of the Sacramento franchise, told an Omaha, Neb., newspaper last month, "Realistically, the survival of this league depends on a television contract. Our operating budgets are very conservative. You have to look to the revenue side, and we need a television contract to make this thing work."
By Tom Robinson / The Virginian-Pilot
November 18, 2011
Hold onto your helmets, but the United Football League is behind in its payments to players, including the champion Virginia Destroyers.
Most non-quarterbacks were paid $5,000 per game last season. To date - nearly a month removed from the final night of UFL games when the Destroyers beat Las Vegas for the title at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex - they've received 40 to 50 percent of what's owed to them.
"There is a delay in payment right now," said UFL spokesman Michael Preston. "From what I've been told, not all players have been paid. The ownership group is looking to make those payments as soon as they can. The payments were delayed last year as well. It's a similar deal to that."
"Sad!," said Norfolk's Bobby Rome, a fullback for Las Vegas, in a text message confirming he's waiting for half his money.
It took months to pay off the UFL's players after the previous season, when in addition to tardy game checks the league also committed to championship bonuses of $20,000 per man on the winning team.
Though there had been discussion of a smaller championship bonus this season for the Destroyers, Preston said he was not aware the league had done anything toward that end.
UFL directors have said they are committed to playing next year - if the league is able to find fresh money in two more cities to create a six-team league. The league also hopes to secure a television deal and a financial relationship with the NFL as a developmental source of players. (Good luck with that)
Bill Mayer, the New York investor who funds the Destroyers, is out of the country. He said during the season he has drawn up future sustainable budgets that include no TV revenue.
However, Paul Pelosi, owner of the Sacramento franchise, told an Omaha, Neb., newspaper last month, "Realistically, the survival of this league depends on a television contract. Our operating budgets are very conservative. You have to look to the revenue side, and we need a television contract to make this thing work."