The last week of the UFL regular season just got a lot more interesting.
UFL spokesman Michael Preston has forwarded to us the following statement regarding the question of whether the UFL will charge a $150,000 transfer fee to UFL players signed by NFL teams after the UFL season ends.
“Players currently under contract to the United Football League until February 1 are permitted to leave for National Football League clubs at the end of the season.
“The transfer fee applies only to those players who are signed to active NFL rosters. Those who join NFL practice squads or are signed to NFL Futures contracts will be allowed to do so and their fee will be waived. This is not a change in policy.
“As we continue to grow the value of the UFL, we invest time and resources in our players and the transfer fee is a component of the business model of our league. If a player is going to play a role with a NFL team, we need to be compensated for helping to develop that player. This is an incremental movement from last year when we chose to waive all fees.
“Allowing players to sign with NFL teams effectively removes them from our rosters for next season in the event they are in training camp with those teams and therefore unable to return to the UFL.”
To summarize, the UFL is now screwed. Players won’t want to play there in 2011 or beyond, and the NFL will view dimly any effort by the UFL to become a full-blown NFL minor league.
Barring an all-out mutiny, we hope you enjoyed the UFL while it lasted. If you even noticed it.
