Fresh off a successful first weekend for the revived XFL, the USFL has given the world yet another reason to not take it that seriously.
The second-year spring football league — its season starts in April — announced Monday that it will hold its first-ever college player draft on Tuesday. Buried in the press release: The New Jersey Generals, who will be located in Canton, Ohio, have been hit with draft sanctions for “a violation of offseason roster management rules.”
The Generals’ first-round pick has been moved to the final pick of the final round. They will also have the last pick in Rounds 2-5. Not great news for their hopes to repeat as North Division champion. And it’s a bit squirrely to announce a draft a day before it happens with no explanation as to why one of the teams — a potential title contender — got crushed the way it was.
The USFL will have a 10-round draft. No trades. Eighty picks will be made from a pool of 3,000 athletes, according to the league. The eligibility details:
To be eligible, players must have been out of high school for at least three years and have waived or exhausted their remaining college eligibility. One exception to this rule is that all Junior College players can request USFL draft eligibility once they are two years out of high school and have not enrolled in a four-year college.
Our stance remains unchanged: Spring football will never be a smashing success. But there is room for a league given the rise of streaming services and legalized sports betting. The XFL feels like a real league with an ESPN deal, teams playing in their actual cities and The Rock’s star power. The USFL feels like more of a clever marketing scheme that will be around only as long as FOX feels like paying to keep it running.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
