The USFL-NFL Merger of 1988
In 1986 the USFL sued the NFL over anti-trust laws; the USFL won the case and was awarded a whopping $3. However what if they were awarded several million instead? I can’t seem to recall the actual amount they wanted, but it was enough to keep the league afloat for a few years.
1986 was the year the USFL planned on beginning play in the autumn as opposed to the summer, with the failed law suit 4 teams folded, and just before the start of the season the league suspended play, eventually collapsing and dying. Now in ttl the USFL has won its major suit, all 12 teams remain in play. The Final teams are:
Independence Conference
Arizona Outlaws
Jacksonville Bulls
Orlando Renegades
Portland Breakers
San Antonio Gunslingers
Tampa Bay Bandits
Liberty Conference
Baltimore Stars
Birmingham Stallions
Los Angeles Express
Memphis Showboats
New Jersey Generals
Oakland Invaders
In OTL, the LA Express was going bankrupt and was likely to fold before 1986 anyway, however after winning the suit, the Express franchise is convinced to remain, at least for another season. The Express team does fairly well, barely missing the playoffs. 1986 is very exciting for the USFL, the season ends with the Tampa Bay Bandits defeating the Baltimore Stars for the championship in a close game. Because of the USFL’s style of play, ratings begin to get a boost, and for the first time since the merger with the AFL, the NFL has a major competitor.
Television ratings as well as attendance at the turnstile are better for all 12 USFL teams, the league even considers expanding. Venues are explored in Columbus, Ohio; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charleston, SC; Little Rock, Arkansas; El Paso, Texas, Brooklyn, NY and Hartford, Ct. 1987 proved to be as exciting as the previous year, however a gap began to expose itself between the teams with a large fan base such as Baltimore, Oakland, and Tampa Bay and the teams not as well support such as Los Angeles, Jacksonville and Birmingham. In the championship game the Arizona Outlaws were defeated by the Oakland Invaders 27-17.
With half the league selling out games and performing well on the field, 1988 suddenly looked bleak for the USFL. The league which was planning on finalizing the 1989 expansion to Little Rock and Columbus placed the deal on hiatus. Secret negotiations began with the NFL in November, 1987. Fans of both leagues were shocked on Superbowl weekend when it was learned 6 teams from the USFL would join the NFL for the 1989 season.
The Jacksonville Bulls merged with the San Antonio Gunslingers, changing the clubs name to the San Antonio Texans, while the Los Angeles Express merged with the Arizona Outlaws. The following season six of the 10 teams would be merged with the remaining four that would make it to the NFL.
In OTL the St Louis Cardinals was going to move to Phoenix in 1988, however with the Arizona Outlaws as one of the USFL teams to join the NFL, the move was blocked by the other owners. In a last minute move, the Cardinals owner took his team to Memphis to play in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The club would become the Memphis Cardinals.
Prior to the season, the NFL announced the 6 USFL franchises it planned on merging with Baltimore, Arizona, Oakland, Tampa Bay, San Antonio, and Portland. The fan support in these six cities exploded, while the support in the remaining four declined sharply. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sued the Tampa Bay Bandits over territorial rights, with courts deciding in the favor of the Buccaneers, the Bandits were forced to relocate, much to the dismay of the Bandits fans in Tampa (which out sold the Buccaneers in memorabilia).
The final USFL Championship game pitted the San Antonio Gunslingers against the Baltimore Stars in a contest which was won by Baltimore. The following season the Baltimore Stars merged with the Birmingham Stallions, the team changed its name to the Baltimore Stallions, the Tampa Bay Bandits merged with the Memphis Showboats, relocated to St Louis as the St Louis Bandits.
The final USFL Championship game pitted the San Antonio Gunslingers against the Baltimore Stars in a contest which was won by Baltimore. The following season the Baltimore Stars merged with the Birmingham Stallions, the team changed its name to the Baltimore Stallions, the Tampa Bay Bandits merged with the Memphis Showboats, relocated to St Louis as the St Louis Bandits, the Orlando Renegades merged with the Oakland Invaders, becoming the Oakland Renegades and the New Jersey Generals merged with the Portland Breakers.
1989 NFL divisions appeared as such:
NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys
Memphis Cardinals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins
NFC Central:
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
St Louis Bandits
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West:
Atlanta Falcons
Arizona Outlaws
Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans Saints
Portland Breakers
San Francisco 49ers
AFC East:
Baltimore Stallions
Buffalo Bills
Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
AFC Central:
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Houston Oilers
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Antonio Texans
AFC West:
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Renegades
San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks
The league would remain with this line up until 1993 when after several miserable seasons mounting to only 6 wins in its time in the NFL, the Portland Breakers failed to draw in a respectable crowd. The franchise relocated to El Paso, Texas changing its name to the El Paso Cobras. Due to the popularity of the sport and two untapped markets, the NFL expanded locating one franchise in Charlotte North Carolina (the Carolina Panthers) and the other in Birmingham, Alabama (Birmingham Steeldogs). Carolina joined the NFC Central Division while Birmingham joined the AFC Central.
Around the league, Art Modell and the city of Cleveland agreed to a new stadium deal in 1996, Bud Adams and the city of Houston agreed to a deal in 1998, the Rams and the city of Anaheim agreed to stadium deal if the Rams would change the name to the Anaheim Rams, and Los Angeles financed a stadium deal for the Raiders next door to Dodger Stadium.
In 1998, seeing the divisions as being over crowded, the NFL reorganized the leagues:
The NFC Liberty Division:
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins
The NFC Continental Division
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Memphis Cardinals
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFC Federal Division
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
St Louis Bandits
The NFC Union Division
Anaheim Rams
Arizona Outlaws
El Paso Cobras
San Francisco 49ers
The AFC Liberty Division:
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
The AFC Continental Division:
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
The AFC Federal Division:
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Renegades
San Diego Chargers
The AFC Union Division:
Baltimore Stallions
Birmingham Steeldogs
Houston Oilers
San Antonio Texans
In 2003 led by their former first round draft pick, the NFL MVP Ryan Leaf, and All-Pro Christian halfback Lawrence “Mr. Clean” Phillips the Baltimore Stallions defeated the Cleveland Browns to become the first former USFL team to advance to the Super Bowl. At a sellout crowd in El Paso, the Stallions lost to the heavily favored Atlanta Falcons 38-14.
In 2004 the city of New York lured the Jets back from the Meadowlands, after the baseball New York Mets began playing in a new stadium in Newark, New Jersey, the vacant Shea Stadium was renovated as a football only stadium, for the first time in the clubs history, the Jets were the primary tenants of a stadium.