My profile:
LONDON -- The National Football League is banking on being lucky the second time around, announcing the relaunch of the World League of American Football two years after the first experiment failed.
Helping the NFL is Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The new football partners have put up $40 million to fund the revamped league for the first four years.
The new World League features the same three teams from the 1991 and 1992 seasons -- London, Barcelona and Frankfurt -- plus three new teams, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam and Edinburgh.
This time there are no North American franchises. Their apathy, small crowds and poor television viewership led to the league's demise in late 1992.
"The last World League was geared to the U.S., not Europe where it was more successful," NFL president Neil Austrian said Wednesday.
In 10 years, Austrian envisions a truly World League, with 10 teams in Europe and 10 in Asia, the winner of each conference playing off somewhere, "maybe Hawaii," for an authentic World Bowl.
Having just secured NFL broadcast rights from CBS, which held them for 38 years, News Corporation's Fox Network will broadcast the World League throughout Europe on Murdoch's vast media network.
Of the $40 million, not much will be going to the players. Quarterbacks will receive $20,000 a season, kickers $10,000 and other players $15,000. The revived league kicks off April 8, 1995, with the World Bowl to be played June 17-18.
n
Washington Redskins linebacker Kurt Gouveia has taken plenty of hits over the years, but one of the toughest to deal with was the hit to the ego of having to accept a pay cut.
Gouveia, an eight-year NFL veteran, led the team in tackles the last two years. However, he has been injured frequently and plans call for him to share time at middle linebacker. Gouveia's $1.02 million salary made him an expensive addition under the salary cap. He was released in late June but re-signed July 5 for $500,000.
"I thought about not playing at all, hanging it up, retiring," Gouveia said.
The new financial reality is the result of a deal agreed to last year between owners and players that gave the players limited free agency, that is the freedom to sign with another club when the contract with their current one expires.
Each club has $34.6 million to spend per year to sign up to 53 players, 45 of which are eligible to play in a game. Rookies, or first-year players, are eligible for about $2 million of the $34.6 million.
World Football Organizers Prepare To Kick Off, Again
29 July 1994
|
|
Tweet |
|
This article has no comments. Be the first to leave a comment |
Discussion
Comments
To post comments you must be registered
Comments via Facebook
Most Read
1.
City Mistakenly Plants Marijuana Field Instead of Lawn
After the city spread soil containing "grass" seeds around the Brateyevo metro station, a field of marijuana plants sprouted up instead of a lawn.
2.
U.S.-Russian 3-Year Multientry Visa Bill to Go to Duma
After months of delays, the government has finalized a much-touted visa agreement with the United States and drafted the corresponding bill.
3.
McFaul and State Department Respond to Attack
The U.S. ambassador and the U.S. State Department said they were surprised by blistering criticism from the Foreign Ministry regarding comments McFaul made to students last week.
4.
Putin's Final Act
Russians are usually patient and slow to rebel, but once they have turned on their leader, they don't stop until he is out.
5.
Barents Crabs Suffer From Soviet Legacy, Russian Reality
The Soviet experiment of transplanting Kamchatka crabs to the Barents Sea has had a string of economic, environmental and social effects on fishing communities.
6.
Google Honors Faberge Egg Maker With Homepage Doodle
The creator of the intricately jeweled Faberge eggs was honored by Google on its homepage Wednesday, the 166th anniversary of the famed jeweler's birthday.
7.
Opposition Fund Reveals Sponsors
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has revealed the list of sponsors contributing to his Anti-Corruption Fund, which is poised to gather even more donations with the "Navalny credit card" that is in the works.
8.
Video Inspires Anti-Putin Twitter Trend
An anti-Putin message on Twitter started trending worldwide after opposition activists posted a hashtag inspired by a pre-revolutionary Azerbaijani musical tradition.
9.
Deere Construction Equipment Finding Its Niche
Soon after John Deere started selling construction machines here, they gained a presence at one of the country's biggest building sites.
10.
Superjet Flight Data Recorder Found Near Volcano Crash Site
Villagers have found the flight data recorder from the Russian passenger jet that slammed into an Indonesian volcano three weeks ago and killed 45 people.
1.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
2.
McFaul Faces Kremlin Scorn Once Again
The Foreign Ministry assailed U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul for comments the ministry said went "far beyond the bounds of diplomatic etiquette."
3.
Sweden Wins Eurovision; Grannies Take Second
Sweden’s Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan on Sunday before an international TV audience of 100 million, days after angering Azeri authorities by meeting rights activists critical of the host country’s human rights record.
4.
Red Square Flyboy Regrets Air Stunt
When Mathias Rust landed his white Cessna on Red Square on May 28, 1987, he had placed all his hopes for world peace in Mikhail Gorbachev.
5.
Protest and Chaos Seen in Kudrin-Ordered Study
Continued protests in Russia will likely lead to violence or chaotic change, according to a new study ordered by the former finance minister.
6.
Ukraine in Uproar Over Status of Russian Language
Ukraine's ruling party has triggered violent protests with a move to upgrade the official role of Russian, a sensitive issue opponents say will split the country.
7.
150 Detained at Anti-Kremlin Rallies
About 150 people were detained Sunday as scores of people gathered for a series of anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
8.
City Mistakenly Plants Marijuana Field Instead of Lawn
After the city spread soil containing "grass" seeds around the Brateyevo metro station, a field of marijuana plants sprouted up instead of a lawn.
9.
Tensions Rise as Opposition Leaders are Freed
Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Navalny emerged from prison Thursday, while a dramatic standoff erupted at a State Duma hearing over a bill that would hike fines for illegal demonstrations.
10.
More Public Figures Accused of Flouting Road Rules
Following the president's order to cut the number of officials entitled to use flashing lights to skirt through traffic, several incidents of alleged abuse involving high-profile figures have come to light.
1.
Hundreds of Arrests Set Grim Backdrop for Victory Day Celebrations
As Moscow gears up to celebrate its victory in World War II, 67 years ago Wednesday, the shadow of political conflict shrouds the capital as hundreds of arrests cloud Victory Day festivities.
2.
Russian Satellite Takes Highest-Ever Resolution Picture of Earth
A stunning 121-megapixel snapshot of the Earth was taken by a Russian weather satellite in what is thought to be the highest resolution picture of the planet ever taken from space.
3.
Bodies, No Survivors Spotted at Superjet Crash
Search and rescue helicopters and volunteers struggling through thick forest and mountainous terrain spotted bodies but no survivors on the Indonesian mountainside where a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed by the time darkness forced an end to the search Thursday night.
4.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
5.
Mysterious Photos Reveal an Unseen WWII
After the end of World War II, Paul Sadler returned home to Chicago with three German books and a photo album from the Dachau concentration camp.
6.
Furniture Magnate Shot Dead in Mercedes in Moscow Region
A 46-year-old furniture magnate was killed with six gunshot wounds to the head and chest early Sunday as he arrived in his Mercedes at his home in the Moscow region.
7.
Vladivostok Bridge Climbers Fined 300 Rubles Each
Three thrill-seekers who climbed two Vladivostok bridges earlier this week and took photos from the top were fined 300 rubles ($10) each for trespassing.
8.
New Cabinet Has Familiar Cast of Characters
President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced the makeup of the new Cabinet answering to Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, with three-fourths of the members having been replaced.
9.
Superjet Missing in Indonesia With 50 on Board
A dark cloud was cast Wednesday on the revival of Russia’s aviation industry when a Sukhoi-built Superjet 100 with 50 people on board disappeared from the radar screens of Indonesian flight controllers.
10.
Why Putin's Days Are Numbered
On Monday, Vladimir Putin will take the presidential oath of office for the third time. After 12 years in power, Putin has increased his control over the country's major institutions, the siloviki and state bureaucracy.
