The United Football League has been actively trying to convince the NFL to invest in the junior league in hopes of gaining a valuable senior partner, as well as other investors, according to sources.
However, the latest proposal — which would give the NFL a 30 percent stake in the year-old UFL — is not on the agenda for discussion during the NFL owners’ meetings, which run Sunday through Wednesday in Orlando, Fla.
The potential partnership was first reported as a “rumor” by ProFootballTalk.com in February that the NFL had offered $50 million for a 51 percent share of the UFL, which countered by offering 49 percent for $49 million. At that time, an NFL spokesman said the specifics of that rumor “were flat-out wrong” and that no offer had been made by the NFL.
On the latest information, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, “We decline to comment.”
A UFL official also declined comment. One source said the two sides had signed a non-disclosure agreement.
The UFL is hopeful that a potential partnership with the NFL will bolster its ongoing efforts to add investors as it attempts to expand from four to six teams this year. Currently, the UFL has teams based in Las Vegas, Sacramento, Hartford, Conn., and Orlando.
A league source reiterated that the proposals being discussed have been generated by the UFL and have not been warmly embraced yet.
The UFL has its league meeting, also in Orlando, April 21-23. The NFL also has another owners’ meeting in Dallas in May.
Chris Mortensen is ESPN’s senior NFL analyst.
[URL]http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5009619&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
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