We are 24 hours from kickoff of the 2025 UFL season and questions about the labor dispute are still in the air. In a bit of surprising twist. Ryan Glasspiegel and Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports, which is owned by RedBird Capital, who owns part of the UFL, have a report noting that FOX and ESPN have backup plans incase players strike.
A source with knowledge of the negotiations told FOS that the current sticking point between the league and the union is the healthcare aspect. Players either want year-round health insurance or enough of a salary increase so they can afford to pay for their own coverage. The UFL appears to be “dug in” on its stance against it, a source told FOS, which is why players are still considering a strike ahead of Friday’s opener.
What programming will we see on FOX and ESPN if the players strike and games are not played? The Masked Singer on FOX and 30 for 30 on ESPN.
If the league and union don’t reach an accord, Fox would air reruns from its slate of entertainment programming, such as The Masked Singer or a Gordon Ramsay show, a source told Front Office Sports. If there was a prolonged strike, Fox could be more nimble in replacing games with live sports, such as the postseason College Basketball Crown Tournament, or MLB.
ESPN has a library of evergreen content for when live events are delayed or canceled, such as 30 for 30 documentaries.
UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon said the following to FOS.
“We continue to talk to the union,” Brandon said. “Our negotiating team has a lot of respect for them. We take great pride in how we treat our players. We have certainly made concessions on our end and we hope to have something done. We don’t have anything agreed to yet. We’re a startup. There’s a reason these leagues have never seen two or three consecutive years and we’re hoping to change that.”
No surprise FOS would have a report on this before the season kicks off. The message from the league, we have a plan in place if you strike.
Hopefully the league and players can come to an agreement before Friday’s game. That seems unlikely based on the quotes we have been seeing over the last several days. Behind the scenes drama is nothing new to Spring Football fans, we are used to it.
3 Comments
by 4th&long
Well, of course they do. Also plans for weather delay.
But this article, as you stated, looks like more of a message to UFPA. We’re ready.
Who knows whatthe UFPA goals really are, they aren’t stating or leaking it to media. Maybe, if UFL has a strong opening w/e they can say “we want our cut” but their leverage is weak. And if its a weak opening they have even less leverage.
At this point I would hope they take a modest increase, retro to week 1, and focus on 2026.
by Gary Winter
As my mother would have said…It sounds like a whole lot of people ready to cut off their noses to spite their face.
by Ken Granito
I could be really mistaken. I haven’t talked to anyone. I am only reading what is written, just without hurt behind it. Is it possible Kai Nacua is talking like a reasonable man. He says, “we have no meetings scheduled for this week, but hope to get back to talking next week”. I read that he wants a better deal for the players and their families, however he understands it’s important to play the games, by there not being an ultimatum. I am hoping I am right on this as the league needs good momentum to get where both the owners, players and yes, us the fans want to be. Hoping positivity wins over so we can get to the numbers, including this year so we can see the trends, pay expenses, determine profit/losses on all levels and determine how pay fits in with possible expansion. Expansion needs to happen. The UFL needs to grow, but it should do so with at least a slight raise AND a re-visit to insurance. This league with 10 teams and hopefully at least one unaffiliated team owner would be a GREAT thing for the league. I strongly feel that with growth in the right two markets, the UFL will never have networks with under a million viewers and will have games with 1.5 million, often including the playoff games. The finals will hit 2million viewers. That growth is great and if that comes with increased advertising dollars, we need to determine what part of that is the UFL’s. I will never forget the USFL’s first season in the league they said they almost made a profit, before going to the local cities. It tells me there is some money there. To me, that growth is where the UFL gets place for prosperity for everyone. That means fans come out or watch. That means new people need to try to at least watch a couple of games the first month. The league needs to play respectable football and respect the game like the USFL and UFL has done. I have mentioned this before. If at this time there is no thought process to give full time insurance, you could give roster bonus, equal to $1000 for the seasons prorated for games. To revisit my previous example. Jonathan Adams has played with the USFL and UFL for 3 seasons and therefore would make a $3,000 bonus. So if he makes $57,000 regular pay on top of training camp, he would also get an additional $3,000. This would cap out at $3,500, but it should help veterans feel somewhat appreciated for their times, but that veteran leadership is often looked out as a bonus. Every time a coach has an interview he talks about this being the 2nd time we’ve done this and how this only makes gameplay better and easier. Isn’t that something a league would usually pay for anyway? This would only cost the league around $400,000. Anyway, I hope for a great season all around. Whatever happens I hope the players’ play. Nothing can move forward without that, but I do hope the owners see this veteran bonus as a way to help the league move forward with good faith.