Judging by the lack of success from previous up-starts leagues before them, you likely think the new United Football League have very little chance of success. The NFL is most well run league in American sports, why would we ever want anything different?

Well, some very successful business believe there is an opportunity to compete head-on with the NFL. Briefly, Darren Rovell outlines what we know thus far:

The league will be called the United Football League. Cuban will be one owner and he and Wall Street investor Bill Hambrect and Google executive Tim Armstrong are looking for seven more to start some pre-season games in August 2008. We know that there will be teams in non-NFL markets like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Mexico City, and that they'll play games on Friday night.

Cuban says it's not such a crazy idea to compete against the NFL:

2. The NFL wants and needs competition. They have grown so big and powerful that every move they make is scrutinized by local or federal officials. A competitor allows them to point to us and explain that their moves are for competitive reasons rather than the move of a monopoly.

3. They just extended their CBA. Their CBA structure is not designed for a competitive environment. Competition for top players, even if the UFL gets just a few, increases prices at the top end for all teams. Every star will get paid more, but still have to fit under the cap. That forces teams to use more low cost players, at the expense of signing the middle of the roster. That gives us access to quite a few very, very good NFL players. The downside is that it will significantly impact small market NFL teams and its unclear how the NFL would respond to that and what the impact would be on the UFL.

Dave's Football Blog says good luck ...

Guys, you cannot compete with the National Football League. It is the stage for gridiron superstars, period. If players come to play for your UFL, they will do so with the hope that some NFL team will see them and offer them a contract. This is why the XFL failed. Vince McMahon tried to make his league all about bone-crunching hits and extreme action, and not a single player bought into that idea, because they didn’t want to risk a serious injury in case an NFL team came calling.

I have a hard time completely dismissing any business adventures that involves the current group assembled. Mark Cuban might not make the best personnel moves, but he's hardly missed when it comes to investing. However, I just can't see the UFL competing. It all depends on the product. Can they lure top players over with big money? The XFL was such an embarrassment to football. The collective bargaining agreement has it's flaws, but I'm still not taking the leap of faith that anyone will become so disappointed in it they'll take less money and play on a smaller stage.

I love football, crave more football, yet can't seem to get into the AFL. It's not the same. When I'm searching for a different offering, I watch college football. On Friday nights, the last thing I want to do is stay inside and watch some game in Sacramento with second-rate talent. The UFL can be sustainable longer than the XFL simply due to it's brilliant minds, but to say it will "compete" with the NFL is far fetched. What do you think?

Competing with the NFL (Blog Maverick)
The Ex-FL? (Sports Biz)
Yet another league for the NFL to destroy (Dave's Football Blog)