Donald Trump Took on the NFL and Technically Won

In the early 1980s, Donald Trump saw an opening.

He believed that America could support a second professional football league. One that would compete with the NFL. One that would play in the spring.

That league was the United States Football League (USFL). And Trump bought in.

He purchased the New Jersey Generals in 1983.

From the start, Trump wanted more than spring football.

He wanted the USFL to take on the NFL head-to-head. He wanted fall football. Primetime. Television contracts. Big markets. Big headlines.

He wanted to force a merger.

The NFL had done it once before with the AFL. Trump saw that as the endgame.

Other USFL owners weren't convinced. But Trump pushed hard.

Eventually, the USFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL.

They accused the league of monopolizing television contracts and blocking competition.

It was a bold move. One that came with massive risk.

The USFL argued that the NFL had exclusive deals with ABC, CBS, and NBC, leaving no room for another league. They claimed the NFL was intentionally boxing them out.

The case went to trial in 1986.

Trump was front and center. He testified. He did interviews. He made headlines.

The USFL's goal? To win hundreds of millions in damages and force a merger.

The jury returned its verdict.

They ruled in favor of the USFL.

But there was a catch.

The damages awarded? $1.

Treble damages, as allowed in antitrust cases, brought the total to $3.

That's it.

The court found that the NFL did technically violate antitrust laws. But they said the USFL's problems were mostly self-inflicted.

Poor management. Bad decisions. Internal conflict.

The verdict was a disaster for the USFL.

No massive payout. No merger. No fall football.

The league collapsed shortly after.

Trump's gamble failed. He got what he wanted on paper - a win - but it came with no real reward.

The lawsuit is still remembered today.

Not because of the outcome.

But because of the irony.

A high-profile business mogul took on one of America's biggest sports institutions and won.

But the victory was purely symbolic.

A $1 check. Framed. Hung on a wall. And that was it.

The NFL moved on. The USFL did not survive.

Filed under: General Knowledge