If the future of pro football is the new spring World League, it apparently will proceed without Michael McCaskey of the Bears.
World League of American Football President Tex Schramm announced a two-year television contract with ABC Tuesday for games that will begin in March, 1991, in six foreign and six U.S. cities.
McCaskey is the only National Football League owner who refused to invest the $50,000 seed money to start the corporation that will operate separately from the NFL.
”I do not know why,” Schramm said.
McCaskey refused to comment.
The TV contract is expected to pay close to $15 million a season and cover most of the player salaries, which could average less than $50,000. Players will be ”drafted” from NFL teams and will include young prospects who need playing time, although Schramm refuses to refer to the project as a minor league.
Schramm said McCaskey`s position will in no way prevent Bears` players from participating.
Within the next 60 days, Schramm said the new league wants to name three divisions of four teams each.
In Europe, one division would consist of London, Frankfurt, Milan and Barcelona. In North America, Schramm said there would be East and West divisions with Montreal, New York, Mexico City and whatever northern California city Al Davis and the Raiders spurn, plus four more cities chosen among Orlando, Jacksonville, San Antonio, Nashville, Birmingham ”and others who have expressed interest.”
Schramm said New York is the only NFL city expected to have a spring franchise.
The league will play a 10-game round robin schedule. The ABC package includes 10 Sunday afternoon games with at least half from Europe.
Schramm said the WLAF would differ with the NFL in two major areas, drugs and underclassmen.
He said any player failing a drug test in the World League would be banned from the league. ”One strike and you`re out,” he said.
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Schramm also said the new league would not permit college underclassmen to play for it. The NFL is reevaluating its policy on underclassmen.
”Our college eligibility rule will be even stricter than even what the National Football League came up with,” Schramm said. ”We`re not going to be an escape vehicle for all the players coming out of college.”
Schramm said neither he nor ABC Sports veteran Jim Spence, with whom he worked to develop the league, fears that it will suffer the fate of the U.S. Football League.