Donald Trump, the Decline of the NFL, and the Rise of the USFL | NFL Films | The Timeline: 1984

In 1984 with the NFL in decline, Donald Trump begin to form a rival football league, the USFL.
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[@chase2020]

All those Cubs fans thinking thirty-something years is a lot. They didn't know what they were in for.

[@ManticMenace]

Brandyn Wilcoxen yeah bears fans only had to wait one more year the cubs fans had to wait 108 years

[@bdaddyn678]

Bears vs. Cubs, a match-up that will never take place. One is an NFL team, the other is a Major League Baseball team from the National League.

[@ck-1649]

I think I'm the only Cleveland fan here

[@patricklawton8135]

@@ck-1649 nope

[@brianmeehan1572]

No Cubs No, Go Sox Go

[@thebegleyshow3320]

So this is why Donald Trump is on shaky terms with the NFL.

[@sargondp69]

NFL, NBA, more belong to the ruling families (they are circus--distraction for the masses): this is why. Trump is a rebel.

[@spitshinetommy3721]

@@sargondp69 Trump is a puppet for the 1%, like every other GOP dipshit.

[@patwhite8106]

@@spitshinetommy3721 you kidding me? The man that every elitist in the party wanted to screw out of the nomination?

[@patwhite8106]

Spitshine Tommy it was because he went against the globalist agenda of open borders, bad trade deals, and perpetual war. His nationalist message was something new for the gop and the commoners loved it while the elite were very nervous

[@Nobody-xe9fc]

It's not just Trump. Vince McMahon tried the same thing with XFL. And he's gonna try it again.

[@Fall-Out-Lobo25]

I wish he kept the other football league but kept it in spring

[@TheBcredsox]

Major football League start in spring 2017

[@osaji922]

+Pregador W. Safadão I wish but it doesn't appear like they were able to get their financial situation set. It's now a hoax. On to the next one. SLAF Spring League of American Football 2018.

[@BBAERSTANCE1]

Fall-out-kid thank trump

[@likeitbuzzed8004]

So many leagues die before they start.

[@octaviovicencio106]

Fall-out-kid25 mpoo

[@dirtystockcardriver]

"I don't like guys with hair dryers" that's f'ing brilliant 😁😂🤣 I've found my new saying!!!!!

[@dietwater6823]

I ran against Walter Payton's daughter on track and shook hands with Walter Payton himself. I'm from Rushville IL.

[@258YnohtnaAyotnom]

What's wrong with the NFL? Roger Goodell.

[@mgb4692]

Except Goodrll is merely a yes man for the Rooneys, the Maras, Jerry Jones, Stan Kroenke, Jim Irsay and so on. So replacing him gets you what? But neither him nor Tagliabue were Pete Rozelle that's for sure.

[@iRavenTM]

And that's why everyone should be a Green Bay Packer fan.

[@andrewr62]

You can also put the NFL players union along side Godell's name.

[@kmena05]

And Brady

[@joeo4496]

Goodell merely works for the owners: you think he makes any major decisions without consulting with them first?

[@NJGuy1973]

3:08 "Continued to have it's 'space invaded...'" How many '80s references can we squeeze into this?

[@12345fowler]

That one was brillant.

[@TheJShield]

I swear this man is everywhere and has influence on everything.

[@NewWaveFan1]

Yeah he made sure the USFL didn't survive.. He said recently that the NFL is too violent..

[@joshpotts6316]

Who, Trump? You mean the man who loves Boxing? Trump loved the Tyson era!

[@JuanAlvarez-zo9rg]

I be thinking the same thing his impact in life is tremendous

[@iriemindz]

too bad his only impacts on this world are things that mostly benefit him alone.

[@joshpotts6316]

You couldn't be any more wrong. Are even aware of what Trump has done for the black community. Trump was always giving back. Most of the what Trump has done was revealed to us by the people he helped. No one knows about these because he doesn't talk about it. Donald Trump tip all the workers whenever he's pleased with their work. He's handed countless people Hundred dollar bills, and no one ever found out about it. He funded an all black owned TV network years, and gained nothing out of helping them build a successful TV network. He never even used it to benefit his own campaign. They all came out, and let the world know the Donald Trump that they know. Someone with a big heart.

[@jh9productions]

History repeating itself... Toughen up the game, let players celebrate, enough bullshit "scandals", let's get back to hard hitting football.

[@joshpotts6316]

CTE

[@xxa5]

You want hard hitting? Go and play RB in NFL for one season and then I would like to ask you do you like your concussion and multiple body injuries. Agree about celebrations tho.

[@jh9productions]

I'm not saying go around hitting people in the head, but hard hits shouldn't be penalties just cause they look bad in fast motion.

[@nextgenwellness]

xxa5 lmao so true. All talk and doesn't know how physical the game is. He would get injured lifting the bar in the weight room probably 😂

[@jh9productions]

I'm not saying go around hitting people in the heads and knees, but hard hits should not be penalties just because they don't look good. Roughing the passer calls are being made that wouldn't even get a second thought 10 years ago. Can't we find a middle ground where player safety is still a concern but hard hits aren't always penalties?

[@YTWgamer]

*puts trump first in the title and makes the whole video out to be about him but the whole situation really has nothing to do with him*

[@Blacksack23]

YTW Gaming he owned it

[@ratedpending]

YTW Gaming he's the reason for the fall of the USFL, he had everything to do with it (he made it compete with the NFL)

[@HunterHughes10]

YTW Gaming You and 176 other people obviously only watched the first 2:30 minutes... LOL, so many idiots speaking too soon...

[@desertedstranger2914]

Trump ruined the USFL by moving it to the fall. The USFL found a niche in the spring. They should have stayed there. People want to watch football year round.

[@generalkayoss7347]

XFL 2020! You've got tens of millions of former NFL fans waiting to support you :)

[@stllbreathnbut_y1844]

Complaining about the pussification of the league... 30 years ago. Shit don't change.

[@billygowhoop]

This is a really good point.

[@BNA_Est.1988]

Did you play?

[@hadynquitmeyer5078]

StllBreathnBut_Y is

[@ski8615]

StllBreathnBut_Y and then you get them old timers like back in my day 🙄

[@lemmyhead8578]

I always found that interesting considering that today's athletes would physically dismantle players from the 70's & 80's. It would be a bloodbath.

[@ethanahoia8619]

This is just like what's going on right now. Cubs being good but actually winning the World Series this year. And the NFL ratings dropping.

[@RubensBarrichello.]

ratings are back up but that's cuz of cowboys

[@MasterOctagon]

*Raiders

[@scoopdywhoop318]

MasterOctagon *Cowboys

[@ethanahoia8619]

Gavin Rocha Both!!!

[@wolfstar675]

Brown Mamba Ratings are back again. The ratings were low due to the elections. Also no true football fan gives a shit about ratings only bandwagoners and women care about that.

[@realazduffman]

I remember that movie, it was a water cooler event before we had the term. And it was pretty graphic on the beating scenes.

[@GundamGokuTV]

If the USFL had stayed in the spring I whole heartily believe it would still be around today.

[@INYB]

The other owners letting Trump take control wasn't very smart.

[@rockvilleraven]

The Miami team after the fall announcement, moved to Orlando and was coached by Lee Corso.

[@NJGuy1973]

What isn't discussed here is how the USFL needed its ABC-TV revenue to stay afloat. ABC's contract stated that it could be cancelled if the league did not have teams in NY, Chicago, and LA. When the fall move was announced in '84, Chicago went inactive, knowing they couldn't compete with the Bears. And through the '85 season the LA team almost folded because their owner was blowing through money. Had LA folded, no ABC revenue, league closes up, game over.

[@manuginobilisbaldspot424]

LOL... 2:27, that's Sam Wyche reacting to Jim Plunkett's interception that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers the AFC Central division title and sent them home. Not his reaction to an abusive husband being burned alive by his tortured wife.

[@j-fpilote1576]

Attaboy for remembering that... Bengals started season 0-5 and still had chance at the playoffs on last week of the season.

[@1USACitizen192]

Did the alledged abusive husband play for the Bengals?

[@trr3160]

The NFL sure seemed fine to me in 1984. The Super Bowl featured two incredible QBs in Marino and Montana. The Bears had Sweetness and recorded 72 sacks to set itself up for a huge run in 1985. Parcells was turning the Giants around with the best defensive player in history, LT. The USFL was perfect in the spring time, but Donald went ahead and gave huge money to Chiefs safety Gary Barbaro. Spending became out of control and it died out.

[@Acquiredammunity]

And now they are doing the same shit.....shitty teams, shitty coaches except this time they are pussifying the sport and adding unnecessary penalties. Also stop booking shitty teams in the prime time spot....MNF, TNF and SNF have all sucked this season but this week it looks like there are some good matchups so viewership will be on the rise and maybe they will realise that they shouldn't add shitty teams to the prime time spot.....

[@nextgenwellness]

acquired immunity SNF games have been amazing actually. Most of the others suck

[@theleftuprightatsoldierfield]

Thursday Night football has been good this year. Rams-49ers and Chiefs-Raiders were 2 of the best games this year

[@naruto73syfy]

Wasn't he the one that ultimately brought down that league

[@danieldougan269]

Yep. By going head-to-head with the NFL, he killed the USFL instead of creating the merger he wanted. He wasn't not nearly as clever as he thought he was, a trait that continues to this day.

[@michaelleroy9281]

The USFL brought down the USFL, they wanted to go to a fall schedule in 1986, a bad career move, they lost a court case and then they were done stick a fork 🍴 in them

[@kwabenagyamfi7325]

The USFL-NFL merger would have been great. Ratings are dropping now as they were then.

[@GUNGLADIATOR77]

I'm pretty sure that has more to do with less people watching TV

[@kwabenagyamfi7325]

Gladiator Gaming then they would've bought nfl gamepass. The sport is losing appeal and it's on the NFL

[@elchucofried5683]

Kwabena Gyamfi why would they buy nfl gamepass if they don't even watch tv

[@kwabenagyamfi7325]

elchucofried *facepalms* game pass is for devices on the go. My point is, the NFLs suffering is Their own doing.

[@kwabenagyamfi7325]

***** it wasn't the election. It was the blind refreshing and the No-Fun-League saga

[@colegeorge2451]

Too bad he killed the USFL. Hopefully he's a little more careful with his finger on the button than he was with the USFL

[@jesuszamora6949]

Cole George If he hadn't moved to the fall and tried to sue the NFL, he might have come out on top. Dude's too short-term in his thinking.

[@liggonsreacts21]

Nicholas Baum he still tried to Finesse

[@why-even-try-brotendo]

@Nicholas Baum His failure was just one of many in a long line of Trump failures. His string of bankruptcies is unmatched in the financial sector. Fraud has been the only thing to keep him relevant and afloat. The SDONY is hot on his trail though and as soon as his financial records and taxes are scrutinized together we will find out the scope of his crimes. Bank fraud, tax evasion and money laundering are the most likely charges to be brought on him.

[@rockvilleraven]

@Chris Paschal The league would dies a slow death without Trump, the only team -that made a profit was the Denver Gold and they run cheap and followed the Dixon Plan.

[@adamjuarez6498]

1:57 why baby got blurred face?😄

[@chalklounge]

The Burning Bed was an absolutely massive media event. I watched it live with my mom.

[@fjr70ify]

Looking back now, I think the 1984 season might have been one of the best seasons ever. We just didn't know it then.

[@manuelmarquez2514]

Don Shula wanted no part of Donald Trump’s bs.

[@tempo1460]

Make Football Great Again

[@brianfox2519]

Tempo just so much no

[@chrisanders713]

Yes! Absolutely!!!

[@NatanelYaHu]

The liberals would say Football was never great.

[@SpellboundBySiren]

NatanelYaHu - IDIOT

[@terrytyler3139]

says the conservatives who ruined it in the 90s

[@j_de_bordeaux]

Was that TECMO BOWL TOUCHDOWN HI 5!!!! 🔥🔥🔥 0:26

[@W3STSID303]

NFL AINT GOIN NOWHERE

[@sjd7188]

Trump screwed up what little toehold they had in the USFL, just greed and impatience. No way Shula ever would have worked for him, way too smart to put up with his crap. Biggest issue at the time was all three networks (remember when there were only three) were already having trouble selling their football ad packages, last thing anybody needed was more football on TV in the fall at the time. Trump thought he would push and cajole his way into an nfl franchise on the cheap. One thing they did in usfl was get top talent into the league if you look at what happened to nfl salaries and eventual free agency after usfl changed the dynamic the league had a lasting effect for sure . Lots of good players went to the usfl first, lots of good players over looked by nfl got their start in the usfl

[@andrewsenicar4597]

Trump should say let's make football great again.

[@nextgenwellness]

Billsfan 14 Go Bills, Bills MAFIA!!!

[@stratdaddy]

Here we are

[@ReviewingMagnet]

That's McMahon's job

[@Clay3613]

Well he failed.

[@__________________________6082]

Jay Zbieszkowski I

[@dallasbrubaker6054]

@ 5:00, is that George Steinbrenner in the photo? (far right)

[@roanokebrooks]

You can make a very strong argument that football is the best team sport to watch on television.

[@marktaylor1176]

NOT ANYMORE!!!!!

[@dr.christopherdiaz4473]

A lot of people don’t remember how big a part Fox played in the recovery. When they shocked the world and outbid the big 3 for NFC coverage, they went from being a small upstart station to a major network. And they had a fresh style that was totally different than ABC, CBS or NBC. It was perfect for the Dallas Cowboys era, and it forced the other three to change their styles. They invented the modern pregame and halftime shows and they created the team of broadcasters made up of coaches and players who injected humor into the whole thing. They destroyed news, but Fox made a lot of important contributions to modern entertainment and media.

[@kennylc2193]

It is a movie. Why did they have to blur out the kid's face at 2:09?

[@SuperOmnicronsj44]

li think the decline was in part to the work stoppage in 82 ... then a strike and replacement games would occur 5 years later.

[@ir10031981]

1984, the last time the Raiders won the Super Bowl & the Tigers won the World Series.

[@michaelleroy9281]

1983 season for the Raiders

[@why-even-try-brotendo]

5:45 "Football wasn't going down the tubes, but it had flat lined." Does that guy know what "flat lined" means?

[@StaySqueezy12]

Hes saying flat lined in relation to its position on say a line graph. The NFL was in a place where it wasn't going straight down like a stock crash but wasn't growing either.

[@matthewcampbell7985]

The burning bed is good horror movie and ktvt my cbs airs that movie back a day.

[@GlobalWarmingSkeptic]

Everyone wants to give Trump a hard time for moving to the fall. I do think it was a big mistake for the USFL to put so much into merging with the NFL , true, but everyone forgets that the USFL was a razor thin margin away from beating the NFL. The courts did rule that the NFL was in violation of antitrust laws, but somehow they could not prove that the NFL's efforts damaged them.

[@ajbax96]

did rob lowe do the voice over for this?

[@elephantyarn7378]

3:50 is what I'M here for

[@jakerobert1000]

that coleco tho

[@nelsonr12]

"If god wanted football in the spring, he wouldn't have invented baseball." Wait...God invented baseball?

[@amylee7456]

Wrong, he said CREATED, not invented.

[@daveyboy_]

if God's Canadian then yes !

[@lemmyhead8578]

Yes. A celestial magical sky daddy was sitting around thinking up games to play in the summer and thought "Baseball!". Little known fact is that universe farting pixies invented basketball and a troll under a bridge invented rugby. True story.

[@userknonothing]

Wow! See! Donald is a LIAer, once for all proven.does this all the time makes me madasf.. Email this clip to cNn take down the regime

[@reggiefreemanfortrump2203]

Baseball comes from the European game rounders which was played by the Union Army troops during the Civil War. Albert Spalding invented baseball not Abner Doubleday.

[@dumisatonyjohnson8145]

0:17-0:25 Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown’s all time record vs New Orleans Saints @ Soldier Field 🏟

[@AustinR1337]

IS THAT ROB LOWE??

[@danielmoorefield4891]

Yep.

[@Dayfloss]

Trump and the Atlanta Falcons have something in common they both never won a Super Bowl.

[@empireonep2830]

julius jones ... -_-

[@onlyonerichie]

Jetfire507 wa wa waaaaa

[@LennysComet]

his big brain killed the usfl, great businessman

[@sketchysunday]

In the movie clip they showed, why are the kids faces blurred?

[@LetsGetMikey982]

The USFL went from 18 teams to 14 teams to finally 8 teams. You see the trend here? It was dying. Trump knew the only way to survive was to move to the fall and eventually force a merger. He was right. The won the lawsuit but only got 3 dollars. It accelerated the leagues demise which was going to happen anyway staying in the spring.

[@JStarStar00]

It was dying because of his stupidity. The franchises folded because they knew they had no hope of survival in the fall.

[@Lawomenshoops]

Wrong! It started with 12 teams in 1983. Then in 1984, they added 6 more teams- Houston, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, San Antonio, Oklahoma. Then in 1985 to 14 teams. The USFL screwed up when it kept signing high priced rookies and NFL veterans.

[@osaji922]

Why don't people know this? Is it because they hate Trump. They can hate Trump all they want but they should let their hate blind them from facts.

[@DavidhenshawSZU]

Hold on a second, the 45th president of the United States was a football owner?

[@nrkgalt]

He wasn’t the first sports owner to become president. Before him was George Bush Jr, who had once owned the Texas Rangers.

[@itscap8474]

This is the same reason the NFL is declining now

[@Mystic0157]

No, ratings are back up, soaring again.

[@Badguy10472]

Fake news

[@RocketmanRockyMatrix]

Trump was a franchise owner, not the league owner.

[@manuginobilisbaldspot424]

That's not hyperbole. My father had the SI cover of Jim Brown at 47 in a Raiders uniform talking about his comeback being what the boring NFL needed. Football just wasn't as relevant. Then 1984 was this wild unicorn like year...passing record in a season broken. rushing record in a season broken. All time record for rushing in a season...broken. Most sacks...broken (and hasn't really been touched since). There were so many big individuals and achievements that one of, for my money, the 3-4 best teams in NFL history flew under the radar ALL THE WAY IN TO THE SUPER BOWL: The '84 San Francisco 49ers. No records broken individually, no crazy personalities. Just one of two teams to win 18 games in a season WITH A SUPER BOWL TITLE (sorry Patriots fans). And for most of that incredible year, they were lost in the backwash of everything else. Never gonna see that again.

[@Fireyninjadog]

2:24 RIP Sam wyche

[@MLDstxspartan]

feels similar today

[@bcamp85]

Trump did not begin to form the USFL. The USFL was created by David Dixon. Trump came to the USFL after its first season. Trump was offered to the NY/NJ franchise before the first season, but declined.

[@williamklumpenhower1188]

This is the most coherent I have ever seen Donald Trump.

[@bocatcc]

no wonder he is bashing the Nfl in 2017-18 season

[@marktaylor1176]

Just pissed he can't get an NFL franchise

[@BenJabituya]

0:54 - COLECOVISION!!!

[@naruto73syfy]

I think someone is trying to bring the league back

[@lladnar69]

Why hasn't ESPN shown this documentary in it's whole form since 2016?

[@juliansmith9503]

The following would've worked take four teams like the NBA did with the ABA the four teams would've been Orlando, Baltimore, Arizona and Jacksonville

[@bdaddyn678]

If not Orlando, it would have been Memphis or Birmingham.

[@jasondick6042]

Spoiler Alert: The Cubs didn’t go anywhere until 2016.

[@michaelleroy9281]

That was 1984 they didn't go anywhere the Detroit Tigers who started 35-5 and won the World Series , the Cubs won it in 2016 no respect for the Tigers

[@RobertBalto]

What I love about this so, SO much is the backstories. Like how Trump wanted to buy multiple NFL teams and Pete Rozelle told him in a private meeting that as long as he's Commissioner, Trump will never be a part of the NFL. I love it how Don Shula DID put some consideration into coaching in the USFL, but was immediately turned off when Trump prematurely opened his big, stupid mouth. I especially love how the league crashed and burned, when, under Trump's advice...despite huge pushback that the league wasn't ready...the league moved it's games from spring to summer, which was a colossol failure. And finally, I simply ADORE how Trump's stupid lawsuit yielded a verdict of the NFL having to pay one dollar in damages...due to the fact that the USFL was already self-destructing due to it's incompetetent business moves.

[@dsmtoday]

there was an internet in the 80s

[@gammawave1739]

Now adays football is still the most watched program in america. It will always be the biggest tv broadcast ever

[@toddschneck80]

Now I know why Trump hates the NFL's players!

[@libertytree732]

Former USFL owner now President of the United States of America now that’s something and now we are having the same problem with these rules look I get player safety but when that gets in the way of the game something is wrong .

[@bearstown19show]

then 1985 bears came boom nfl become number 1 rating went high

[@AZDC99]

Then the legendary Joe Gibbs 1980s Redskins dismantled them in Soldier Field in the playoffs in Chicago those following two years and destroyed that legacy. HTTR!

[@jjgarrison33]

Pretty sure Chris Treager (Rob Lowe) is narrating this.

[@cardinal6390]

He can't admit he's wrong

[@RandyTheWildHorse]

I always like The Sporting News better than Sports Illustrated.

[@Blackhawk89]

SHOW THE REST

[@mort3official404]

Make the Dolphins great again. Gase 2020!

[@ericwright2594]

Rip Walter Payton

[@ThankGodImBlack370]

Just skip to 4:37 and he will admit his evil plan, then notice that everyone in the comments chose to ignore the most important quote of this video.

[@Jen1112111]

Wowowowo anthony michael hall!

[@___-yy8ud]

Who is the narrator? I recognise the voice, but can't figure out exactly who it is.

[@BBAERSTANCE1]

Jonathan B rob lowe

[@___-yy8ud]

Thanks!

[@Matthew-qy7op]

It was too soon. They should have waited 10 or more years to build a bigger fan base.

[@TheJasonJackson84]

Brent Musberger: "Zim, what is the state of the game today, with the NFL?" Paul Zimmerman: "I think football has gotten away from it's essence and it's essence is a certain amount of TOUGHNESS!"

[@j-fpilote1576]

the NFL check to the USFL has yet to be cashed... 1$ with amount tripled in antitrust cases, plus interest: $3,76. what a return on investment by Trump...

[@landonkeep466]

Trump click bait on the NFL's own channel.

[@Bruh-pb5os]

Landon Keep WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU DIP

[@el3ph4ntem4n3]

Lol genius

[@silaskendricks4947]

I still ain't over the fact that he ran for president as April fools joke and still won the election

[@Mr05Chuck]

We have a bigger joke in office now.

[@moesyzslak2939]

So the nfl was at this point before and still here sounds like repeat with xfl just different dude

[@nickhedgecock7067]

Is Rob Lowe narrating this?

[@LeoOlsson]

Finally! Someone else thought the same thing!

[@dpg6590]

Trump didn't build the USFL he built the wall lol

[@alecsanders7193]

Go cubs gooooo

[@evansusmc]

Video got cut off?

[@LeviDSmith]

Trump at 3:28

[@drumcircler]

truck fump

[@taxi_vader]

And then the decline of the USFL

[@xpto41]

70´s when the bears team were great

[@cumuluschoir5945]

They were alright during the 90's as well.

[@michaelleroy9281]

The Bears were one of the worst teams of the 70s what league have you been watching?

[@mgb4692]

So why is it if the USFL is this legendary iconic the new one can't get off the ground after like 900 tries in the last decade?

[@xxUnknown0190xx]

who is the guy that narrates the beginning of this?

[@1perfectstrangerr]

fans want "hard Hitting" football until THEIR QB gets wacked and then they want the rules to change....Ala Tom Shady....

[@Z-19910]

Nice

[@saikyk4822]

I just realized for all the people complaining about limited football during Covid, if USFL still existed, Donald Trump wouldn’t stop the games

[@joeswanson3362]

Is this Rob Lowe narrating?

[@SynysterGoose]

Should have went a few years before going to the fall