Review — Football For A Buck

Jeff Pearlman has written a bunch of sports books but this is the first one of his that I have read. ‘Football For A Buck’ is about the original USFL back in the 80’s. The OG of spring football leagues that shot itself in the foot by trying to switch to fall and compete with the NFL. This was masterminded by the one and only Donald Trump.

The USFL was a good idea and had some solid football. People showed up in some players such as Tampa, Jacksonville and Houston. The players who were overlooked by the NFL got an opportunity to shine and shine they did. Pearlman points out that tons of players were given a shot in the NFL once the USFL folded. 60 ended up making the Pro Bowl along with 2 Super Bowl MVPs and 4 Hall of Famers.

What I really did appreciate about the the book is that Pearlman didn’t just focus on the guys we all know like Steve Young, Jim Kelly and Herschel Walker. He dives into these folks of course but he goes into the guys on their last shot to play pro football and some of the strange stories that happened. He also adds that when the league folded, so did many of the players careers. Not all of them went on to glory on Sundays in the Fall.

Pearlman really does pin the folding of the league on Trump. There are huge similarities from what you see of Trump today vs back then. He basically bullied the other owners to move to fall with promises of better TV contracts which of course didn’t happen.

All in all this is a solid book. It’s a good read during this time of year as now we have the XFL and the USFL.