NEW YORK -- The newly created United States Football League and ESPN have entered into a two-year national cable television contract, it was announced Thursday by USFL commissioner Chet Simmons and J. William Grimes, president and chief executive officer of ESPN.
the USFL contract with ESPN follows the May 26 announcement that ABC would televise a total of 20 USFL games, including a Sunday afternoon game of the week, one prime time evening telecast and coverage of the USFL playoff and championship games.
'ESPN will be telecasting the USFL for 34 games a year,' Simmons said. 'We will have one game every Monday plus another game at a time to be determined. The joint contracts with ABC-TV and ESPN assures sports fans that USFL football will be on national television at least three times a week.'
Grimes noted, 'Everyone at ESPN is delighted that our network has been selected to televise, for the first time, American professional football on cable.'
The USFL will start its inaugural season in March, 1983, playing a 20-game schedule through early July.
The USFL has teams in Washington, New York, Boston-New England, Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Denver, Dtroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, the San Francisco bay area and Tampa Bay.
