The United Football League (UFL) has been dealt a massive blow just weeks before its 2025 season was set to kick off. As the UFL’s negotiations with the United Football Players Association (UFPA) over a new collective bargaining agreement stalled, the players’ union has filed unfair labor practice charges against the league.
UFL Players File Unfair Labor Practice Charges Against the League
With unrest growing between the UFL and its players amidst negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, tensions escalated dramatically. On Friday, March 14, the players filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing the league of 10 counts of unlawful conduct. Those 10 counts include:
- Threatening to cut players for participating in protected union activities
- Cutting Quinten Dormady in response to his participation in protected union activities
- Creating new rules regarding player discipline to discourage participation in protected union activities
- Creating disciplinary rules that have a reasonable tendency to deter players from exercising their rights
- Denying the union access to league facilities
- Threatening to remove union representatives from areas where they have lawful access rights
- Engaging in surveillance of player participation in protected union activities
- Creating the impression of surveillance regarding union participation
- Threatening to discipline players for participating in protected union activities
- Failing and refusing to provide the union with relevant and necessary information for collective bargaining
The UFL Players Association has filed unfair labor practice charges against the UFL today.
The season is supposed to start in two weeks. pic.twitter.com/rW0InrZvjG
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini)
This complaint comes after negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement have stalled. On its website, the UFPA highlights player welfare concerns as a key reason for its formation in 2020.
“We have seen professional players have poor protection and benefits, injured players released while under contract, among many other hardships due to lack of protection. This level of football is extremely important to many players, and making sure players are at the table to discuss the ways this level can be here for years to come is one of the highest priorities.”
‘Brainless Idiots’ – Complaint Sparks Fierce Responses Online
As with most union actions, reactions to the complaint have been strong, with many arguing that it could sink the league altogether. “The Bottom Line,” a football talk show, went as far as to call the union “brainless idiots.”
That union is proving me 💯 right. What a bunch of brainless idiots.
— The Bottom Line (@TBL_2023)
Another comment suggested that the league was finished, stating, “was fun while it lasted.”
Not all reactions were negative, though—some voiced support for the players. One commenter wrote, “Good. The players deserve healthcare for the year they play and a living wage. It’s wild how many of you idiots on here are taking the UFL’s/Fox’s side.”
For a relatively new, upstart league, the scale of this dispute could make or break it, with the players seemingly united on the matter. The season is scheduled to start on March 28, and with players already holding out of preseason activities, the ongoing standoff is becoming more concerning for both sides.