UFL training camp opens, despite player concerns about pay

The UFL's quarterbacks boycotted a pre-training camp get-together, in protest of the league's latest offer on a collective bargaining agreement. The move apparently has not sparked a broader effort by players to stay away from the official start of the UFL preseason.

Training camp opens today. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, most if not all players showed up on Sunday for a conditioning test.

That doesn't mean the players are happy with their compensation packages. But the current thinking is they won't strike. They want to play football, especially if the ultimate reward for playing well in the UFL becomes a preseason roster spot in the NFL.

It's also possible that a strike will come closer in time to the start of the season. That would make it harder for the UFL to put together eight rosters of replacement players.

Regardless, the current thinking is that, even though the players want more, they don't have the leverage to get it. Unless and until they're willing to deprive themselves of the opportunity to play, they won't.

It's the same mindset that has created a massive imbalance between the NFL and the NFL Players Association. The owners are far more likely to shut things down than the players are. That became clear during the 1987 strike, when the use of replacement players eventually caused multiple players to cross the picket line, before the whole thing collapsed. It's also why the 2011 lockout ended with the players taking the best deal available as the threat of losing real money crystallized upon the arrival of preseason games.

Still, there's a fundamental difference between the NFL and the UFL. One league has the resources to withstand a work stoppage. The other doesn't. But a UFL strike hurts players with lingering NFL dreams more than it hurts the UFL. Which makes a strike unlikely — and which also makes it harder for the UFL's players to get a better deal than the one currently on the table.