National Football League

AP Top 25 Podcast: The wild rise and fall of the USFL

Published Oct. 10, 2018 2:27 p.m. ET

The USFL helped change professional football in just three years of existence.

The spring league that featured such stars as Herschel Walker, Steve Young, Jim Kelly and future President Donald Trump is the subject of a new book by bestselling author Jeff Pearlman. "Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Even Crazier Demise of the USFL" is a passion project for Pearlman, who loved the league during its short lifespan from 1983-85.

The USFL helped usher in underclassmen being drafted by the NFL and pushed the league to pay bigger salaries and create real free agency. Pearlman shares with AP's Ralph Russo on the Top 25 College Football Podcast some of the weird, wild and fascinating stories he found doing more than 400 interviews. And the ill-conceived attempt to challenge the NFL that killed the league.