Multiple Commanders taken in the 2024 UFL draft

Today the United Football League (UFL) held its 10-round, 2024 draft, targeting players who went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft in April.

Many of those selected, however, were players signed as undrafted free agents (UDFAs) by NFL teams after the draft, including two highly regarded UDFAs that Washington had locked up: Running back Michael Wiley and quarterback Sam Hartman.

Wiley was taken by the hometown Defenders, and Hartman was selected by the UFL champion Birmingham Stallions.

The eligibility rules for the UFL draft were as follows:

• Players must have been eligible to have been selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and were not selected.
• UFL teams will hold exclusive rights to the players they select in the draft until the player reports to the team or the team gives up that player’s rights.
• All players eligible for the 2024 UFL College Draft must have been out of high school for at least three years and exhausted or waived their college eligibility, with some limited exceptions.
• All players who sign a UFL contract, including players who remain under contract from the 2024 season, will have an “NFL Out” until December 31, 2024.

This final provision, that players reserve the right to play in the NFL, appear to protect both Wiley and Hartman, leaving their respective UFL franchises with their playing rights, should they be waived from the NFL completely.

Given that Hartman received one of the highest UDFA guarantees in the NFL this offseason, it’s probably safe to assume he’ll remain in DC, even if only on the practice squad. As a point of comparison, the average UFL salary is $50,000 per year.

It appears one UFL front office strategy is to use later round picks to take “fliers” on players who are on the margins of NFL rosters, in the hopes they may get cut. One can hardly blame them for trying, but my suspicion is that in both of these cases, the players will still be tied to the NFL franchise by the time the next UFL season comes around.