UFL players have not ruled out a strike as they approach the start of their season without a labor contract, four players told ESPN on Tuesday evening.
"All options are on the table," Michigan Panthers safety Kai Nacua said. "We need to talk as players, all of us players as a union. We need to sit down and we would have to have that talk. But we meet a couple times a week. I know guys are getting ready for this first game, so we'll find a time that everyone has the time to meet."
Three other players, speaking to ESPN on the condition of anonymity, supported Nacua's stance. The 10-week UFL season is scheduled to begin Friday with a matchup between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the Houston Roughnecks (8 p.m. ET, Fox). There is one game scheduled for Saturday and two for Sunday.
"It's hard to play when you don't have a contract," one player said. "It's something that you obviously don't want to display to the world, but at the end of the day, that is our leverage. Our leverage is not playing. So that's kind of the focal point of where they know what's at stake.
"We hope that a deal gets done before Friday, and that's kind of where we're at."
A UFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the league issued a statement about negotiations when training camp opened earlier this month, saying: "The United Football League continues to negotiate in good faith with the players union to finalize a collective bargaining agreement, which will be beneficial both to the players and the league."
Players considered boycotting the league's media days during the first week of camp but ultimately did not. Some felt threatened by coaches whom they said told them they would be released if they boycotted, leading to a clarification from the league. The United Football Players Association (UFPA) filed a claim of unfair labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board on March 14.
Nacua, the older brother of Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua, said Tuesday that "guys are kind of getting upset and feeling a little bit disrespected" through the process.
"It's been tough negotiating with them and trying to figure out where the middle ground is," Nacua said. "And I mean, we've been talking for months and it just doesn't seem like they're budging towards the guys that are making this league happen."