Players from the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Roughnecks have decided to play as scheduled in Friday night's season-opening game despite failing to finalize a collective bargaining agreement with the league, a source told ESPN.
They have, however, written a letter that they had planned to deliver in person Friday to UFL co-owner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. One problem, however: Johnson wasn't in attendance at Houston's TDECU Stadium as he suggested he would be on his Instagram account earlier this week.
In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, the players ask Johnson for help in settling the dispute. They wrote that they are seeking either year-round health care or a wage increase that would let them pay for it on their own.
In an Instagram post, Johnson said he was "super bummed" to miss the game.
"Let's have a great season 2 opening weekend, have fun, and ball out," Johnson said in the post.
The sides have been working for months on the CBA and hoped to reach agreement before players reported to training camp earlier this month. After listing a series of complaints against UFL management, players wrote in the letter to Johnson that "[w]e assume that all of this is news to you."
"We know that you -- a former player and proud union member -- would not be OK with how this has gone down," they added.
In a previous statement, the UFL said it "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."
Michigan Panthers safety Kai Nacua told ESPN earlier this week that "all options are on the table" if there was no CBA agreement by Friday, including a strike. Three other players, speaking on the condition of anonymity, supported his stance.
The UFL's eight teams all open their 10-week schedule this weekend.
