Greatest USFL Players of All Time
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In the history of the NFL, there was only one time when the league's spot atop the world of professional football was seriously challenged — when the wild-and-crazy United States Football League (USFL) tried to take over the football world in the early 1980s.
With the NFL left bruised and battered after a nasty players' strike in 1982 and several less-than-worthy Super Bowls in a row, the USFL stepped in to bring pro football to the masses in the spring of 1983 and took off like a rocket.
The USFL offered exorbitant salaries to the best college stars, pulling enough of them away from the NFL to make USFL must-see sports television in a short time. Those salaries ultimately contributed to sinking the league before the 1986 season, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.
In April 2022, a professional American football minor league launched under the same USFL name with the same eight team names from the previous incarnation. While it's too soon to tell how this new league will fare, here's a look at the greatest players in USFL history from those three glorious years in the 1980s.
20. Raymond Chester, Tight End
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Born: June 28, 1948 (Cambridge, Maryland)
High School: Frederick Douglass High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
College: Morgan State
USFL: Oakland Invaders (1983)
NFL: Oakland Raiders (1970-72, 1978-81), Baltimore Colts (1973-77)
Career highlights: All-USFL (1983), USFL All-Time Team, Super Bowl champion (1981), NFL All-Pro (1979), four-time Pro Bowl (1970-72, 1979)
Bottom line: Oakland Invaders star Raymond Chester is the only tight end and the only player with one season in the USFL to make the list.
Chester was an anomaly to the USFL as a longtime NFL veteran to come back and play in the upstart league — he'd already played 12 seasons in the NFL and been an All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler, along with winning a Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders in his final NFL season.
Chester was actually retired for a year when he joined the Invaders but still put up 68 receptions for 955 yards and five touchdowns.
RELATED: Greatest HBCU Football Players of All Time
19. Trumaine Johnson, Wide Receiver
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Born: Nov. 16, 1960 (Bogalusa, Louisiana)
High School: Baker High School (Baker, Louisiana)
College: Grambling State
USFL: Chicago Blitz (1983), Arizona Wranglers (1984)
NFL: San Diego Chargers (1985-86), Buffalo Bills (1987-88)
Career highlights: Two-time All-USFL (1983, 1984)
Bottom line: Grambling State star Trumaine Johnson dominated in two seasons in the USFL with two different teams. Johnson led the USFL with 81 receptions for 1,327 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie with the Chicago Blitz in 1983. Then, he followed that up with 90 receptions for 1,258 yards and 13 touchdowns with the Arizona Wranglers in 1984.
Johnson bounced to the NFL with the San Diego Chargers for the USFL's final season in 1984 and played four years in the NFL for the Chargers and the Buffalo Bills.
18. Sean Landeta, Punter
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Born: Jan. 6, 1962 (Baltimore, Maryland)
High School: Loch Raven High School (Towson, Maryland)
College: Towson
USFL: Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85)
NFL: New York Giants (1985-93, 2006), Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1993-96, 2003-04), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997), Green Bay Packers (1998), Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2002, 2005)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, two-time USFL champion (1984, 1985), two-time Super Bowl champion (1987, 1991), three-time NFL All-Pro (1986, 1989, 1990), two-time Pro Bowl (1986, 1990), NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Bottom line: The only purely special teams player to make this list, Sean Landeta was an All-American at Towson, where he became the first player to lead NCAA Division II in both punting and field goals but still went undrafted as a senior in 1982.
Landeta caught on with the Philadelphia Stars and followed the team to Baltimore, winning two USFL championships in 1985 and 1985 before embarking on a 21-year NFL career in which he was a three-time NFL All-Pro, named to both the NFL's 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams and won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.
RELATED: Greatest NFL Players of All Time
17. Gary Zimmerman, Offensive Tackle
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Born: Dec. 13, 1961 (Fullerton, California)
High School: Walnut High School (Walnut, California)
College: Oregon
USFL: Los Angeles Express (1984-85)
NFL: Minnesota Vikings (1986-92), Denver Broncos (1993-97)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, two-time All-USFL (1984, 1985), Super Bowl champion (1998), eight-time NFL All-Pro (1986-89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996), seven-time Pro Bowl (1987-89, 1992, 1994-96), NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Bottom line: Gary Zimmerman dominated up front for the Los Angeles Express in the UFL while blocking for future Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, earning All-USFL honors in both of his seasons with the team.
Zimmerman, 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, doled out much of the same punishment to defensive linemen and linebackers in the NFL, where he played 12 seasons and was an eight-time NFL All-Pro. Zimmerman won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in his final NFL season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
16. Buddy Aydelette, Offensive Guard
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Born: Aug. 19, 1956 (Mobile, Alabama)
High School: Murphy High School (Mobile, Alabama)
College: Alabama
USFL: Birmingham Stallions (1983-85)
NFL: Green Bay Packers (1980), Pittsburgh Steelers (1987-88)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, three-time All-USFL (1983-85)
Bottom line: University of Alabama product Buddy Aydelette played one season for the Green Bay Packers in 1980 and was out of football for two years before he caught on with the USFL's Birmingham Stallions.
With the Stallions, Aydelette was a three-time All-USFL pick and led one of the league's best offenses for three years. He played two more seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the USFL folded.
15. Marcus Quinn, Safety
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Born: June 27, 1959 (Tylertown, Mississippi)
High School: St. Augustine High School (New Orleans, Louisiana)
College: LSU
USFL: Oakland Invaders (1983-85), Tampa Bay Bandits (1985)
NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987)
Career highlights: USFL Defensive Player of the Year (1984), All-USFL (1984)
Bottom line: Marcus Quinn went undrafted out of LSU and was cut by the Ottawa Rough Riders in the CFL and New Orleans Saints in the NFL before catching on with the Oakland Invaders in the USFL.
Quinn led the USFL with 12 interceptions in 1984, 23 interceptions for his career and was named USFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1984. He had a brief stint in the NFL as a replacement player with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 1987 strike.
14. Nate Newton, Offensive Guard
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Born: Dec. 20, 1961 (Orlando, Florida)
High School: Orlando Jones High School (Orlando, Florida)
College: Florida A&M
USFL: Tampa Bay Bandits (1984-85)
NFL: Dallas Cowboys (1986-98), Carolina Panthers (1999)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, three-time Super Bowl champion (1993, 1994, 1996), two-time NFL All-Pro (1994, 1995), six-time Pro Bowl (1992-96, 1998)
Bottom line: Nate Newton went from going undrafted out of Florida A&M to becoming one of the greatest offensive linemen in USFL history while playing for the Tampa Bay Bandits and head coach Steve Spurrier.
After the USFL folded, Newton dominated in the NFL for over a decade with the Dallas Cowboys, winning three Super Bowls and making six Pro Bowls while playing on one of the greatest offensive lines in NFL history.
13. Kit Lathrop, Defensive Line
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Born: Aug. 10, 1956 (San Jose, California)
High School: Leigh High School (San Jose, California)
College: Arizona State
USFL: Chicago Blitz (1983), Arizona Wranglers (1984), Arizona Outlaws (1985)
NFL: Denver Broncos (1979), Green Bay Packers (1979-80), Kansas City Chiefs (1986), Washington Redskins (1987)
Career highlights: Two-time All-USFL (1983, 1984), All-Time USFL Team, Super Bowl champion (1987)
Bottom line: Kit Lathrop played two seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers and was out of football as a player for three years before he caught on with the Chicago Blitz in 1983 and rebooted his career. Lathrop was dominant in the USFL, becoming a two-time All-USFL player and returned to the NFL for two seasons after the league folded, winning a Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins.
Lathrop has been a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator in the CFL since 2003 and has been the defensive line coach for the Toronto Argonauts since 2016.
12. Kent Hull, Center
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Born: Jan. 13, 1961 (Pontotoc, Mississippi)
Died: Oct. 18, 2011, 50 years old (Greenwood, Mississippi)
High School: Greenwood High School (Greenwood, Mississippi)
College: Mississippi State
USFL: New Jersey Generals (1983-85)
NFL: Buffalo Bills (1986-96)
Career highlights: All-USFL (1985), four-time NFL All-Pro (1988-91), three-time Pro Bowl (1988-90)
Bottom line: Kent Hull was the leader of the offensive line for the New Jersey Generals for three seasons, including when New Jersey running back Herschel Walker rushed for a pro football record 2,411 yards in 1985.
After the USFL folded, Hull played another 11 seasons in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills, where he was a four-time NFL All-Pro and one of the team's star offensive linemen on four consecutive AFC Championship teams — also four consecutive Super Bowl losses.
11. Jimmy Smith, Wide Receiver
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Born: July 20, 1955 (Harvey, Illinois)
High School: Dwight D. Eisenhower High School (Blue Island, Illinois)
College: Michigan
USFL: Birmingham Stallions (1983-85)
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers (1977-82), Los Angeles Raiders (1985)
Career highlights: Two-time Super Bowl champion (1979, 1980), two-time All-USFL (1984, 1985)
Bottom line: Jimmy Smith was an anomaly when he joined the USFL's Birmingham Stallions for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. After all, the former Michigan star had already played six seasons and won two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
How'd the Stallions get him to jump ship? They made him the highest-paid wide receiver in pro football, guaranteeing him more money than anyone playing his position in the NFL.
Smith lived up to his paycheck, leading the Stallions in receiving each of the three seasons and led the USFL with 1,481 receiving yards in 1984 and 20 receiving touchdowns in 1985.
10. Anthony Carter, Wide Receiver
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Born: Sept. 17, 1960 (Riviera Beach, Florida)
High School: Suncoast High School (Riviera Beach, Florida)
College: Michigan
USFL: Michigan Panthers (1983, 1984), Oakland Invaders (1985)
NFL: Minnesota Vikings (1985-93), Detroit Lions (1994-95)
Career highlights: Two-time All-USFL (1983, 1985), USFL champion (1983), three-time Pro Bowl (1987-89)
Bottom line: Anthony Carter was one of the greatest players in Michigan history before staying in the state where he played college football to play in the USFL instead of the NFL. And he helped lead the Michigan Panthers to the USFL championships in 1983.
While Carter went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL after his three seasons in the USFL, arguably his best game as a pro came in the 1983 USFL Championship Game when he had nine receptions for 179 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 48-yard pass from Bobby Hebert late in the fourth quarter.
9. Reggie White, Defensive Line
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Born: Dec. 19, 1961 (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Died: Dec. 26, 2004, 43 years old (Cornelius, North Carolina)
High School: Howard High School (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
College: Tennessee
USFL: Memphis Showboats (1984-85)
NFL: Philadelphia Eagles (1985-92), Green Bay Packers (1993-98), Carolina Panthers (2000)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, All-USFL (1985), Super Bowl champion (1997), two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1987, 1998), 13-time NFL All-Pro (1986-98), 13-time Pro Bowl (1986-98), three-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year (1987, 1991, 1995), NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team
Bottom line: Reggie White was a combination of power and athleticism never seen on a football field when he left the University of Tennessee to play two seasons for the Memphis Showboats, racking up 23.5 sacks in 36 games.
After the USFL folded, White spent the next 15 seasons carving up NFL offensive linemen as the leader of the "Gang Green" defense for the Philadelphia Eagles and guiding the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl win in 1996. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year finished his career with 198 NFL sacks and 23 years after his last game, and he's still No. 2 on the league's career sacks list.
White died of a combination of cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac and pulmonary sarcoidosis and sleep apnea in 2004. He was just 43 years old.
8. Bobby Hebert, Quarterback
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Born: Aug. 19, 1960 (Galliano, Louisiana)
High School: South Lafourche High School (Lafourche Parish, Louisiana)
College: Northwestern State
USFL: Michigan Panthers (1983-84), Oakland Invaders (1985)
NFL: New Orleans Saints (1985-92), Atlanta Falcons (1993-96)
Career highlights: USFL champion (1983), USFL Championship Game MVP (1983), USFL Most Outstanding Quarterback (1983), Sporting News USFL Player of the Year (1983), USFL All-Time Team, Pro Bowl (1993)
Bottom line: Bobby Hebert came from tiny, unincorporated Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, to become a star at Northwestern State and then in the USFL, where he led the Michigan Panthers to a championship in the league's inaugural season and was the 1983 USFL Championship Game Most Valuable Player.
Hebert's success continued in the NFL, where he played 11 seasons and became most well-known for guiding the New Orleans Saints to their first winning season and first playoff appearance in franchise history in 1987.
For those who got to watch Hebert play, it was truly feast or famine — he is both the USFL's career record holder in passing yards (10,012) and interceptions (57) and finished his NFL career with 135 touchdown passes and 124 interceptions.
RELATED: Greatest Running Quarterbacks of All Time
7. Irv Eatman, Offensive Tackle
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Born: Jan. 1, 1961 (Birmingham, Alabama)
High School: Meadowdale High School (Dayton, Ohio)
College: UCLA
USFL: Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85)
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs (1986-90), New York Jets (1991-92), Los Angeles Rams (1993), Atlanta Falcons (1994), Houston Oilers (1995-96)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, three-time All-USFL (1983-85), two-time USFL champion (1984, 1985)
Bottom line: Irv Eatman was an All-American offensive lineman at UCLA and picked the USFL over the NFL after he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Eatman was an All-USFL pick in each of his three seasons in the league before playing 11 more seasons in the NFL for five different teams.
6. Chuck Fusina, Quarterback
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Born: May 31, 1957 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
High School: Sto-Rox High School (McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania)
College: Penn State
USFL: Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85)
NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1979-81), Green Bay Packers (1986)
Career highlights: Two-time USFL champion (1984, 1985), USFL Championship Game MVP (1984), Sporting News USFL Player of the Year (1984), USFL Most Outstanding Quarterback (1984), All-USFL (1984)
Bottom line: One of the greatest forgotten pro quarterback careers of all time belongs to former Penn State star Chuck Fusina, who led the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars to back-to-back USFL championships in 1984 and 1985 and was named USFL Championship Game MVP in 1984.
Fusina spent three seasons as a backup quarterback to Doug Williams on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1979 to 1981 before jumping to the USFL. He then returned to the NFL for one season with the Green Bay Packers in 1986.
5. John Corker, Linebacker/Defensive End
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Born: Dec. 29, 1958 (Miami, Florida)
High School: South Miami High School (Miami, Florida)
College: Oklahoma State
USFL: Michigan Panthers (1983-84), Memphis Showboats (1985)
NFL: Houston Oilers (1980-82), Green Bay Packers (1988)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, two-time All-USFL (1983, 1984), USFL Defensive Player of the Year (1983), USFL champion (1983)
Bottom line: John Corker was the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year at Oklahoma State in 1978 and played three seasons for the Houston Oilers before jumping to the USFL. Corker lit the USFL up in three seasons, racking up 42 sacks in 54 games and playing alongside future Hall of Famer Reggie White on the Memphis Showboats in 1985.
Corker's best season as a pro came with the Michigan Panthers in 1983 when he had 28.5 sacks in 18 games, as he led his team to the USFL championship and was named USFL Defensive Player of the Year.
While Corker returned to play one season in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers in 1988, he played eight more seasons in the Arena Football League and is widely regarded as one of the AFL's greatest players of all time. He was even inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2002.
4. Herschel Walker, Running Back
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Born: March 3, 1962 (Augusta, Georgia)
High School: Johnson County High School (Wrightsville, Georgia)
College: Georgia
USFL: New Jersey Generals (1983-85)
NFL: Dallas Cowboys (1986-89), Minnesota Vikings (1989-91), Philadelphia Eagles (1992-94), New York Giants (1995), Dallas Cowboys (1996-97)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, USFL Most Valuable Player (1985), two-time NFL All-Pro (1987, 1988), two-time Pro Bowl (1987, 1988)
Bottom line: Modern football fans know Herschel Walker for his politics — he's the ex-running back who lost in a wild Georgia senate race in 2022.
Before all of that, he was one of the most dominant running backs in college football history at the University of Georgia, where he led the Bulldogs to a national championship in 1980 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
Walker left Georgia with one year of eligibility remaining and played three seasons in the USFL for the New Jersey Generals, where he became the league's career leader in rushing yards (5,562), rushing touchdowns (54) and rushing attempts (1,143). He was named USFL Most Valuable Player in 1985 before playing 12 seasons in the NFL for five different teams.
3. Kelvin Bryant, Running Back
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Born: Sept. 26, 1960 (Tarboro, North Carolina)
High School: Tarboro High School (Tarboro, North Carolina)
College: North Carolina
USFL: Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85)
NFL: Washington Redskins (1986-90)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, USFL Most Valuable Player (1983), two-time All-USFL (1983, 1984), two-time USFL champion (1984, 1985), Super Bowl champion (1988)
Bottom line: Kelvin Bryant was a star at the University of North Carolina before being drafted by the USFL's Philadelphia Stars in the first round. He earned USFL Most Valuable Player honors in the league's first season, as he rushed for 1,440 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Bryant led the Stars to back-to-back USFL championships in the league's final two seasons and was named USFL Championship Game MVP in the final game in league history — a 28-24 win by the Stars over the Oakland Invaders in front of 50,000 fans at Giants Stadium.
Bryant's success in the USFL earned him a spot with the Washington Redskins, where he played five more seasons and won a Super Bowl following the 1987 season.
2. Sam Mills, Linebacker
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Born: June 3, 1959 (Neptune City, New Jersey)
Died: April 18, 2005, 45 years old (Charlotte, North Carolina)
High School: Long Branch High School (Long Branch, New Jersey)
College: Montclair State
USFL: Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85)
NFL: New Orleans Saints (1986-94), Carolina Panthers (1995-97)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, two-time USFL champion (1984, 1985), three-time All-USFL (1983-85), three-time NFL All-Pro (1991, 1992, 1996), five-time Pro Bowl (1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996)
Bottom line: The Pro Football Hall of Fame righted one of its great wrongs in 2022 when it inducted the late Sam Mills — a 5-foot-9, 230-pound linebacker who was cut by both the NFL's Cleveland Browns and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts before he caught on with the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL.
Mills dominated in the USFL, leading his team to back-to-back USFL championships in 1984 and 1985 before playing 12 seasons in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, where he was a three-time NFL All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler.
One of the most beloved players in the history of both NFL franchises he played for, Mills died of cancer in 2005 at 45 years old.
1. Jim Kelly, Quarterback
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Born: Feb. 14, 1960 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
High School: East Brady High School (East Brady, Pennsylvania)
College: Miami
USFL: Houston Gamblers (1984-85)
NFL: Buffalo Bills (1986-96)
Career highlights: USFL All-Time Team, USFL Most Valuable Player (1984), USFL Rookie of the Year (1984), two-time All-USFL (1984, 1985), five-time Pro Bowl (1987, 1988. 1990-92), Three-time NFL All-Pro (1990-92), Pro Football Hall of Fame (2002)
Bottom line: Jim Kelly really, really didn't want to play for the Buffalo Bills when they drafted him out of the University of Miami, so he jumped at the opportunity to go elsewhere and joined the Houston Gamblers in the fledgling USFL, where he played his first two seasons and was named USFL MVP and USFL Rookie of the Year in 1984. In two seasons with the Gamblers, Kelly threw for 9,832 yards and set the USFL career record with 83 touchdown passes.
Kelly finally joined the Buffalo Bills in 1986, and his career would come to be defined by stunning success — four consecutive AFC championships — and even more stunning failures as the Bills lost in four consecutive Super Bowls. Kelly was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.