What was not covered, however, was the fact that the Portland Breakers could have been entitled to Doug Flutie’s rights.  Due to an oversight on the USFL’s part (depending to whom you listen), the Breakers had Flutie’s rights stemming from the 1983 Boston Breakers.  Here is why:

The USFL constructed a “territorial” draft process whereby teams would have “protected” colleges from whom they could draft.  It was designed that way to keep geographic interest in the franchise.  Boston College, where Flutie went to school, was under the “territorial” protection of the 1983 Boston Breakers.  When the team ultimately ended up in Portland in 1985, the colleges to whom the Breakers had territorial rights in the draft had not yet changed.

Even though a Northeast college would have no geographic impact on the Portland franchise, the Breakers believed that they still had exclusive rights to Doug Flutie.  How this was resolved is not widely known, and there are conflicting stories about the resolution.   If any of you have official documentation about the resolution then post a comment and/or send the information to the e-mail address you find on the contact page.