William Hambrecht has heard the question many times.

Given the massive losses the UFL has sustained in its first three seasons, why would anyone continue dumping good money into something that has yet to show that it can be a viable entity on the American sports landscape?

Hambrecht, the founder of the league and one of its three remaining investors, acknowledges that mistakes were made in the first three years of operation but he remains bullish on the UFL's ability to transform itself into a profitable media property.

"Why do we keep putting money into it?" Hambrecht said. "If we can come up with a product that is even reasonably close (to the NFL), the upside in the TV money is enormous. We're not going to be getting this year or next year from CBS but they've become a partner in developing our brand.

"I think if we can get our product out there to the open market, we can become a very profitable business based on the TV money.