UFL Players Reportedly Wrote Letter to The Rock to Help in CBA Dispute on Opening Week

Players from the St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Roughnecks in the UFL wrote a letter personally appealing to UFL co-owner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson amid the league's labor dispute.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert reported the players intended to deliver the letter to Johnson ahead of Friday's game, but the WWE legend wasn't in attendance.

"In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, the players ask Johnson for help in settling the dispute," Seifert wrote. "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."

Week 1 of the 2025 UFL season went on as scheduled. The Battlehawks beat the Roughnecks 31-6 in the opener, a contest that looked like it might be in doubt.

The United Football Players Association, the players' union for the UFL, made an official filing with the National Labor Relations Board about unfair labor practices on March 14, per The Athletic's Chris Vannini.

"Among the charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the UFPA alleged the UFL has threatened to cut or discipline players over protected union activities, engaged in surveillance of player participation in union activities, denied the union access to league facilities and created new discipline rules to discourage union activities," he wrote.

In response to the filing, a UFL spokesperson told Vannini the league doesn't comment on legal matters but said the UFL has "acted in good faith" during negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement.

Earlier this week, Michigan Panthers safety Kai Nacua said to Seifert that "all options are on the table," including a work stoppage.

The UFL's second week kicks off April 4.