1985 season, the Gunslingers were known to be badly undercapitalized, unlike most of their USFL brethren. The Gunslingers' ramshackle financial structure caught up with them early in 1985. The price of oil tumbled as low as $11 or $12 a barrel, decimating Manges's fortune. The Gunslingers quickly fired all of their secretaries, and virtually all of the public relations staffers resigned. The on-field operation suffered as well; they had no scouts or practice squad. It would soon emerge that the Gunslingers' owner had been in financial trouble since at least 1980. With Manges suddenly unwilling and/or unable to underwrite the franchise's mounting expenses, the club found itself in a situation not unlike those faced by many teams in the ill-fated WFL. Players and coaches frequently had their checks bounce. Neuheisel and McIntyre were the only two players with a personal services contract. When the San Antonio Express-News broke the story, Manges reacted by revoking the paper's press credentials. The situation got so dire at one point that several players traded tickets for food and stayed with sympathetic fans because they couldn't afford to pay the rent for their apartments. Years later, Neuheisel told ESPN that the players raced each other to the bank to cash their checks, knowing that half (if not more) of them would bounce. However, the team had to use creative methods to meet payroll even before then; as mentioned above, they were notorious for deactivating players every third game. The San Antonio Light reported that the Internal Revenue Service had slapped two liens on the Gunslingers for over $400,000 in back payroll taxes, further squeezing the franchise's financial picture. Eventually, Manges ordered his employees not to discuss the team's finances, and even had reporters bounced from the locker room. On April 7, Manges promised that the payroll problem would be fixed, going as far as to issue promissory notes. However, the checks bounced again on the following payday, which particularly rankled the players when they saw Manges and his top staffers riding limousines. A month later, the team was nearly left stranded in Orlando when the check for the flight home bounced. They only made it back to San Antonio after Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby, a Manges confidant, intervened to guarantee payment. After another late payroll on May 29, the players walked out of practice, and only returned after Manges told team president Bud Haun that