[2] This forced The Tea Men into a last minute relocation to Boston University's Nickerson Field for the 1979 season, where they went on to post a losing record.

[1] They were able to return to Foxborough 1980, but under a new, restrictive lease that forced them to avoid conflicts with the race track by playing games at undesirable times such as Monday evenings.

Lipton, which had already lost $1 million on its franchise, decided to retain the Tea Men name, not wanting to lose the marketing tie-in or spend any further money on rebranding.

They finished with an 18-14 record and qualified for the playoffs, where they defeated the Atlanta Chiefs in the first round and won the first game of a best-of-three series against the San Diego Sockers before being eliminated.

[8] At the urging of mayor Jake Godbold, a group of Jacksonville investors raised funds to lease the team from Lipton and keep it operating the next season.

[4][12] During their time in the NASL the Tea Men's coach was Irishman Noel Cantwell, former manager of Coventry City (1967–1972) and Peterborough United (1972–1977).

Notable players include goalkeeper Arnie Mausser, midfielder Archie Gemmill and strikers Alan Green and Ricardo Alonso.

Krieg chaired the league's expansion committee, which had granted franchise rights to a group led by former Strikers and Miami Toros player Ronnie Sharp.

The team brought back Ringo Cantillo (who had played with the Tea Men in the NASL days) and about half of the 1983 championship roster, but they were unable to replicate the success of the previous year.

Despite league-wide measures to control costs such as a tight salary cap and a schedule heavy on regional play to reduce travel expenses, USL owners were still losing money.