The publicity that came with a female football player, and the profits that could be realized by hiring a box-office draw at league minimum salary, was likely a key factor in the duo's signing.
[2] On her first play, Palinkas was attacked by Jets defenseman Wally Florence, who admittedly (and unsuccessfully) attempted to "break her neck" as punishment for what he perceived to be "making folly with a man's game.
[4] After her husband injured his leg (reducing his field goal range from 40 yards to an unacceptable 25 yards) and failed to make the preseason cut, Palinkas (after surviving a threat from ACFL Commissioner Cosmo Iacavazzi to block her contract and prevent her from playing)[5] remained the team's holder for a new kicker, Ron Miller, mainly because she was a draw at the box office; she lost interest in the game soon after the decision and was suspended shortly after the start of the season.
[7] She held an option to return to the team in 1971 (which transferred to the Roanoke Buckskins after the Panthers suspended operations) but, because of the relocation distance and other problems she experienced during her time playing football, she let it lapse.
[8] Palinkas, after her brief stint in professional football, returned to her home in Tampa, Florida,[2][9] to start a family and continue her career as a first grade teacher.