Here at Shady Sports, we love spring football. Playing football during the NFL off-season has always been a cool idea, and with the XFL and USFL, that idea has been realized recently. However, multiple spring leagues means some pretty stiff competition, which means from the start of the XFL, there have been talks on how to put them together. Despite these fan created theories, no one expected there to be any actual talks about this to surface. However, per Axios, these talks are happening, and could reshape the future of the spring football world.
A Brief Rundown on these Leagues
Creating a successful spring league has been the dream of many for years, but it hasn’t quite hit the jackpot. However, both the XFL and USFL have seemed like they have a chance to be the one. With recent failures such as the Alliance of American Football, the spring football scene has a lot of skepticism from fans who want to see a league last.
The USFL was initially founded in the 1980’s as the first major spring league to hit the scene, and had a lot of success back then. However, they moved their season to the fall, and collapsed. However, in 2022, the league returned, and spring football is all the better for it. It’s still growing, and year by year, things have changed. From one stadium for all teams, to four, to potentially more, this league embodies spring football.
The XFL was founded in 2001 to provide WWE-Style football, but only lasted one season that mostly became a footnote in history. However, in 2020, the league attempted to revive itself, and that iteration has become the gold standard for spring football. Despite potential financial issues, it was successful until a global pandemic forced the league into a shutdown. Then Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bought the league and has forged it into a true “second opportunity” league for former NFL players looking to get back into the league or see real playing time, while giving fans football to watch in the spring.
Why merge the USFL and XFL?
The USFL and XFL are competing leagues in the same market, each trying to grab as much attention from fans as possible. When the XFL kicks off in February, it’s only a matter of time before the USFL kicks off in April, and in a matter of time, the leagues overlap and fight for every last viewer. This competition drags down the leagues, and causes a lot of conflict. It seems obvious that with both of these together, there’s a sense of football fatigue, and potentially a spring football “war.”
A merger prevents all this competition from happening off the gridiron. A single league broadcasting on multiple channels would have a higher chance of gaining more attention. No more need to out market the other league, instead they can turn their focus to the best markets with recent date to back their decision making. On paper, a merger clears up a lot of the clutter that having multiple competing leagues can’t.
So what would this league look like?
It’s difficult to say for certain what will happen. Without knowing all the details, it’s possible one league absorbs the other, or possibly an equal merger. The branding of the league could very easily change. names such as USXFL, UXFL, and others have been thrown around, but I imagine one name stays and the other goes. The team situation feels hazy, but if they have a home venue, they are likely to stay. The rules are perhaps even more hazy. The XFL and USFL have differing play styles, and fans are split. Whatever happens will be different than whatever league has before.
The following are a few rumors that have been floating around the app formerly known as Twitter. I’d like to remind everyone that these are all rumors, and the stories are not all complete. Stay tuned for any future information, and take everything you see as a rumor.
Whatever happens, it will drastically change the spring football world. We hope it remains as exciting as it has always is, and we also hope you’ll stay tuned to the Shady Sports Network for all future news on this topic.
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