The story of the UFL is an interesting one that will definitely go down in football history.
In 2023, we saw the potential of spring football. It was amazing to see players get a second chance in pro football on a big stage. It was great to still have football going after the Super Bowl. 2023 left little doubt in anyone’s mind that spring football was going to stake its claim in the sports world.
Then came the rumors of a merger, the report by Axios, and a steady trickle of information that left many wondering what was actually going on. Eventually, the leagues announced it officially, and we learned of the teams and roster news throughout the month.
On March 30th, the future of spring football will kick off, as the UFL launches its week 1 slate. Afterwards, we will see the season continue to progress through the season, and we will see players playing their hearts out for another chance in the football scene. Here’s the reasons why the league will continue far beyond that.
The UFL has More Attention
The whole merger process was highly publicized, making many of those unaware or uninterested in the spring football pay attention to what was going on. This is the best case scenario for a league where marketing looked like a key issue in the past. The USFL and XFL both struggled in the marketing department, each with their own little failures such as poor social media or lack of local marketing for tickets.
Now, with tons of eyes on what this league will accomplish, can the UFL do what so many other leagues failed to do and capitalize?
Commercials for the league have been popping up during sporting events , and the social media presence has been vastly improved. Now, tickets just need to be sold and fans have to be prepared to have the TV on UFL football during April. Players such as Brandon Aubrey during the NFL season have only added to the publicity of the league. With spring football, eyeballs watching the games is the most important number. The ratings show sustainability. The NFL owns almost every top slot in viewership, and they certainly are among the most stable sports leagues in the world.
Cutting the Slack in the UFL
At first, having only 8 teams in a merged league may seem underwhelming. But the UFL picked the best markets and best teams to keep around. DC and St. Louis are very reliable markets you can expect to pack their stadiums with. Arlington won the entire XFL, and built up a strong fan base while doing so. San Antonio is a market with a lot of promise, especially if some of their bigger signings pan out. Memphis, Birmingham, and Michigan were the USFL markets with teams actually in their home city, and they attracted many fans over the season. Houston is another market with some great potential, especially as they are rumored to have had exceptional TV numbers.
Sure markets such as Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Seattle may have been given the short end of the stick, but the league hasn’t ruled out expansion and bringing back the stronger of the fan bases is a top priority for a league bent on sustainability.
Weaker markets such as Vegas, Orlando, even Philadelphia have unfortunately been cut. While it stings in the short term, it was for the best these teams aren’t playing in 2024 and expected not to play for a fairly long time. These markets just didn’t impress revenue wise, and money is what makes a league go round.
Markets aren’t the only places where slack is getting cut, the TV landscape is much different than the previous iterations of the XFL and USFL. 72% of UFL games will air on broadcast television in 2024 including 41 total games on ABC, FOX, and ESPN. This should make for interesting numbers.
Seeing so many games on channels many people have is reassuring. 21 on FOX. 10 on ABC and ESPN each. The “weaker” channels such as ESPN2 or FS1 only have a single game each. Remember the USFL and XFL had many more games buried on channels such as FX or the USA Network. The UFL is different. They want their games accessible, and they managed to pull it off.
Better Football Talent
Spring football is home to the best type of football players: Hungry, desperate football players. Guys just trying to get their shot in pro football, guys looking to make a name for themselves. Watching guys who haven’t yet secured a spot as a pro at the highest level put it all on the line just to get a shot is awesome.
Bringing the top alternative outdoor leagues down to 8 teams means talent will be spread a little less thin. Guys on every team have to fight for their spot to prove themselves, and we’ll be seeing some great talent get cut and move on either internationally or indoors. If you’re curious which recent USFL, and XFL players have signed indoors check out our list below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/122dd0FpiCl2STwQuurzcWzEedNXiJ6dgdjD_j_mnYEw/edit?usp=sharing
Player talent may now also start flocking to the UFL, now seeing what playing in a spring league can do for your career. Guys can see the Brandon Aubrey story and become motivated to try out for a team. Collegiate players who may not get drafted or signed into the NFL now can see what spring football is capable of, which could nudge them towards the alternate football route.
Whatever the case is, the talent level from team to team is going to be even higher than it was previously in the USFL and XFL. Teams will be super competitive from week to week as guys try their best to get some film for scouts, and all of this will combine to make a great product on the field.
Spring Football is Here to Stay- and Get Bigger
Spring football may not have convinced people it could stay after the failures of the AAF in 2019 or the XFL in 2020, but this merger of the USFL and XFL proves that people are committed to bringing fans the football they want during the dry spell of the NFL off-season.
With an upward trajectory, and lots of promise, I could see this league not just sticking, but expanding. The UFL has many legacy markets ready to use at any given time, and expansion could easily increase the number of fans. Obviously they will do it when it makes the most sense, but if the league placed teams in Canton, Seattle, New Orleans, or Pittsburgh I wouldn’t be surprised.
The probability of a minor league system with the NFL is not high, but a large UFL will certainly help garner attention and funding. While it won’t happen this year, early success would certainly propel the league further towards that point. A sustainable spring football league is what we’ve been asking for, and we finally have it in the form of the UFL
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