The combined entity will have eight teams.
A new entity made up of two failed entities will again try to crack the American spring sports calendar looking for a niche. The names XFL, a football league that failed in 2001, 2020 and 2023, and the United States Football League, a circuit that failed in 1985 and 2023, have been assigned to the dustbin of history or perhaps to a small area in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The new entity will be called the United Football League which is somewhat of an odd choice. The United Football League is another failed brand that lasted between 2009 and 2012. The United Football League may be somewhat of a television show as the UFL is owned partially by Rupert Murdoch’s FOX Sports and the Walt Disney Company through its ESPN division. The former XFL owners, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners, have a stake in the business as well.
As far as the business goes. There are eight teams, the Arlington, Texas-based Renegades, and the Birmingham Stallions. Arlington won the last XFL championship while Birmingham won the last USFL crown. The six other teams are the Washington-based, D.C. Defenders, the Houston Roughnecks, the Memphis Showboats, the Michigan Panthers, the San Antonio Brahmas, and the St. Louis Battlehawks. Four UFL teams will come from the USFL. Birmingham, Houston, Memphis, and Michigan. Four teams are XFL survivors, Arlington, the Washington D. C. squad, San Antonio, and St. Louis. Redbird Capital, FOX and ESPN have a commitment to keep spring football going but can it survive in a crowded sports landscape? The combined league comes out of failure. There are several questions starting with what happens with the players of the eight teams if they have an existing contract and those teams did not make the cut. The UFL is a work in progress.
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Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
