Spring football leagues usually don’t last.
Can two leagues which failed financially get married and form a perfect union? The leftovers of the XFL and the United States Football League will be on display as the new United Football League makes its debut. This is the latest incarnation of spring football in the United States. Every league has failed in the past. The United States Football League may have been the most successful, lasting three years between 1983 and 1985. Three versions of the XFL have failed in 2001, 2020 and 2023. The most recent United States Football League failed in 2023. Other planned spring football leagues have never gotten off the ground. 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.
There are eight teams among them are 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 D. C.-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.
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