2024 UFL season
LeagueUnited Football League
SportAmerican football
DurationRegular season:
March 30 – TBA
Playoffs:
TBA – TBA
Number of games43 (40 regular-season games, 3 postseason games)
Number of teams8
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, Fox, FS1
2024 UFL Championship
VenueTBA

The 2024 UFL season will be the first season of the United Football League (UFL), which was created following the merger of the XFL and USFL, and the fifth in the combined history of the two leagues, following the 2020 XFL season, 2022 USFL season, and separate 2023 seasons for each league. The season will begin on March 30, 2024, with a matchup between the 2023 XFL champion Arlington Renegades and the 2023 USFL champion Birmingham Stallions.[1]

Offseason

Pre-merger

USFL

On June 27, 2023, USFL President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston initially confirmed in an interview that the league would return for the 2024 season.[2]

USFL average viewership in 2023 was down 16% from its debut season to 601,000 and 3% lower than the 2023 XFL season, despite having 28 over-the-air network games compared to eight for the XFL.[3] The championship game also saw a significant decline in viewership from 2022 as the game averaged 1.2 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports digital platforms.[4] Johnston expressed disappointment and anger that the USFL was comparable to the XFL in ratings for the 2023 season, dismissing the XFL as "no competition" to the "far superior" USFL and questioning how "to be on par with our competition from a ratings standpoint in Year 2, I'm still trying to figure out: How did that happen? (...) they're not even close."[3]

40 players who played in the 2023 USFL season signed contracts with NFL teams. Two players (LaBryan Ray and Brandon Aubrey) started the 2023 NFL season on active 53-man NFL rosters, 11 other players started the season on practice squads, and Isaiah Zuber was placed on injured reserve.[5][6] 16 players finished the season on NFL rosters, with Aubrey selected to the Pro Bowl.[7]

XFL

The XFL lost nearly $60 million during the season after spending approximately $140 million in expenses over the course of the 2023 season and earned $80 million in gross revenue, including roughly $20 million that came from its broadcast contract with ESPN.[8][9] Executives with the league and ESPN indicated that they considered the season a success.[10][11] After the season ended, the XFL made league wide cuts affecting up to 30 people, including two marketing executives, and shifted other employees to seasonal work.[12][13] According to several reports, the XFL marketing budget was only $120,000 for the 2023 season.[14]

More than 200 players who played in the 2023 XFL season earned invitations to workout for NFL teams, while 63 of them signed contracts. One player (Daniel Whelan) started the 2023 NFL season on an active 53-man NFL roster, while 17 other players started the season on practice squads.[15][16][17] 23 players finished the season on NFL rosters.[7]

During the 2023 season, XFL players filed a petition (through the United Steelworkers) for a representation election with Region 16 of the National Labor Relations Board,[18] but decided against joining the union by vote of 124 to 73.[19]

Merger

On September 19, 2023, Axios reported that USFL owner Fox Corporation and the Garcia/Johnson/RedBird Capital Partners consortium that owned the XFL were in advanced talks to create a "merger of equals" between the two leagues before the start of the 2024 season, with an agreement potentially announced by the end of the month.[20] The USFL registered a trademark for "National Spring Football League," the name of the USFL's parent company but speculated to also be a name for the potential merged league, that was made public September 27.[21] On September 28, 2023, the USFL and XFL announced their intent to merge with the specific details of the merger to be announced at a later date.[22] The merger would also require regulatory approval.[23] In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League".[24] On November 30, 2023, XFL chairwoman Dany Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had completed the antitrust review process to approve their merger, and the leagues will "play a combined season" kicking off on March 30, 2024.[25] XFL President Russ Brandon will serve in the same capacity for the combined league, with Johnston being assigned to director of football operations.[26]

On December 27, 2023, during the broadcast of the 2023 Holiday Bowl, Fox aired a clip of Jeff Brohm's "let's play football" speech from the original incarnation of the XFL and announced that details on its involvement in the new merged league would follow "very soon."[27] Three days later, the merger was formally announced on Fox NFL Sunday.[28] The eight teams and head coaches were announced by Dwayne Johnson in a guest appearance on ESPN's College GameDay on January 1, 2024.[29]

Teams

Four teams came from the XFL and three came from the USFL, while each league's Houston-based team was merged with its counterpart to create one. The XFL's Roughnecks take the Gamblers' place in the USFL while keeping the Roughnecks brand and the Gamblers' player rights and coaching staff. The XFL and USFL brands will remain as individual conferences.[28]

Team Location Stadium Capacity First season Head coach
USFL Conference
Birmingham Stallions Birmingham, Alabama Protective Stadium 47,100 2022 Skip Holtz
Houston Roughnecks Houston, Texas Rice Stadium[30] 47,000 2022 Curtis Johnson
Memphis Showboats Memphis, Tennessee Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium 58,325 2023 John DeFilippo
Michigan Panthers Detroit, Michigan Ford Field 65,000 2022 Mike Nolan
XFL Conference
Arlington Renegades Arlington, Texas Choctaw Stadium 25,000 2020 Bob Stoops
DC Defenders Washington, D.C. Audi Field 20,000 2020 Reggie Barlow
San Antonio Brahmas San Antonio, Texas Alamodome 64,000 2023 Wade Phillips
St. Louis Battlehawks St. Louis, Missouri The Dome at America's Center 67,277 2020 Anthony Becht
Locations of current teams for the 2024 UFL season, (USFL Conference – red; XFL Conference – blue)

Coaches

Eight of the 16 head coaches from both leagues' 2023 season return, some with different teams, with all coaches being announced on January 1, 2024. All eight coaches led a team in one of the two leagues during the 2023 season and five are returning to the same squads as 2023.

Team 2023 coach 2024 coach Notes
Arlington Renegades Stoops returns for his third season with Arlington after compiling a 6–9 (.400) mark over the 2020 and 2023 seasons and winning the 2023 XFL Championship.
Birmingham Stallions Holtz returns for his third season with the Stallions after compiling a 17–3 (.850) record in 2022–23, winning the USFL Championship Game in both seasons.
DC Defenders Barlow returns for his second season with DC after compiling a 9–1 (.900) record in 2023 and reaching the XFL Championship.
Houston Roughnecks Johnson coached the 2023 Houston Gamblers, compiling a 5–5 (.500) mark. After taking on the identity of the XFL Roughnecks, Johnson and his staff was kept on to lead the team, which is technically a continuation of the Gamblers.
Memphis Showboats The USFL fired head Memphis Showboats coach Todd Haley on October 23[31] and reassigned former New Orleans Breakers coach John DeFilippo to the Showboats. DeFilippo led the Breakers to a 7–3 (.700) record in 2023, losing in the USFL South Division championship.
Michigan Panthers Nolan returns for his second season with Michigan after going 4–6 (.400) in 2023 and falling in the North Division championship.
San Antonio Brahmas Hines Ward resigned on December 28, 2023, and Roughnecks coach Wade Phillips was reassigned to the Brahmas after being displaced by Curtis Johnson, who assumed control of the newly-merged Roughnecks.[32][33] Phillips led the 2023 Roughnecks to a 7–3 (.700) record before losing the XFL South Division championship.
St. Louis Battlehawks Becht returns for his second season in St. Louis after compiling a 7–3 (.700) record in 2023.

Rod Woodson had resigned his position with the Vegas Vipers before the team was contracted.[34] The remaining five coaches—the Generals' Mike Riley, the Stars' Bart Andrus, the Maulers' Ray Horton, the Guardians' Terrell Buckley, and the Sea Dragons' Jim Haslett—saw their positions eliminated with the merger, as did Anthony Blevins, who had been named Woodson's successor.

Players

Draft

2023 USFL College Draft

On February 21, 2023, the USFL held a draft where 2023 draft-eligible players could be selected by USFL teams.[35] In the announcement, USFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston stated, "We are building the USFL for long-term success and our first-ever College Draft demonstrates our clear focus on building winning teams for Season Two, Season Three and beyond."[35] 80 players were selected across 10 rounds.[36] Due to this draft occurring two months prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, many of the players selected would go on to be drafted by or sign as an undrafted free agent with an NFL team.[37]

2023 XFL Rookie Draft

In an interview after the 2023 XFL season, the league's Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Whaley disclosed that the league plans a "rookie" draft and intended to conduct "multiple drafts" in the fall of 2023.[38][39] The XFL Rookie Draft took place on June 16, 2023, with 80 players being selected.[40]

On July 28, the XFL held a "rights claim" draft, which had not been announced to the public, and the picks were later released through the official XFL transaction page.[41] The players' rights were assigned to the selected teams, but they were not under contract with the teams (similar to the "negotiation lists" in the CFL[42]). The players selected included: Tavon Austin, Darrynton Evans, Chris Odom, Dru Samia, Josh Jackson, Darrell Henderson, Harrison Hand, Quinton Bell, and Anthony Gordon.[43]

Dispersal draft

On December 19, 2023, the USFL initially informed the USFL Players Association that four teams would be contracted as part of the USFL–XFL merger.[44] The transition will involve a three-phase player allocation process,[45] with a similar system to be used for XFL players.[46] Phase 1 and 2 is set for January 5, and an open dispersal draft for remaining USFL/XFL players (phase 3) is scheduled for January 15, 2024:[47][48]

  • Phase 1: Each remaining USFL/XFL team will identify up to 42 "protected" Contract Players from its roster (or in the XFL's case, had signed a letter of intent with that team).
  • Phase 2: Teams can then claim up to 20 additional "protected" players from non-surviving USFL/XFL teams (respectively). Procedures may be in place for handling multiple claims for the same player.
  • Phase 3: A dispersal draft will include all USFL/XFL players not "protected" in the earlier phases. Non-contracted players who have previously participated in the USFL or XFL must sign with the respective league before the draft.[49]

Free agency will start on January 16, 2024, for players who weren't selected in the Dispersal draft or did not play in the USFL or XFL in 2023.[50]

Rules

Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino will be in charge on the UFL's officiating and rules.[30]

Season structure

Preseason

The UFL will continue the XFL agreement with Arlington, Texas, to serve as the league's centralized hub. The league will host training camps on February 24, 2024, and all eight teams will play in their markets.[30]

Regular season

The league is divided into two conferences, the USFL Conference and the XFL Conference, each a continuation of its respective league. Each team will play a ten-game schedule with no bye weeks, playing two games against each conference rival (one home and one away) and one game against each team in the other conference.[30] The regular season will kick off on March 30, 2024, with a game between the USFL and XFL champions, the Birmingham Stallions and the Arlington Renegades.[30]

Postseason

The postseason will be a four-team playoff in which the top two teams in each conference will face each other in the first round. The two conference champions will then play each other for the league championship.[51]

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, which hosted both of the USFL's championship games and three of its four semifinal matchups, made public its negotiations with the UFL to host the 2024 UFL Championship, as the previous games held there had been a "revenue generator" for Hall of Fame Village and the Village eventually hoped for a team of its own in the league.[52]

League finances

The league was created as a "merger of equals", with the respective leagues' owners assuming 50% ownership of the newly formed UFL. Gerry Cardinale called it "a tremendous opportunity to achieve something unique. A legitimate shot at becoming one of the top professional leagues in the country after the big four leagues".[53]

Personnel

Source[54]

  • Dany Garcia—Chairwoman
  • Russ Brandon—President/CEO
  • Daryl Johnston—Executive VP of Football Operations
  • Doug Whaley—Senior Vice President of Player Personnel
  • Russ Giglio—Sr. Director, Player Administration and Officiating Operations
  • Jim Popp—Director of Player Administration

Media

In the United States, the combined league retains the services of Fox Sports and ESPN, which held broadcasting rights to the USFL and XFL, respectively.[55][56][57] In early December 2023, NBC Sports, which had shared broadcast rights to the USFL with Fox Sports in 2022 and 2023, announced that it would not carry the league in the 2024 season due to an increase in schedule conflicts, stemming from the proposed start date being slightly earlier than 2022 and 2023.[58] There had been one year remaining on NBC's contract.[59]

Reception

The UFL announcement was the number one story the following weekend in St. Louis.[60]

References

  1. ↑ Russell, Jake (December 31, 2023). "XFL, USFL announce merger to form the United Football League". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  2. ↑ Hennessy, Ryan (June 29, 2023). "'We are coming back': USFL announces 3rd season". WVTM13.
  3. 1 2 Fischer, Ben (30 June 2023). "USFL baffled by TV viewership drop ahead of championship game". Sports Business Journal.
  4. ↑ "USFL 2023 Championship Game TV Rating Sees Significant Decline In Viewership From 2022". usflnewshub.com. 5 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "14 USFL players end up on NFL active rosters, practicesquads or injured reserve". USFL.com. 29 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "12 USFL Players Make Leap to NFL Practice Squads: A Position-by-Position Breakdowns". usflnewshub.com. 31 August 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Newly-Merged UFL Provides Last Hope For Long-Term Viability". SI.com.
  8. ↑ Young, Jabari (June 10, 2023). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Says The XFL Will Succeed. Who Wants To Tell Him He's Wrong?". forbes.com.
  9. ↑ "Report: XFL Loses Nearly $60 Million This Season". yahoo.com. 12 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Perry, Mark (2023-07-09). "XFL's Russ Brandon Talks League Expansion, Playoff Revamp, and Shattering the Spring League Curse". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  11. ↑ "XFL title game TV viewership sluggish, but ESPN says season met expectations". theathletic.com.
  12. ↑ "Exclusive: Major Changes in XFL As League Makes Widespread Cuts". xflnewshub.com. 30 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Keeley, Sean (2023-06-15). "The Rock refutes Andrew Marchand's report on ESPN's XFL rights fees". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  14. ↑ "Inside The XFL's Financial Struggles In Season One". xflnewsroom.com. 16 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Daniel Whelan Named to Green Bay Packers 53-man Roster". XFL.com. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  16. ↑ "NFL Cut Down Day, Which XFL Players Made The Cut, How Many Did Not". xflnewshub.com. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  17. ↑ "XFL to NFL: Just the beginning". XFL.
  18. ↑ "XFL Players Seek NLRB Election to Join United Steelworkers". xflnewshub.com. 10 March 2023. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  19. ↑ "XFL Players Reject Joining United Steelworkers Union". xflnewshub.com. 19 April 2023.
  20. ↑ Baysinger, Tim; Primack, Dan; Fischer, Sara (September 19, 2023). "Scoop: Football leagues XFL and USFL in merger talks". Axios. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  21. ↑ Rosvoglou, Chris (2023-09-27). "USFL Appears To Take Next Step Towards Merger With XFL". The Spun: What's Trending In The Sports World Today. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  22. ↑ TSN ca Staff (2023-09-28). "XFL, United States Football League announce intention to merge". TSN. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  23. ↑ Schad, Tom (2023-09-28). "XFL, USFL confirm intention to merge into single spring football league". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  24. ↑ Moyle, Nick (October 18, 2023). "XFL files trademark applications for 'United Football League' and 'UFL'". San Antonio Express-News.
  25. ↑ "We are pleased to have completed the antitrust review process in connection with the proposed merger of the XFL and USFL and intend to play a combined season this spring kicking off on Saturday, March 30. We are now finalizing terms of the definitive agreement and will share more about this new League in the coming weeks". Instagram.
  26. ↑ Fischer, Ben (2023-11-30). "Federal regulators approve XFL-USFL merger, to be led by Russ Brandon". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  27. ↑ FOX College Football [@CFBONFOX] (December 28, 2023). "We couldn't have Jeff Brohm's @LouisvilleFB in the Holiday Bowl without bringing this legendary quote back 🤣⏪" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. 1 2 Russell, Jake (December 31, 2023). "XFL, USFL announce merger to form the United Football League". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  29. ↑ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 "UFL President Reveals League's Future Plans, Schedule, Vision". SI.com.
  31. ↑ Braxton, Avery (October 23, 2023). "Todd Haley out as Showboats Head Coach". WATN-TV. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  32. ↑ Kozora, Alex (2023-12-28). "Report: Hines Ward Out As San Antonio Brahmas Head Coach". Steelers Depot. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  33. ↑ Perry, Mark (2023-12-28). "Exclusive: HC Hines Ward, GM Will Lewis Out With Brahmas, HC Phillips & OC Smith In, Full Details". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  34. ↑ Florio, Mike (2023-06-12). "Rod Woodson out as head coach of XFL's Vegas Vipers". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  35. 1 2 "USFL holding its first college draft Tuesday afternoon". Canton Repository. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  36. ↑ "2023 USFL Draft recap: 80 players selected across 10 rounds". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  37. ↑ Just, Sam (2023-05-01). "Philadelphia Stars Draft Class Loses Five to NFL, Five Currently Available". usflnewshub.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  38. ↑ "XFL: Preparing for 2024 – Multiple Fall Drafts, Unionization, and the NFL Alumni Academy". xflnewshub.com. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  39. ↑ "XFL To Host 2023 Rookie Draft On Friday, June 16th, Results Will Be Posted Friday Evening". xflnewshub.com. 14 June 2023.
  40. ↑ "XFL Rookie Draft 2023". XFL.com.
  41. ↑ "XFL 2024: Houston Roughnecks Claim Rights To Eleven Players, Tavon Austin Headlines Class". xflnewshub.com. August 2023.
  42. ↑ "The enduring mystery of CFL negotiation lists". TSN. 29 January 2018.
  43. ↑ "Transactions". XFL.
  44. ↑ "Four USFL teams survive merger with XFL". NBC Sports. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  45. ↑ "2024 XFL-USFL Merger: Player Allocation Plans Details, Tentative Draft". XFL News Hub.
  46. ↑ "XFL Players Receive Key Update on Contracts and Merged XFL-USFL League". xflnewshub.com.
  47. ↑ "Details On The UFL Dispersal Drafts For USFL & XFL Teams". pfnewsroom.com.
  48. ↑ "UFL Dispersal Draft January 15th, Player Allocation January 5th". uflnewshub.com.
  49. ↑ "USFLPA Informs Players That Four USFL Teams Survive In Merger". Pro Football Newsroom.
  50. ↑ "United Football League Announces Initial Roster Information". UFL.
  51. ↑ "Inside the UFL". OurSports Central.
  52. ↑ Byer, Kelly (January 5, 2024). "New UFL passes on Canton, but Hall of Fame Village vies for championship game". Canton Repository. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  53. ↑ "Newly Formed UFL Draws Equally From USFL-XFL Merger". Front Office Sports.
  54. ↑ "Moose Johnston will serve as executive V.P. of football operations with UFL". NBC Sports.
  55. ↑ Seifert, Kevin (December 31, 2023). "Merged XFL-USFL to be rebranded as United Football League". ESPN.
  56. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 17, 2022). "Disney Strikes Deal to Put XFL on ESPN, FX, ABC". Variety. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  57. ↑ Shea, Bill (March 22, 2023). "XFL midseason TV report card: Ratings have dropped, but is a rebound ahead?". The Athletic.
  58. ↑ "NBC won't carry USFL, XFL games". Sports Business Journal.
  59. ↑ Ourand, John (December 15, 2021). "USFL adds NBC as rights holder for when games start in early '22". Sports Business Journal.
  60. ↑ "UFL CEO Russ Brandon". 101 ESPN "Sports Talk For St. Louis".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.