The 2024 spring football season will once again be a reality as the XFL and USFL have merged to become the UFL or United Football League. As you probably know, Spring football has gone through many iterations as investors have tried to siphon off just a piece of NFL mania during the offseason. And that mania is no doubt high, as the NFL is printing money and just saw their biggest leap in salary cap ever. But, no league has ever been able to stand the test of time.
Is there enough interest for the UFL to be sustainable?
This question is impossible to answer correctly, as so many factors go into a Spring league’s sustainability. The good news is that a Spring league that is mostly after the NCAA basketball tournaments and ends in mid-June is in a good spot as far as competition for sports fans’ attention.
We’ve seen viewership for Spring leagues start out strong and then fade as the season goes on. But, the hope is that with the USFL and XFL merging, that more focus will be on the one league and that one league will have more talent to make for better viewing. That doesn’t mean they will gt big numbers, but keeping them steady is something they’d love to see.
At this point, the UFL is hoping that concentrating the talent and games into a window without a lot of television competition will help them sustain the league. They have good television outlets, as Fox Sports owns 50% of the league (the USFL side) and the league also has a deal with ESPN/ABC as well as Fox to televise games. The UFL is also just 8 teams and 10 regular season games, which keeps fans from needing to dig too deep into their attention spans or the league to dig too far into their pocketbooks.
There is interest in football during the offseason and as long as the league has some connection with the NFL, it will help. That connection at the moment relies on players who have dipped their toes in the NFL waters also playing in the UFL and playing well enough to get more chances in the NFL. Maybe someday the NFL will have a stronger connection to the league, but for now a shot to prove themselves should keep the talent level up and the desire to see those NFL-adjacent players play.
Can the UFL produce NFL caliber players?
Your typical UFL player is going to be someone who might still have some NFL hopes and dreams, but also just loves the game and getting a paycheck to play a game. But, there are plenty who want to get more in-game experience to get better and show their ability on tape to NFL teams. We see Spring league players get chances in the NFL often and a few have carved out a place for themselves there, while others get signed to practice squads and hope for a call up.
The hope with this version of Spring football is that the competition will get better with the merger and that excelling in the UFL will in-turn be a ticket to a true shot in the NFL. Just last season we saw TE Donald Parham, KR KaVontae Turpin, QB Logan Woodside all get prominent jobs in the NFL after showing off their skills in Spring leagues. Now with more concentrated talent, I expect the UFL to have plenty of players move up into the NFL ranks if they can keep the league together.
Is there enough money to keep the league afloat as it is established?
One of the main reasons the USFL and XFL merged was due to money. Both sides, the Fox Sports side and RedBird Capital, the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson side, have cut their costs by teaming up after losing money in their respective leagues.
The UFL has also cut costs by laying off people and making employees contract or “seasonal” workers. Since the UFL isn’t a National Park, these moves can’t be seen as positives, despite the cost-saving. They also have implemented a flat-rate for salary, at $5,500 per game week. That is not much for a professional footballer, and for a league that needs good quarterback play to in-turn put a good product on the field, it isn’t going to help bring in the best available players. Quarterbacks who feel they have a legitimate shot at being a No. 2-3 QB in the league will likely hold off as long as they have prospects for practice-squad jobs, which pay $12,000 a week in the NFL.
The long-term hope is to get established enough that more investors come in and eventually the league can court owners like the NFL currently has. If there are multiple owners with deep pockets and a stake in making money and putting together winning teams, that’s when the league could really take off. But, that is just a hope at this time. The current goal is to cut costs and try like hell to show some forward momentum and not lose money in the process.
Can they make it?
Yes, but the odds remain long. The XFL put together an enjoyable product last season, but lost a lot of money. They knew they would, but it was more than they could handle after saying that they could indeed handle it.
When you listen to The Rock, it’s hard not to believe in his pitch, but it is just that, a pitch. They need money from national merchandising, licensing, and high-dollar TV contracts, which makes up the bulk of the NFL’s revenue. Those avenues aren’t viable big money sources for the league yet. Sure, they’ll sell tickets and merchandise, but the league must get established enough to hold onto fans. And that isn’t going to happen if the teams continue to change every season.
The UFL needs find a way to put together multiple seasons so that fans can believe their team will return the following year. That probably means the cost-cutting efforts make the most sense as they muddle through the start of yet another league.