United Football League (2024)
[3] It consists of eight teams, all of which were members of the XFL or USFL prior to the UFL's creation, concentrated in the Midwest and Southern United States.[4] In 2017, Vince McMahon, who had previously launched the XFL in 2001 as a partnership with NBC Sports, registered a trademark for the United Football League name.[6] The XFL, which was largely successful with its attendance and television ratings, was forced to shut down halfway through its 2020 season in March due to stay-at-home orders imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and declared bankruptcy in April.[15] Following the 2021 season, Woods and Fox announced they had acquired the trademarks of the original 1980s incarnation of the United States Football League and would be launching a reboot of the USFL in spring 2022."[20] The USFL was already seeking additional investors prior to the start of the 2023 season and had hired Allen & Company to assist in the search; Fox lost an unspecified amount of money on the venture in 2023 due to the high startup expenses for a professional football league.[32] In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons.[36] On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a combined season to begin March 30, 2024.[39] Daryl Johnston would note in February that maintaining the XFL and USFL conferences as separate entities was designed to build an on-field rivalry between the two brands and to give the winner of the league's championship "bragging rights.In November 2024, the UFL announced it was officially initiating a team expansion process, and was welcoming proposals from potential markets interested in professional spring football.[52] While the UFL embraced more of a "developmental league" mentality,[53] they are also targeting veteran backup players, with Johnston saying: "there are a lot of guys who are at peace that their NFL window has closed, but they love the camaraderie of the locker room.[57][59] Initial reports suggested that, contrary to the 2023 XFL season, quarterbacks would not be allowed to sign for salaries higher than the other positional players.Though most of the UFL's unique rules were common to both the USFL and XFL (such as allowing a second forward pass if the first does not cross the line of scrimmage, and the treatment of a fumble through the end zone the same as other forward fumbles in that it is brought back to the spot of the fumble), a limited number required compromise or were changed entirely from both leagues' rules:[66][67][68] In February 2022, the XFL signed a collaboration agreement with the NFL to "experiment with proposed rules, test new equipment and develop prospective officials and coaches and explore new ways to address player safety".[74] In 2023, Dwayne Johnson said that "the XFL specifically designed its schedule to give its players the best chance of latching on with an NFL team in May",[75] while Gerry Cardinale stated that "the minor league analogy is valid, that's an important part of this.[81] Other UFL's sponsors include: Westgate Resorts, Progressive Insurance, PepsiCo (Gatorade), The Coca-Cola Company (Simply Spiked), CBD Kratom, and Molson Coors.[82] On April 6, 2024 the league announced a partnership with the United States Army,[83] who promised an estimated $11 million for jersey patch sponsorship and other promotional considerations.