UFL 2024: What to know about rebranded spring football league

The spring/alternative football industry is running out of original acronyms.

American football fans have seen the rise (and fall) of three different versions of the XFL. There have been two USFLs, two UFLs and one AAF. The surviving pieces merged this winter and, after analyzing the historical landscape, resurrected “United Football League” as the name of the new company.

The third UFL, this time equally owned by Fox Sports and former XFL 3.0 investors, opens training camp Saturday in Arlington, Texas. Its eight teams will play a 10-week season with no bye weeks that begins March 30, and the league enjoys a combination of advantages — strong financial backing, multiple national broadcast partners and a mix of previous models — that his predecessors had. not.

“The right thing for spring football,” said UFL CEO/President Russ Brandon, “is to have a focused league. And I think we're all very confident that league will be there well beyond our years.”

Brandon, a longtime NFL executive with the Buffalo Bills, has joined the XFL for its 2023 season and will lead day-to-day operations of the UFL. Former USFL front office boss Daryl Johnston is the executive vice president of football operations, and the eight coaches are an even mix from the 2023 USFL and XFL seasons.

“We're going to be a much more talented league with a lot more depth at critical positions,” Johnston said. “I think our squads will be stronger. You take eight teams [in the USFL] and eight teams [in the XFL] and combining in eight. You attract the best players and the best coaches to the UFL family. »

Here's what you need to know about the UFL as training camp begins:

How will UFL training camp go?

All eight teams will report to the league headquarters in Arlington and practice at surrounding facilities. Teams will be entitled to a roster of 75 players. Once the regular season begins, rosters will be reduced to 50 players per team.

These Arlington-based facilities will continue to serve as training sites during the regular season. Teams will travel to their home market only for games, as the XFL did in 2023.

What are these teams (and markets)?

The league is made up of four former XFL and four USFL teams. The only overlapping market was Houston, where the UFL decided to rename the USFL's Houston franchise with the XFL team name Houston.

Here are the teams, their stadiums and their head coaches:

USFL Conference

Birmingham Stallions (protective stadium, Skip Holtz)
Houston Roughnecks (Rice Stadium, Curtis Johnson)
Memphis Showboats (Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, John DeFilippo)
Michigan Panthers (Ford Field, Mike Nolan)

XFL Conference

Arlington Renegades (Choctaw Stadium, Bob Stoops)
DC Defenders (Audi Field, Reggie Barlow)
San Antonio Brahmas (The Alamodome, Wade Phillips)
St. Louis Battlehawks (The Dome of America's Center, Anthony Becht)

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Presentation of the new UFL conferences and teams

Danny Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announce new UFL conferences.

What is the typical profile of a spring football player?

The AAF, XFL, and USFL have sent hundreds of players to NFL tryouts, offseason workouts, training camp workouts, and/or regular season teams. Some of them were still in the league during the 2023 season, including Los Angeles Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr., Atlanta Falcons quarterback Logan Woodside and Dallas Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpin.

But Johnston said he was surprised at how many spring football players from the AAF, XFL and USFL don't necessarily have an NFL opportunity lined up.

“I expected that the majority of our players [in past seasons] “I have to get my chance to come back to the NFL,” he said. But you start to find that there are a lot of guys who are at peace when their NFL window is closed, but they love the camaraderie of the locker room. They love the day-to-day.

“… What really inspired me was that there are a number of guys in our league who love this game and want to continue playing it as long as they can.”

Who are some of the UFL players?

There are a handful of players on UFL training camp rosters whose names are recognized by the NFL, including former New York Giants running back Wayne Gallman, who is assigned to St. Louis. The UFL also ventured into the world of social media to recruit YouTube star Donald De La Haye, also known as “Deestroyer”, who was a placekicker at UCF. He is assigned to San Antonio.

But there will be a lot of turnover over the next few weeks and, generally speaking, leagues are viewed through the prism of their quarterback talent. To that end, the UFL sought a mix of spring league veterans and former NFL backups. The list includes AJ McCarron (St. Louis), Matt Corral (Birmingham), Danny Etling (Michigan), Case Cookus (Memphis) and Tom Flacco (San Antonio), brother of longtime NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. Last season's XFL Championship Game quarterbacks Luis Perez (Arlington) and Jordan Ta'amu (DC) will also return.

Some spring leagues have paid salaries above the quarterback scale to attract bigger names, but last month Johnston said the UFL chose not to take that approach.

UFL players receive $5,500 per game week, consistent with their partnership with the United Football Players Association, a recognized union with which the UFL has negotiated.

“Our shifts are paid the same as everyone else,” Johnston said. “The approach is to be financially responsible. We have received pushback from some of them, which is understandable, because they can say that everyone knows how valuable this position is and how it should demand a higher salary.

“We are a start-up league trying to put our feet on the ground to succeed here and for several years. There are good arguments for both sides. How can we handle this situation in a positive and good way for both sides of the equation?… It's difficult to thread this needle.

Who controls the finances?

Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks represents the interests of 50 percent of the UFL board, while the other half is made up of members of the XFL 3.0 ownership group: Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners, Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Both Fox Sports and Disney/ESPN are broadcast partners. All 43 UFL games will be televised on ABC, Fox, ESPN, FS1 or ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+ or the Fox Sports app.

The season will begin on March 30, with four teams (two from each conference) qualifying for the playoffs, which begin on June 9. The UFL championship game will take place June 16 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Opening week schedule (all times Eastern):

Saturday March 30

Birmingham Stallions at Arlington Renegades (1 p.m., Fox)
St. Louis Battlehawks vs. Michigan Panthers (4:30 p.m., Fox)

Sunday March 31

DC Defenders at San Antonio Brahmas (noon, ESPN)
Memphis Showboats at Houston Roughnecks (3 p.m., ESPN)