USFL relaunching in spring 2022 with at least eight teams

After decades dormant, USFL to relaunch in '22

The USFL is relaunching in 2022, four decades after the spring football league's short-lived run that featured such stars as Reggie White, Herschel Walker, Steve Young and Jim Kelly, as well as future President Donald Trump as an owner.

www.espn.com

USFL relaunching in spring 2022 with at least eight teams​

The USFL is relaunching in 2022, four decades after the spring football league's short-lived run that featured such stars as Reggie White, Herschel Walker, Steve Young and Jim Kelly, as well as future President Donald Trump as an owner.

The new USFL announced Thursday that it will play next spring with a minimum of eight teams and will "deliver high-quality, innovative professional football to fans."

Although the teams, cities, head coaches and schedule won't be announced until later, the league said it retains the rights to "key original team names." The USFL also is using the same red, white and blue stars-and-stripes logo it did from 1983 to 1985.

The USFL's return could result in two pro leagues playing football in the spring. The XFL has been targeting a 2022 resumption of play after owners Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and RedBird Capital Partners purchased the league out of bankruptcy in 2020. Planning for the XFL's 2022 season has been on pause since March, when it entered into negotiations regarding a collaboration with the Canadian Football League.

Fox Sports, which has a minority equity stake in the company that owns the new USFL, will serve as the league's official broadcast partner.

"I'm extremely passionate about football and the opportunity to work with Fox Sports, and to bring back the USFL in 2022 was an endeavor worth pursuing," said Brian Woods, co-founder of the new USFL and founder and CEO of The Spring League. "We look forward to providing players a new opportunity to compete in a professional football league and giving fans everywhere the best football viewing product possible during what is typically a period devoid of professional football."

Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks called the USFL's relaunch "a landmark day for football fans and Fox Sports."

The USFL was launched in 1983 but crumbled after three seasons because of out-of-control spending and an ill-conceived push led by Trump, owner of the New Jersey Generals, to compete directly against the NFL with a fall season.

Launched originally to serve as more of a complement to the NFL than a direct competitor, the USFL helped change professional football in its short life span. The USFL featured rules innovations, helped usher in underclassmen being drafted by the NFL, and pushed the NFL to pay bigger salaries and create real free agency.

In the end, the USFL's most enduring legacy was the $3 judgment it "won" in an antitrust suit against the NFL, a ruling that finished off the league in 1986 before it carried out the Trump-backed move from spring to fall.

 

[Loyal]

I hope for his sake Fisher learned something during his time with the Rams about the need for a more dynamic offense instead of his usual Bore-Ass middle school prevent offense. If he would have had any balls for offense, he could have had better teams during his Rams tenure because he did a decent job with the defense (and he was smart enough to draft Aaron Donald).

Ahem! ~ Brian Quick

 

[Loyal]

I don't get how the revenue stream will work. All games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama. Why would people from the cities represented by laundry, travel to Bama to see a game, especially in the first year? There are no teams west of Houston, so how is it a United States league? I'll probably adopt the Houston Gamblers if I watch at all, because I once lived there for a couple of years. I would like to see it succeed, but.....

 

[Neil039]

TESTIFY!..... Anaheim need some love!

@Loyal ready to buy and sport his Kansas Cornholes jersey

 

[dieterbrock]

I had 3 favorite teams in the USFL, the first year it was the Chicago Blitz under George Allen, the Blitz made to the first title game and lost.

Pretty sure the first title game was the Michigan Panthers beating the Philadelphia Stars. With Bobby Hebert throwing to Anthony Carter for the Panthers and Jim Mora coaching the Stars....

 

[dieterbrock]

I don't get how the revenue stream will work. All games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama. Why would people from the cities represented by laundry, travel to Bama to see a game, especially in the first year? There are no teams west of Houston, so how is it a United States league? I'll probably adopt the Houston Gamblers if I watch at all, because I once lived there for a couple of years. I would like to see it succeed, but.....

Well, for one I think that having NBC and Fox broadcasting games, competing if you will, there will be mostly revenue gained from TV deals. I think they're banking on Alabama being football crazy with no pro avenue and that the games will just be attended locally. And if the league survives, they'll look to play their home games in the actual states

 

[Merlin]

Whichever spring league actually survives a few years will end up being able to cut deals with NFL teams to shape up some of their dev type players. So I hope they succeed. Would be cool to have something to get us to the draft.

 

[den-the-coach]

Pretty sure the first title game was the Michigan Panthers beating the Philadelphia Stars. With Bobby Hebert throwing to Anthony Carter for the Panthers and Jim Mora coaching the Stars....

You're right the 2nd year George Allen with the Arizona Wranglers played the Philadelphia Stars and Allen's boys lost 23-3.

 

[RamFan503]

I don't get how the revenue stream will work. All games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama. Why would people from the cities represented by laundry, travel to Bama to see a game, especially in the first year? There are no teams west of Houston, so how is it a United States league? I'll probably adopt the Houston Gamblers if I watch at all, because I once lived there for a couple of years. I would like to see it succeed, but.....

Yeah... This seems odd to me too. Will there really be much crowd noise from local people watching two non-home teams play? Strikes me that you need to generate excitement and fanaticism and I just don't see that happening.

Also, are they going to play 4 games a day in consecutive time slots? What am I missing there?

I just don't see this working out. Hopefully it does. I am very skeptical.

 

[Mikey Ram]

I just can't make myself get up for another league...Most probably won't agree, but I see this in the same light as summer league baseball... Good ballpayers, mostly college guys. Quite a few will play pro ball, most will not..I'm used to MLB and I just don't get revved up about the rest..Seems like they've (the football guys) tried and failed enough times tor me..For the guys that need more, I hope it's a success, I just doubt it...

 

[CGI_Ram]

I am excited. The last version of the XFL was great.

I never could get into these side leagues before, but with the XFL… my expectations were set for developmental ball and the quality of play was really good. The XFL got that right.

As for the games being in Birmingham Alabama… I think its brilliant. It allows that city to become the league hub. Huge economic boost… so expect the locals to turn out and build a league base.

This saves the league a ton of cost while they build their city markets through televised games.

Year 2 they plan to move some teams to home sites, but Birmingham is how they are building teams and controlling cost as they grow.

It all makes sense to me. Will it work? And… does the XFL come back into play at some point?

 

[Classic Rams]

I had 3 favorite teams in the USFL, the first year it was the Chicago Blitz under George Allen, the Blitz made to the first title game and lost. The second year, Allen moved to the Arizona Wranglers and I rooted for them and then finally rooting for the Los Angeles Express under Head Coach John Hadl and defensive coordinator Ray Malavasi.

View attachment 45861

I tried to like the Express the first year. But they were just so bad and hard to root for. Their logo and name wasn't very good either. So I watched one loss on TV and that was that. I thought the best helmet logo was the Michigan Panthers but I wasn't really a big fan. Chicago and Arizona had somewhat interesting teams with the ex-NFL players. I ended up being a fan of no teams and I really didn't get totally behind the whole league until they were years gone. Looking back there was some classic stuff going on and of course I love the trivia and player links to the NFL. Living in the moment (1983-85) though I could see it would never be like the NFL and I got bored with it in 1985. I remember discounting Herschel Walker's rushing record numbers because he was playing in the minor league. Though I did think the Generals were pretty cool. But it was almost like watching scrub games in 1987 and rooting for a few players I heard of, like ex-Hawaii players and some others.

It's cool that they're resurrecting the league with the same logos. I always thought they were public domain after the $1 court settlement and the years of nothing with everyone walking away and no one owning anything.

 

[den-the-coach]

FWIW & I expect @Loyal to join me, my favorite team in the USFL is going to be the New Orleans Breakers. Liked them better in Boston because of alliteration, but always liked their uniforms & they named former North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora as their Head Coach and I always liked Larry and his surname refers to a hat and how can you not like that?

So lets get on the Breaker Train with a Fedora as their Offense should be quite exciting under their new Head Coach.

 

[dieterbrock]

Most probably won't agree, but I see this in the same light as summer league baseball...

To each their own, but Summer league baseball? Umm, no... That would be mid-season of MLB, this is the off season of the NFL. Alas, for me personally it will be a breath of fresh air as it will fill the void left between March Madness concluding and the Masters golf finishing until baseball ever gets its act together and has an opening day.

 

[dieterbrock]

FWIW & I expect @Loyal to join me, my favorite team in the USFL is going to be the New Orleans Breakers. Liked them better in Boston because of alliteration, but always liked their uniforms & they named former North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora as their Head Coach and I always liked Larry and his surname refers to a hat and how can you not like that?

So lets get on the Breaker Train with a Fedora as their Offense should be quite exciting under their new Head Coach.
View attachment 51557

Oh man, Marcus Dupree. What a shame.

 

[dieterbrock]

Ok you draftniks, its Draft time!!

What channel is the USFL Draft on today? Start time, pick order to follow 2022 player selections | Sporting News

The USFL Draft is here for the first time in 40 years, but fans will not be able to watch it live.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[Angry Ram]

Ok you draftniks, its Draft time!!

What channel is the USFL Draft on today? Start time, pick order to follow 2022 player selections | Sporting News

The USFL Draft is here for the first time in 40 years, but fans will not be able to watch it live.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[IE Rams]

I tried to like the Express the first year. But they were just so bad and hard to root for. . .

My dad took me to a game at the Coliseum the first year. The only cool thing was we had great seats, 40-yard line, 10 or so rows up. But then again, attendance couldn't have been more than 10,000.

Pretty contrived atmosphere, and an overall dull and uninspiring experience.

 

[den-the-coach]

My dad took me to a game at the Coliseum the first year. The only cool thing was we had great seats, 40-yard line, 10 or so rows up. But then again, attendance couldn't have been more than 10,000.

Pretty contrived atmosphere, and an overall dull and uninspiring experience.

That had to be the LA Express with John Hadl as Head Coach & Ray Malavasi as Defensive Coordinator if it was 1984, however, in 1983 their Head Coach was Hugh Campbell.

 

[Karate61]

Oh man, Marcus Dupree. What a shame.

Well. Today is weird. I was tweeting about taking a piss next to Jim Everett at Marcus Dupree's sports bar today. Then, Jim Everett himself chimed in. Then, I see these posts about MD and a picture. Here's my tweets from today. I'm not lying! (LOL) I'm also karate61 in the tweets.

 

[sloramfan]

hey i would love for it to work out..

and to actually find myself rooting for a team...

it would make nfl off season so much more fun...

i need a sunday fix during the off season...

because i'm an nfl junkie like no other...

go rams


slo