Topline
There are still about five months to go until the next NFL regular season game, but professional football returns this weekend with the launch of a new league that has a familiar name to sports fans: the United States Football League (USFL)–here’s what to expect.
American Team head coach Jeff Fisher walks the sideline during the first half of the NFLPA … [+]
Key Facts
The 2022 USFL season kicks off Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time with a matchup between the Birmingham Stallions and New Jersey Generals, which will be nationally broadcast both on Fox and NBC, marking the first time since 2007 that the same football game is shown on two networks.
The six other teams making up the league will play games on Easter Sunday, starting with a contest between the Michigan Panthers and Houston Gamblers on NBC, followed by a game between the New Orleans Breakers and Philadelphia Stars broadcast on USA and concluding with a matchup between the Pittsburgh Maulers and Tampa Bay Bandits on Fox Sports 1.
The eight teams will play a 10-game regular season, with games evenly broadcast between Fox, NBC, USA and Fox Sports 1.
All games for the 2022 regular season will be played in Birmingham, Alabama, with playoff games—consisting of two semifinal matchups in late June and a championship game on July 3—taking place in Canton, Ohio.
The league held a draft in late February, filling rosters primarily with players who were starters on their college teams but haven’t managed to make it in the NFL so far, meaning most of the players likely won’t be immediately recognized by casual fans.
The USFL boasts a high-profile slate of coaches, like longtime former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, who will lead the Panthers, former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, who is in charge of the Gamblers, and former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, who will coach the Bandits.
Big Number
$150 million. That’s how much Fox Sports, which owns the league, plans to invest in it over the course of the next three years. The NFL, in contrast, has a salary cap for the 2022 season that could pay players alone a combined salary of more than $6 billion.
Key Background
This will be the second iteration of the USFL to have gameplay, though the only connection to the earlier version will be the use of the same league name, team nicknames and logos. The original USFL, which began play in 1983, is widely considered the biggest competitor to emerge to the NFL over the past half-century. The USFL of the 80s grew rapidly, and managed to convince top college prospects like BYU quarterback Steve Young and Tennessee defensive end Reggie White to play in the league instead of the NFL. The spring league would go on to last just three seasons, with its final game being played on June 24, 1985. Numerous factors led to the original USFL folding, but much of the blame has been pointed at former President Donald Trump, who purchased the New Jersey Generals in 1984. Trump spearheaded the league’s plans to move to a fall schedule for the 1986 season, pitting it directly against the NFL for viewership, and pushed for the league to file an ill-fated antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, claiming it had a monopoly on television contracts. The USFL wound up winning the lawsuit, but was awarded only $3 in damages, a disastrous outcome for USFL owners who’d pinned their futures on a massive payout from the suit. Several teams folded after the outcome and the league ultimately moved to cease operations. A revival of the USFL was planned in 2010, but games were never played.
What To Watch For
Another former spring football league, the XFL, is planning to return for the 2023 season, under an ownership group that includes Dwayne Johnson. The XFL was founded in 1999 by WWE CEO Vince McMahon, with its inaugural season taking place in 2001. The league didn’t play a game again until 2020, but that season ended up being cut short due to the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, and the XFL filed for bankruptcy shortly after. The new ownership group purchased the league out of bankruptcy court for $15 million in August 2020.
Further Reading
NEW USFL HOPING TO SUCCEED WHERE OTHER SPRING LEAGUES FAILED (Fox Sports)
The End of the USFL (Sports Illustrated)
XFL announces it will collaborate with NFL to advance game of football when league returns in 2023 (CBS Sports)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/04/15/heres-what-to-know-about-the-usfl-the-new-spring-football-league-kicking-off-this-weekend/