Mirroring cutbacks associated with many corporate mergers, the XFL-USFL union is dropping teams in an effort to have a leaner, more sustainable spring football league.
Soon after the two leagues received regulatory approval to merge, advancing a plan first announced in September, the USFL Players Association received formal notification that the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers will live on in the new entity. That decision means the end of the New Jersey Generals, New Orleans Breakers, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers.
The XFL, meanwhile, previously had teams in Arlington, Houston, Las Vegas, Orlando, Seattle, St. Louis, San Antonio and Washington, D.C. It’s expected that four of those teams will join the surviving USFL teams to form a new eight-team league debuting in March 2024.
Changing Channels
NBC, which had carried the USFL for two seasons following that league’s 2022 rebirth, will not be part of the broadcast mix for the merged entity, as any continuation with the league would be precluded by early spring golf commitments. Games will likely be carried by Disney’s ESPN and ABC and by Fox Sports.
Other key details including the new league name and set of participating teams remain in development.
“We are pleased to have completed the antitrust review process,” the leagues said following the Nov. 30 regulatory clearance. “We are now finalizing terms of the definitive agreement and will share more about this new league in the coming weeks.”
The new entity will look to break a long history of failed pro football leagues that sought to either challenge or supplement the NFL, including prior iterations of both the USFL and XFL.
