UFL Dealing With Challenges Three Weeks Into Second Season

The United Football League is entering the fourth week of its second season with more logistical challenges to overcome on and off the field.

This week, two head coaches stepped away from the league, with Ken Whisenhunt resigning from the Memphis Showboats and Wade Phillips taking a leave of absence from the San Antonio Brahmas.

That made it three out of the spring football league’s eight teams that have lost their head coaches this season. Reggie Barlow stepped down from the DC Defenders on March 23, five days before the regular season began, to take the head coach job at Tennessee State.

Memphis and San Antonio are both 0–3, while DC is 3–0 under the leadership of interim head coach Shannon Harris.

The coaching moves are the latest obstacle for the UFL, which began its season without a labor deal—a situation that is still not resolved. Players considered striking but ultimately decided to play.

Inside the Numbers

Week 4 will be a crucial test for the UFL’s TV ratings, as all four games are on over-the-air broadcast networks, ABC or Fox.

Through three weeks, viewership is down 33% compared to the inaugural 2024 season, with games airing on ABC, ESPN, Fox, and FS1. However, Week 3 did bring the most-watched game of the season so far: 967,000 viewers on ABC for the Defenders’ 27–15 victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks on Sunday afternoon.

So far, the average game attendance of 12,817 is down 3.7% compared to the average through three weeks last season.

Editors’ note: RedBird Capital has an ownership stake in the UFL. It is also the parent company of RedBird IMI, the majority owner of Front Office Sports.