On Thursday morning, football fans awoke to the news that the USFL is making its return in the spring of 2022. The current Founder and CEO of The Spring League, Brian Woods, is one of the co-founders. The new USFL also announced that FOX Sports will televise its games. The new USFL will have eight teams in the league.
The original USFL ran from 1983 to 1985. The league featured hall of fame players and catchy team names like the New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, Tampa Bay Bandits, Los Angeles Express, Houston Gamblers, Denver Gold, etc.
Many fans who watched the original USFL still talk about them to this day. Many television commercials, shows, and movies have used footage of USFL games. The USFL was beloved by fans until its demise in 1986.
So why is the USFL being resurrected? Simple, it’s a household name that many fans still love to this day. You can watch old USFL games on YouTube and understand why the league was beloved. There are also other reasons.
With the uncertainty of the XFL and CFL returns, many fans are wondering if they will ever get off the ground again. It’s been over three months since both leagues announced they were discussing a merger. Since then, no news has come out on how talks are going. As of now, the CFL plans to return on August 5th.
The XFL, which was purchased by WWE wrestler/actor Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale, announced that the league would return in 2022. With each passing month, it looks like the league might not be returning next year as promised.
FOX Sports are looking to fill a void in their television schedule. In 2019, the Alliance of American Football debuted on CBS. The ratings were decent. When the XFL returned in 2020 with FOX and Disney, the league did very well in tv ratings for five weeks before COVID killed their season. The XFL did beat some college basketball, NHL, and NBA games in ratings.
In late 2020, The Spring League emerged and held a fall season. The season was cut short with two weeks left due to COVID. The league did play a championship game later, and the Generals won the championship over the Aviators.
This year, FOX bought a minority stake in The Spring League and aired its games on all their FOX networks. FOX is banking that the USFL will succeed. They are not waiting to see what happens with the XFL. In fact, they may have taken themselves out of a future tv deal with the XFL.
With the return of the USFL, it sounds like Brian Woods wants The Spring League to go back as a scouting event. This would be smart to do since he owns both leagues. He could use the TSL as Team 9 which the XFL did in 2020. Team 9 was a roster filled with unsigned players that were located in Dallas, TX. They trained, conditioned, and learned plays. When a player was injured from one of the eight teams, those teams were able to sign a player off Team 9.
The downfall of The Spring League is they don’t pay their players. The players pay a fee to play in the league. The fee is waived for anyone with NFL experience or been to training camps. In return, they get game films of themselves to send to other leagues like the NFL.
On the flip side, this strategy has worked for the league. They have lasted longer than the other spring football leagues of the past. I still think regardless of NFL experience or not, the players should be compensated for their time. The question I have going into this is. Will the players be paid to play in the USFL?
If the answer is no, then they will quickly fall and join the other failed leagues. However, if the answer is yes, then the new USFL might have a chance to survive. FOX Sports wouldn’t put its reputation on the line if they didn’t believe in the product. They will make sure that they’re able to get the best players to play in the USFL.
Overall, I think people will watch with caution as they have with the other leagues. Too many of them have tried and failed. However, hardcore football fans will watch anything, and the rebirth of the USFL might bring back the fans that loved the original. The history of the USFL is unique, and I hope that Woods will honor its past while building a new one.
