USFL/XFL Merger

[Dawgg]

So, they're trying to combine, and it makes sense as there's just not enough eyeballs for Spring football to support to two separate leagues. We talk on here a lot (and lament) about how, with NIL and the transfer portal, college football is increasingly becoming a true minor league to the NFL and if the NCAA ever begins a true pay/profit sharing structure for teams, then we'll have effectively achieved that.

Now, we've seen dozens of these experimental/spring/feeder leagues come and go over the years, but if they somehow do get this merger right and it becomes something worth watching and following, do you guys think this has the potential to become something like the G-League where some prospects can forego college or this becomes a competitor to the transfer portal? If the college model begins falling apart, would the NFL dump money here (like NFL Europe) to become a minor league?

Spring football leagues XFL, USFL announce plan to merge

The XFL and USFL plan to merge and begin play next year.

www.espn.com

 

[NawlBennyDawg]

Ah yes, partner with the NFL too and become the the NFUXSFLFLL

 

[GloryDawg]

Who is going to be the owner and will it have the support of fox sports?

 

[Dawgg]

Who is going to be the owner and will it have the support of fox sports?

It's pretty vague. The press releases refer to a "combined ownership group", so at face value, that would seem to indicate some combination of RedBird (the Rock) and Fox Corp. Assumedly, if Fox stays on as part owners, network access would be part of that, but I haven't found any other details.

 

[Dawgg]

Interestingly enough, both leagues exist with very little overlap. The USFL team in the one city (Houston, TX) that has a team from both leagues, Houston Gamblers, actually play their home games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

XFL:
Seattle, WA
Las Vegas, NV
Arlington, TX
San Antonio, TX
Houston, TX
St. Louis, MO
Orlando, FL
Washington, DC

USFL:
Detroit, MI
Philadelphia, PA (home games in Detroit, MI)
East Rutherford, NJ (home games in Canton, OH)
Pittsburg, PA (home games in Canton, OH)
Birmingham, AL
Memphis, TN
Houston, TX (home games in Memphis, TN)
New Orleans, LA (home games in Birmingham, AL)

 

[Pink Floyd.sixpack]

Interestingly enough, both leagues exist with very little overlap. The USFL team in the one city (Houston, TX) that has a team from both leagues, Houston Gamblers, actually play their home games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

XFL:
Seattle, WA
Las Vegas, NV
Arlington, TX
San Antonio, TX
Houston, TX
St. Louis, MO
Orlando, FL
Washington, DC

USFL:
Detroit, MI
Philadelphia, PA (home games in Detroit, MI)
East Rutherford, NJ (home games in Canton, OH)
Pittsburg, PA (home games in Canton, OH)
Birmingham, AL
Memphis, TN
Houston, TX (home games in Memphis, TN)
New Orleans, LA (home games in Birmingham, AL)

Why these leagues continue to put teams in cities with an NFL team is perplexing. I know about tv and all but NFL cities aren’t going to support what amounts to minor league football. Football people will watch in the spring because it’s the only thing on,so tv markets should t play into it that much. And let’s face it, their viewership numbers aren’t that great anyway, especially in the big t v markets. I think cities starved for a big league” team ( Birmingham, Portland, Memphis, Omaha, SanAntonio, Columbus OH, San Diego, etc) would support a team. Would at least be interesting to see

 

[NawlBennyDawg]

Why these leagues continue to put teams in cities with an NFL team is perplexing. I know about tv and all but NFL cities aren’t going to support what amounts to minor league football. Football people will watch in the spring because it’s the only thing on,so tv markets should t play into it that much. And let’s face it, their viewership numbers aren’t that great anyway, especially in the big t v markets. I think cities starved for a big league” team ( Birmingham, Portland, Memphis, Omaha, SanAntonio, Columbus OH, San Diego, etc) would support a team. Would at least be interesting to see

This. I have always questioned why these start-up leagues go after the markets that already support an NFL franchise. My dad can remember when you would go to a Showboats game back in the 80s and it would be PACKED.

 

[Dawgg]

This. I have always questioned why these start-up leagues go after the markets that already support an NFL franchise. My dad can remember when you would go to a Showboats game back in the 80s and it would be PACKED.

Yeah, I agree and I think, to be fair, if all of the same teams remained intact, they would have 5 non-NFL market teams:
Birmingham, AL
Memphis, TN
St. Louis, MO
San Antonio, TX
Orlando, FL

I guess 6 if you count Canton, OH, which... I don't know if they'll keep that 'hub' system they had in the USFL.

Of course, that depends on your definition of 'out of market'. Orlando is fairly close to Tampa and Birmingham is fairly close to Atlanta. For that matter, Memphis is fairly close to Nashville and St. Louis is fairly close to KC and Canton is right between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I would say San Antonio is close to Houston, but, unlike those other cities, SA is big enough to be its own thing.