XFL, USFL Reveal Merger to United Football League

Two previous spring professional football leagues have officially unveiled their branding as the United Football League, the result of a merger of the XFL and USFL.

The 10-game regular season will start on March 30, 2024, with a battle of the 2023 champions Birmingham Stallions (USFL) and Arlington Renegades (XFL).

“As a unified spring league, we are able to deepen our commitment to unlocking and surpassing the dreams of our players, coaches, staff and fans,” said Dany Garcia, founder, chief executive officer and chairwoman of The Garcia Companies. “This league represents continued legacy and evolution and we look forward to building the universe of spring football.”

The merger unites two leagues that have had multiple stints in spring football that were unsustainable. The USFL, owned by Fox, launched in 2022 with eight teams that were part of the original USFL from 1983 through 1985. The 2022 season was played entirely in Birmingham, Alabama, before going to Canton, Ohio, for the championship game. The 2023 season was played in two sites, Birmingham being joined by Memphis, Tennessee, as a host site.

The XFL was launched by WWE in 2001 and lasted one season, then was re-launched in 2020 and lasted five weeks before stopping play because of the pandemic. It returned to action in 2023.

The XFL and USFL announced plans to merge in September 2023 with the New Year’s weekend announcement bringing the new league name. There will be a USFL conference with the Birmingham Stallion, Houston Roughnecks (rebranded from the Houston Gamblers), Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers along with an XFL conference with the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks.

“From day one, our mission has been to expand the game of football and be a league of opportunity, culture and innovation,” said Dwayne Johnson, founder and chief executive officer of Seven Bucks Companies. “As we come together to create the UFL, we can build something powerful, exciting and very cool for football fans — a spring league with lasting impact for all the players with a dream to play pro football and the ‘hardest workers in the room’ mentality to make their dreams come true.”