UFL 2024: What to find out about rebranded spring soccer league

The spring/different soccer trade is working out of unique acronyms.

American soccer followers have seen the rise (and fall) of three totally different variations of the XFL. There have been two USFLs, two UFLs and one AAF. The surviving items merged this winter and, after scanning the historic panorama, resurrected “United Soccer League” because the identify of the brand new enterprise.

The third UFL, this time owned equally by Fox Sports activities and the previous traders of XFL 3.0, opens coaching camp Saturday in Arlington, Texas. Its eight groups will play a 10-week season with no bye weeks that kicks off March 30, and the league boasts a mix of benefits — robust monetary backing, a number of nationwide broadcast companions and a mix of earlier templates — that its predecessors didn’t.

“The suitable factor for spring soccer,” mentioned UFL CEO/president Russ Brandon, “is to have one targeted league. And I believe all of us are very assured that this league will likely be right here nicely past our years.”

Brandon, a longtime NFL govt with the Buffalo Payments, joined the XFL for its 2023 season and can run the UFL’s day-to-day operations. Former USFL entrance workplace chief Daryl Johnston is the manager vice chairman of soccer operations, and the eight coaches are an equal mix from the USFL’s and XFL’s 2023 seasons.

“We’ll be a a lot, way more proficient league with much more depth on the crucial positions,” Johnston mentioned. “I believe our staffs are going to be stronger. You take eight groups [in the USFL] and eight groups [in the XFL] and mixing into eight. You are pulling the very best of the gamers and the very best of the coaches into the UFL household.”

Here is what it’s essential know concerning the UFL at first of coaching camp:

How will UFL coaching camp work?

All eight groups will report back to the league’s headquarters in Arlington and observe at surrounding services. Groups will likely be allowed a 75-man roster. As soon as the common season begins, rosters will shrink to 50 gamers per group.

These Arlington-based services will proceed to function observe websites in the course of the common season. Groups will journey to their dwelling markets for video games solely, just like the XFL did in 2023.

What are these groups (and markets)?

The league is made up of 4 former XFL groups and 4 from the USFL. The one overlapping market was Houston, the place the UFL determined to rebrand USFL’s Houston franchise with the XFL Houston group’s identify.

Listed below are the groups, their dwelling stadiums and their head coaches:

USFL convention

Birmingham Stallions (Protecting Stadium, Skip Holtz)
Houston Roughnecks (Rice Stadium, Curtis Johnson)
Memphis Showboats (Simmons Financial institution Liberty Stadium, John DeFilippo)
Michigan Panthers (Ford Discipline, Mike Nolan)

XFL convention

Arlington Renegades (Choctaw Stadium, Bob Stoops)
D.C. Defenders (Audi Discipline, Reggie Barlow)
San Antonio Brahmas (The Alamodome, Wade Phillips)
St. Louis Battlehawks (The Dome at America’s Heart, Anthony Becht)

play

Introducing the brand new UFL conferences and groups

Danny Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announce the UFL’s new conferences.

What’s the profile of a typical spring soccer participant?

The AAF, XFL and USFL have despatched a whole bunch of gamers to NFL tryouts, offseason practices, coaching camp practices and/or regular-season rosters. A few of them had been nonetheless within the league in the course of the 2023 season, together with Los Angeles Chargers tight finish Donald Parham Jr., Atlanta Falcons quarterback Logan Woodside and Dallas Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpin.

However Johnston mentioned he has been stunned at what number of spring soccer gamers within the AAF, XFL and USFL do not essentially have an NFL alternative in sight.

“I’ve anticipated the vast majority of our gamers [in past seasons] could be like, ‘I’ve received to get my probability to get again up there to the NFL,'” he mentioned. “However you begin to discover that there are numerous guys who’re at peace that their NFL window has closed, however they love the camaraderie of the locker room. They love the day-to-day grind.

“… That is been the actually inspiring factor to me, is there’s numerous guys in our league who simply love the sport and wish to maintain enjoying it so long as they’ll.”

Who’re a few of the gamers within the UFL?

There are a handful of gamers on UFL coaching camp rosters with NFL identify recognition, together with former New York Giants working again Wayne Gallman, who’s allotted to St. Louis. The UFL additionally dipped into the social media world to signal YouTube star Donald De La Haye, often known as “Deestroyer,” who was a placekicker at UCF. He’s assigned to San Antonio.

However there will likely be a great deal of personnel turnover over the following few weeks, and customarily talking, leagues are seen by way of the lens of their quarterback expertise. To that finish, the UFL has pursued a mixture of spring league veterans and former NFL backups. The record contains AJ McCarron (St. Louis), Matt Corral (Birmingham), Danny Etling (Michigan), Case Cookus (Memphis) and Tom Flacco (San Antonio), brother of longtime NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. The quarterbacks in final season’s XFL championship recreation, Luis Perez (Arlington) and Jordan Ta’amu (D.C.), can even return.

Some spring leagues have paid quarterbacks above-scale salaries to draw larger names, however as of final month, Johnston mentioned the UFL had opted towards that method.

UFL gamers obtain $5,500 per recreation week in accordance with their partnership with the United Soccer Gamers Affiliation, a union the UFL has acknowledged and negotiated with.

“Our quarterbacks are paid the identical as all people else,” Johnston mentioned. “The method is to be fiscally accountable there. We have gotten some pushback from a few of them, which is comprehensible, as a result of they’ll say all people is aware of how invaluable this place is and the way it ought to command the next wage.

“We’re a start-up league attempting to get our toes beneath us to achieve success right here and for numerous years transferring ahead. There is a good argument for either side. How will we handle this case in a manner that’s constructive and good for either side of the equation? … It is exhausting to string that needle.”

Who controls the funds?

Fox Sports activities CEO Eric Shanks represents the pursuits of fifty% of the UFL board, whereas the opposite half is comprised of members of the XFL 3.0’s possession group: Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Companions, Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Fox Sports activities and Disney/ESPN are each broadcast companions. All 43 UFL video games will likely be televised on ABC, Fox, ESPN, FS1 or ESPN2 and streamed on both ESPN+ or the Fox Sports activities app.

The season will begin March 30, with 4 groups (two from every convention) advancing to the playoffs, which begin on June 9. The UFL championship recreation will happen June 16 at Tom Benson Corridor of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

The opening-week schedule (all occasions Jap):

Saturday, March 30

Birmingham Stallions at Arlington Renegades (1 p.m., Fox)
St. Louis Battlehawks at Michigan Panthers (4:30 p.m., Fox)

Sunday, March 31

D.C. Defenders at San Antonio Brahmas (midday, ESPN)
Memphis Showboats at Houston Roughnecks (3 p.m., ESPN)