Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia on Sunday unveiled plans for the United Football League, the new spring professional football league created by the merger of the XFL and USFL.
During an appearance on Fox this morning NFL on Fox, the pair said the UFL’s debut season will begin on March 30, 2024, with a match between the Arlington Renegades and Birmingham Stallions, the previous champions of both leagues. Further details on teams and markets are expected soon.
Last year was Johnson and Garcia’s only season as co-owners of the fledgling XFL with RedBird Capital Partners, which competed with the USFL for NFL eyeballs in the offseason. The USFL itself was in the second season of its own revival, operating under a joint broadcast deal with NBC and Fox, the latter also having a minority stake in the league.
A press release today listed five UFL partners: former XFL owners Johnson, Garcia and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird, Fox Sports (led by CEO Erik Shanks) and ESPN (led by chairman Jimmy Pitaro). ESPN was the XFL’s broadcast partner last season.
Russ Brandon, former president and CEO of the XFL, will become president and CEO of the UFL. Daryl Johnston, former USFL president of football operations, will lead football operations.
A promotional logo indicates that games are being played on ABC, ESPN, Fox and FS1.
The XFL and USFL originally announced their intention to merge in September after each had a quiet season. The USFL championship game in July drew approximately 1.16 million viewers on NBC, while the XFL title game a few weeks later drew 1.43 million viewers on ABC.
“We wanted to join forces for a couple of reasons,” Johnson, a former University of Miami defensive end, said on Fox today. “None. 1: To grow football – it’s a game we all love – and create opportunities for the players … and also deliver results for the fans.”
“When you think about it, it’s 30 years of spring football, start and stop, start and stop,” he added, “so with this merger … we feel like we have an opportunity to prove that spring football here is.” remain.” .”
Source: Deadline
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