The USFL is returning next year.
The former football league, which didn’t last long in the 1980s, is being brought back as a spring league starting in 2022. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Fox Sports stated the following in the Thursday announcement:
Initially launched in 1983, the USFL originally was an upstart spring football league consisting of 12 teams which featured some of the most exciting and recognizable young football stars in the country. When relaunched next year, the new USFL retains rights to key original team names.
The league will target a minimum of eight teams and deliver high-quality, innovative professional football to fans throughout the spring season.
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FOX Sports will serve as the official broadcast partner for the USFL. FOX Sports also owns a minority equity stake in the company that owns the USFL.
You can watch the announcement video with Doug Flutie below.
The USFL is back! The action begins in the spring of 2022 on FOX Sports.
???? : https://t.co/Zh04Uy0Z4k@USFLOfficial legendary QB @DougFlutie discusses the league’s return in 2022 ⬇️pic.twitter.com/c9A0CnAnJn
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) June 3, 2021
This is a fascinating decision from Fox and everyone involved. The XFL is also returning in 2022 as a spring league, and it will now have direct competition.
With Fox Sports going all-in on the USFL on the broadcast side, you’d have to imagine that means zero XFL games will appear on any Fox network.
A professional football league that is calling itself the USFL is bringing back the name and the logo and has the rights to the names of the league’s former teams. The USFL folded in 1986. Fox is the minority partner and official broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/iGfNRvmWco
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 3, 2021
I’ve long argued that spring football can work in the United States of America, and I think we have to figure out a way to make it work.
It’s not like we don’t already know this fact. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic ruining the XFL, it was doing very well.
It was fun, engaging and fans loved it.
Now, it looks like we’re going to have two spring leagues starting in 2022 and both will have huge money behind them. Competition makes everyone better, and it should be a ton of fun to see what the USFL can do.