Spring football just got a lot more serious as a viable sports entity with the announcement that the XFL will join forces with the USFL starting next season.
The USFL put out a news release explaining the merger. “This historic combination will anchor professional spring football with substantial capabilities and resources to ensure future growth and continue to enhance the development of the collective players, coaches, and staff that are coming together,” the release stated.
The XFL has struggled financially during its tenure. The league is owned by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and several others, and it has reportedly lost $60 million this year.
A merger between the two leagues seemed like a necessity ever since it became clear that both leagues would hold their season as the same time of the year. Trying to compete against each other and the other major sports that hold their seasons in the spring made no sense at all.
The original USFL ran from 1983-85 and has been active again during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The XFL was founded by former WWE CEO Vince McMahon and has competed in 2001, 2020, and 2023.
The idea of spring football was born from the NFL's popularity and dominance with the ticket-buying and television-watching public. Since the NFL is such a strong league and indicative of professional football's popularity, the thought that spring football could be successful allowed the USFL to come into existence.
The original league was quite successful and the quality of play was also high, but that league struggled when it decided to move from the spring to the fall.
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