Though you'd be hard-pressed to find any football diehards who will claim that the merger of the XFL and USFL is on par with that of the NFL and AFL merger of the 1960's, spring football has undeniably gotten at least a little more interesting with the recent merger of it's two middling leagues. Now, the two leagues have apparently settled on a new name that not so subtly hints at the unification of the two brands.

Earlier this month, XFL owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson applied for the trademarks for “United Football League” and “UFL,” according to Nick Moyle of the San Antonio Express News (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). These applications seem to indicate that when the two recently merged leagues eventually return in the spring, it will be under a new league name. All parties involved certainly hope that this new league will have greater success than either of its predecessors did. The original iterations of the XFL and USFL lasted a combined four seasons. The reboots have arguably had even less success. The XFL lost $60 million in 2023, according to the Sports Business Journal.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Dwayne Johonson USFL XFL

Nayan Brahmbhatt ·

XFL-USFL merger, birmingham stallions

Eva Geitheim ·

Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward on the left. Steelers receiver George Pickens on the right. Ward says to Pickens, "It's Not About You."

Benjamin Adducchio ·

Following the formula that was used in the 1960's by the NFL and AFL is not a bad idea for the newly formed UFL. If I were contacted by the new league and asked to be their Commissioner (I'm very available, by the way) I would separate the two leagues into two conferences that bare similar names to the former leagues. On one side, the XFC, and on the other, the UFC. And when a champion is eventually crowned in the new United Football League, maybe instead of the Super Bowl, we can just call it the “Subpar Bowl.”