On March 30th, the United Football League will kick off its inaugural 2024 season with a ten-week schedule that leads into the playoffs. The UFL was created last year when the XFL and the USFL merged following their 2023 campaigns.
When the two spring football leagues combined, both contained eight franchises. A total of eight UFL Football teams were retained for 2024, with many providing a pro football team in massively populated areas.
Here are this season’s United Football League teams, separated by division.
XFL Division
- St. Louis Battlehawks
- Arlington Renegades
- DC Defenders
- San Antonio Brahmas
USFL Division
- Memphis Showboats
- Birmingham Stallions
- Michigan Panthers
- Houston Roughnecks
While several football-starved markets now have a franchise to call their own, one cannot help but notice that most teams are located in the eastern United States.
League executives have mentioned the potential for UFL expansion, but that could have been lip service paid to Orlando, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Seattle, Philadelphia, and New Jersey – cities that the UFL opted out of.
What’s of upmost immediate importance by the presence of the United Football League is the potential for legal football betting to become a year-round pastime.
No longer will football gamblers have to wait out the long offseason between February and July. UFL betting odds have not been posted yet at any of the legal football sportsbooks we recommend, but we expect future lines to appear any day now since rosters are known.
2024 United Football League Schedule
- Week 1 March 30-31
- Week 2 April 6-7
- Week 3 April 13-14
- Week 4 April 20-21
- Week 5 April 27-28
- Week 6 May 4-5
- Week 7 May 11-12
- Week 8 May 18-19
- Week 9 May 25-26
- Week 10 June 1-2
- UFL Playoffs June 8-9
- UFL Championship Game June 16
The UFL Schedule is arranged to conclude in time for players to attempt to join an NFL franchise for their official training camp. Both the XFL and USFL had relationships with the National Football League, and that partnership is expected to continue, although terms have not been defined.
UFL games will air on FOX, ESPN, ESPN, FS1, and ABC. The Fox Corporation owned the United States Football League, and the XFL was owned by Dwayne Johnson (aka the Rock), his ex-wife and business manager Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital. The two parties each possess a 50% stake in the UFL.
The teams are in place, the broadcast coverage is secured, and in some markets like Houston, St. Louis, and Arlington, sizable fanbases are already present. What could go wrong?
Neither the USFL nor the XFL ever secured television ratings worth bragging about. Their viewership would have been applauded on smaller cable networks but not on a nationally broadcast channel.
UFL betting could serve as a catalyst to achieve higher ratings, but for now, no odds are on the boards.
Sources – Sports Illustrated