United States Football League (2022)

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United States Football League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2022 USFL season
United States Football League (2022) logo.png
SportAmerican football
Inaugural season2022
Owner(s)National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC[1]
PresidentBrian Woods
No. of teams8
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersBirmingham, Alabama
Venue(s)Protective Stadium
Legion Field
TV partner(s)
Related
competitions		XFL
Official websitetheusfl.com

The United States Football League (USFL) is a professional American football league that began play on April 16, 2022. The inaugural 2022 season is being played in its entirety in Birmingham, Alabama.

Although the league owns the trademarks of the old USFL, which operated for three seasons during the mid-1980s, the new USFL is not officially associated with that entity.[2] This is the fourth attempt to launch a league using USFL naming, including prior attempts in 1945 and 2010.[3][4][5]

History

On June 3, 2021, it was announced that the United States Football League would be making a return and would begin its inaugural season in April 2022. Fox was also announced as a minority owner in the league.[6]

On October 12, 2021, Tad Snider, the executive director of the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority, announced that the league was in serious discussions with the board of directors of the BJCC about the possibility of the USFL playing all of its games in Birmingham, Alabama. According to initial information, USFL players/staff would be housed in Birmingham during the season for an estimated economic impact of about $15 million (47,000 hotel nights), while the league would play the bubble season at Protective Stadium and Legion Field.[7][8][9] The "bubble" setup may possibly continue in the league's second year, with as many as four teams playing in Birmingham and as many as four in their respective cities. The teams would then be expected to play in their own cities by Season 3.[10]

The proposal includes an eight-team 10-week season with two additional playoff rounds, from April 16 through July 3, 2022, with the broadcast proposal as follows: 25% each on Fox, NBC, FS1 and USA. Later on December 15, 2021, Fox and NBC had finalized their agreement. NBC announced that it would air 9 games on NBC itself, 8 on USA, and 4 on its streaming service Peacock.[11][12][13]

On November 17, 2021, it was announced that The Spring League founder Brian Woods would serve as the league's president, as well as Daryl Johnston as EVP of football operations, Mike Pereira as head of officiating, and Edward Hartman as EVP of business operations.[14]

On January 4, 2022, NBC Sports reported that a “player selection meeting” would be held on February 22 and 23 to set teams. Training camp will also begin on March 21.[15][16]

On January 6, 2022, four of eight teams unveiled their head coaches and general managers on The Herd with Colin Cowherd,

Two weeks later on January 20, 2022, two more head coaches were announced.

The final two head coaches were announced the following week on January 27, 2022.

On January 25, 2022, the city of Birmingham announced that the league headquarters would be in Birmingham, and all games of the 2022 USFL season would be played at Protective Stadium and Legion Field.[21]

The first game was played on April 16, 2022 between the Birmingham Stallions and the New Jersey Generals at Protective Stadium. The game was broadcast by Fox and NBC, the first football game simulcast on over-the-air broadcast networks since the final week of the 2007 NFL regular season when a game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants aired on CBS and NBC in addition to cable NFL Network.[citation needed] Tickets were released to the public at $10 per person; children aged 15 and under were admitted for free.[22]

On February 16, 2022, the league announced that the 2022 Playoffs would be held in Canton, Ohio, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium instead of Birmingham due to conflicting scheduling with the 2022 World Games.[23] The following day, on February 17, 2022, the league revealed uniforms for each team.[24] The day after that the league announced the draft order for the 2022 USFL Draft.[25]

Connection to 1980s USFL

There is no legal connection between the new entity and the source of its name, the original United States Football League, which operated from 1983 to 1986 and was officially dissolved in 1990. No principals from the former USFL are involved in the current league's ownership; Brian Woods, who had previously launched the Fall Experimental Football League and The Spring League, was initially the primary owner of the new league. By October 2021, Woods had been demoted to a vice president role[26] as Fox Sports set up a subsidiary, the National Spring Football League, to operate the league.[27] The Spring League, and later the NSFL, acquired most of the USFL's trademarks after the last attempt to revive them, the A-11 Football League, let them go dormant after its own failed launch in 2014. The new USFL will not inherit the old USFL's unpaid liabilities, nor its television contract; it will instead hold a new contract with Fox Sports, which already owns both the rights to and an equity stake in The Spring League, and with NBC Sports.

According to Steve Ehrhart, former USFL executive director, he still owns the league rights and the "USFL still exists", while stating that the league officials still get monthly royalty checks. He also mentioned that he refused previous attempts to "buy" the league, "including the people who founded the first version of the XFL".[28] Ehrhart would later explain that he was only "trying to protect the league legacy".[29]

Lawsuit

On February 28, 2022, "The Real USFL, LLC," a group fronted by Larry Csonka (acting in his capacity as general manager of the original Jacksonville Bulls) and claiming to represent the interests of the owners of the former USFL franchises, filed suit to stop the current USFL from using the name or trademarks associated with the original league.[30][31] In response, the league attorneys claimed "The new USFL registered its intellectual property rights in 2011".[32]

On April 14 (two days before the scheduled start of the new USFL's regular season), federal judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California denied a preliminary injunction to bar the new USFL from using the original league's name and trademarks, remarking that while the plaintiffs were "likely to prevail" on their claim of trademark infringement, "any alleged harm" could be "easily compensated by monetary damages".[33]

Rule changes unique to USFL

On March 23, 2022, the league announced some rule tweaks for the USFL, including:[34]

  • 15-minute halftime intermission (except USFL Bowl I, 30 minutes).
  • The play clock will be 35 seconds, with 25 seconds used for administrative stoppages and penalties.
  • Teams will have three options to attempt a point(s) after touchdown:
    • PAT kick (or drop kick) from the 15-yard line (same as the NFL).
    • Two-point conversion from the three-yard line (also same as the NCAA).
    • Three-point conversion from the 10-yard line (same as the XFL in 2001 and 2020, though in those leagues, there was no option to kick the PAT.)
  • Overtime will consist of teams attempting three alternating two-point tries; whoever has the most points after the three tries will be the winner. If still tied after three attempts, overtime becomes sudden death and the next successful attempt ends the game. Coin toss will be called by the visiting team; whoever wins the toss can choose to go on offense or defense. One timeout can be called per try.
  • One foot inbounds on catches (same as high school and NCAA football).
  • Two forward passes from behind the line of scrimmage are legal; this rule was originally introduced in the XFL in 2020. It will also mean that a pass batted back to the quarterback can be thrown again.
  • An offensive lineman may advance downfield on a forward pass play in which the pass does not cross the line of scrimmage.
  • Defensive pass interference will be penalized similar to college football (15-yard penalty or spot foul if within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage), but if it is determined the defensive player intentionally interfered with the receiver the penalty will be a spot foul similar to the NFL rule. As in the NFL, no pass interference foul will be called if the ball fails to cross the line of scrimmage.
  • Each coach will be allowed one replay challenge per game by throwing red flag; he will lose a timeout if he fails, but keep it if successful, in addition to one more challenge. All challenges and replay reviews will take place at Fox's facilities in Los Angeles. Replay challenges are automatic in last two minutes of half and whole overtime, besides scoring plays and turnovers, as in the NFL.
  • All kickoffs will be from the kicking team's 25-yard line. No kicking team member may line up any farther back than one yard, while the receiving team must have at least eight players in the setup zone between their 35 and 45.
  • If an untouched kick becomes dead, the ball belongs to the receiving team at that spot.
  • A kicking team may not recover or touch its own kickoff beyond 20 yards from the spot of the kick.
  • A trailing team can choose to execute either an onside kick under standard rules or, in lieu of a kickoff, attempt to gain 12 yards on a scrimmage play from the offense's 33-yard line, mirroring a similar rule used in the AAF in 2019 and Fan Controlled Football in 2021.
  • On punts, gunners may not line up outside the numbers and they cannot be double-team blocked until the ball is kicked.
  • The clock will stop for first downs after the two-minute warning in the second and fourth quarters, similar to the rule the previous incarnation of the league used.
  • There will be no chain crew. Instead, a microchip will be inserted into each football and will use a proprietary technology similar to the NFL's Next Gen Stats to pinpoint the location of the ball. (Profootballtalk.com noted that the technology would not be more accurate than the traditional chain crew as the USFL claims, because the technology has a margin of error of approximately the full length of the football.)[35]

League finances

Fox Sports owns the league and has reportedly committed $150 million–$200 million over three years to its operations,[36][37] with plans to attract an additional $250 million from investors.[38] For the 2022 season, tickets would be sold at $10 per person, with children aged 15 and under free.[39]

Gambling

On March 3, 2022, the league announced that 15 states have approved legal, regulated betting on USFL games.[40]

Players compensation

USFL players and staff will be able to receive a college degree "tuition-free and debt-free", through a partnership with for-profit universities Strategic Education’s Capella University and Strayer University. They will be able to take classes online or in-person.[41]

Player pay structure will be $45,000 for Active Roster players, $15,000 for Practice Squad Players, and $600 weekly during training camp. Players will also receive win bonuses of $850 per win and $10,000 for winning the championship.[42][43] Players will be required to pay their own rent, however, while the league offers a reduced hotel price at a cost of $75 per room per day, with an option for two players to share a room.[44]

Teams

The league announced the 2022 season will be played "with minimum of eight teams."[45] In addition to obtaining the rights to the USFL name and logo, the new league has obtained the rights to the aforementioned former league's team names including the Los Angeles Express, Chicago Blitz, Tampa Bay Bandits, and Houston Gamblers and more.[46][47] Additionally, the Generals rights are owned by The Spring League, another Woods entity. Since its original announcement, the USFL had purchased more trademarks including new team names like the Birmingham Stallions, Jacksonville Bulls, and Portland Breakers, and variations on the already existing trademarks.

Eight teams were announced on November 22, 2021.[48] Each of the eight teams will have a 38-man active roster and a 7-man practice squad.[15]

Team[49] Based City/State Location Stadium Surface Capacitydagger Head coach
South Division
Birmingham Stallions Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Protective Stadium/
Legion Field 		Turf 47,100/
71,574 		Skip Holtz
Houston Gamblers Houston, Texas Kevin Sumlin
New Orleans Breakers New Orleans, Louisiana Larry Fedora
Tampa Bay Bandits Tampa, Florida Todd Haley
North Division
Michigan Panthers Detroit, Michigan Birmingham, Alabama Protective Stadium/
Legion Field 		Turf 47,100/
71,574 		Jeff Fisher
New Jersey Generals East Rutherford, New Jersey Mike Riley
Philadelphia Stars Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bart Andrus
Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Kirby Wilson

References

  1. ^ "USFL, BJCC reach tentative MOU to bring relaunch season to Birmingham". AL.com. October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Donald Trump helped kill the first USFL. Now a new version has risen in its place".
  3. ^ "Will Birmingham play in the United States Football League?".
  4. ^ "On this date in 1945, the United States Football League folded".
  5. ^ Fender, Richie. "USFL: Making a Comeback". Bleacher Report.
  6. ^ Reuters (June 3, 2021). "Nearly 40 years after its first game, USFL announces return". Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  7. ^ Franklin, Austin; Cardone, Jen (October 11, 2021). "BJCC officials in discussions to host all United States Football League games in Birmingham". CBS42. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Curi, Peter (October 14, 2021). "WATCH: Gene Hallman talks possibility of USFL coming to Birmingham". CBS42. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Franklin, Art (October 21, 2021). "Birmingham Parks and Rec Board votes to put Legion Field in play for the USFL". CBS 42. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Johnson, Roy (January 18, 2022). "USFL announce plans for inaugural season in Birmingham". AL.com.
  11. ^ "USFL proposes hosting relaunch season in Birmingham in Spring 2022". WVTM13. October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Fambro, Cassie (October 12, 2021). "USFL possibly returning to Birmingham". WBRC6. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
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  14. ^ Hayes, Dade (November 17, 2021). "Ahead Of Spring 2022 Reboot, Fox Sports' USFL Sets Senior Exec Team". Deadline. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". ProFootballTalk. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Perry, Mark (January 4, 2022). "USFL Training Camps Start Mar 21st, "Player Selection Meeting" Feb 22nd". XFL News Hub. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Gaydos, Ryan (January 6, 2022). "4 USFL teams reveal their head coaches for upcoming season". Fox News. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
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  28. ^ "Did the new spring football league get permission to use the USFL name?".
  29. ^ "Former USFL Exec Steve Ehrhart Clarifies League Name & Logo Statement".
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  33. ^ The Real USFL, LLC v. Fox Sports Inc et al, 13 (C.D. Cal. April 14, 2022).Text
  34. ^ "New USFL adds 3 point conversions and best of three rule twists". ESPN.com. March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
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