Will the USFL be back next season? League set to return in 2023, face off against XFL | Sportidiya

Will the USFL be back next season? League set to return in 2023, face off against XFL

Since over 40 years ago, no significant spring football league has done what the USFL has done. They'll compete for the entire season before selecting a winner.

The USFL championship game between the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars will take place on Sunday, July 3. The USFL's inaugural season will be ended once one of the teams triumphs, and supporters of the spring league will turn their attention to the future.

Of course, some may be speculating as to whether the USFL will even return in 2023. They currently seem to be considering doing that.

The USFL's full-season success contrasts with what has previously happened for string leagues. The Alliance of American Football disbanded in 2019 not long after Tom Condon bought it. The XFL had a promising start in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic eventually forced its closure.

All 43 of the USFL's games, including the playoffs, could be played, and the league will probably try to build on its strong performance in 2023. It won't be simple for them to do that, though, as they are ready to make some significant league-wide adjustments and deal with a genuine rival in 2023.

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Here is what you need to know about the USFL in 2023, including updates on its comeback, significant changes, and how the league might be challenged by the XFL's return.

Is the USFL playing in 2023?

It was commonly believed that the USFL will continue its existence for another season. The league will return in 2023, according to Fox's Eric Shanks, who recently spoke with the Sports Business Journal.

According to Shanks, "We have a multi-year plan to create this football business." If anything, the popularity of the first season has increased my excitement for Season 2 and beyond.

NBC was on board with bringing it back for a second season, according to NBC Sports president Jon Miller, who also stated that the product, play quality, and viewership all matched the company's expectations.
Miller remarked, "The USFL worked for us on a number of fronts. Is the property profitable? All things considered, I would say that it was a successful investment for us.

He continued, "It accomplished what we had thought it would, and we're eager to start organising after this season is finished to talk about 2023."

Since the first USFL, which ran for several seasons between 1983 and 1985, the new USFL is the only significant spring league to be successful. The two incarnations of the XFL in 2001 and 2020 both lasted a year or less as well. More recently, the Alliance of American Football failed to conclude their debut season in 2019 as well.

Of course, the decision to proceed is a significant one for the USFL, but it also entails certain adjustments and potential enhancements to the final product.

What will be different about USFL in 2023?

Playing in more places is one among the USFL's key goals for 2023. The league played its three playoff games at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, after spending the whole 2022 regular season in Birmingham. Making this decision was a way to cut costs because the bubble-type format eliminated the need for major travel expenses.

Having said that, the league is currently trying to increase the number of spectators at each game. According to Carl Adkins, director of operations for the USFL, Birmingham Stallions games in 2022 saw an average attendance of 10,000 to 15,000 spectators. However, non-Birmingham teams attracted much less attention, with just 1,500 to 2,000 spectators per game in Birmingham.

The USFL won't rule out having two to four host cities for the 2019 season, according to Shanks, but it isn't nearly ready to send every club to its home market in 2023.

We're currently discussing how many of those cities we'll be visiting locally with those cities, according to Shanks.

As a result, attendance figures, which are NBC's main concern, should increase while Fox's primary emphasis with the league, broadcast viewing, should remain largely unchanged.

The league will likely also review its schedule, roster requirements, and on-field regulations, but for now, the main development is that it's unlikely to have a single home for the upcoming season.

Will the USFL expand in 2023?

The USFL does not anticipate expanding in 2023. Moving away from the single central site strategy they employed in 2022, they will concentrate on the eight teams they already have.

Having said that, the USFL is thinking about expanding. If the league is still around in 2024, Shanks wouldn't completely rule it out.

We've always had an expansion strategy that may possibly be used in years three and beyond, according to Shanks. The number of teams will remain at eight the next year, but they will play in more than one city, increasing the involvement of home markets.

The USFL should be able to decide whether expansion is a wise course of action by assessing the performance of the additional markets. However, as another spring league prepares to face them in 2023, the league will also have to deal with some new competition.

USFL vs. XFL 2023

In 2023, there will be other spring leagues than the USFL. The XFL will return for a third season in an effort to establish itself as an NFL alternative.

The XFL has a strong foundation. Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic shutting it down in 2020, it was operating successfully. With ESPN's support and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson acting as the company's prominent spokesperson, it is now making a comeback.

Whether the USFL or XFL will prevail in 2023 is too soon to predict. Being in its second season, the USFL has the advantage of having more recent experience than the XFL. Additionally, the USFL clubs will be more well-known to the TV audience that each league hopes to attract, at least early on in the process.

However, for a few reasons, the XFL seems poised to undermine some of the USFL's advantages. First of all, the XFL will debut the weekend following the Super Bowl whereas the USFL won't until mid-April, the week following the Masters. Given that it is supported by ESPN, this will provide the XFL a chance to develop an early marketing presence.

Considering the 2020 season's popularity prior to COVID-19 and its relationship with The Rock, the XFL also enjoys strong brand recognition. These elements, combined with its early start, might give the XFL an edge when selecting players for the 2023 season.

It's also important to note that the eight teams in the XFL's 2020 inaugural league played all of their home games in those cities. Will they repeat that? It's unknown if they will, but if they do, it will be simpler for them to draw crowds and forge a bond between the supporter and the team.

The USFL has more recent experience than the XFL, and by the end of 2023, it will have produced 43 broadcasts that are ready for television using drones, on-field camera operators, and other unusual perspectives. The XFL will need to determine exactly how to keep the broadcast exciting, but they can do so and get better at it over time.


The good news for the USFL and XFL is that their schedules will only truly cross for a few weeks because the XFL season's conclusion will fall on the same day as the USFL's opening week. Therefore, given that their head-to-head competition is modest, both may survive. However, it will be intriguing to watch how much the two leagues might influence one another, particularly in terms of getting players to commit to playing in each league.

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