UFL football for those undergoing withdrawal

[FireChans]

14 hours ago, Roundybout said:

Honestly, none of these spring leagues are going to match the AAF for quality. That league was awesome. Great teams, lots of recognizable guys (Trent Richardson, Johnny Manziel, Christian Hackenburg), and good production quality. It's a shame they fell apart so fast. 

The name recognition hurts these leagues imo.

 

Sports are driven by stars. They are driven by story lines. Rivalries. Matchups. 
 

Watching the XFL is like watching two kids play Madden, poorly. 

[Gregg]

These spring football leagues never seem to work out. The only football that matters is the NFL and college football. Until the NFL starts up again the only team that has my attention right now is.

 

 

[billsfan89]

20 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

I don't understand why Fox, for instance, doesn't just put up reruns of Simpsons or Family guy, which regularly are beating the UFL thus far.  Why spend all that money on production when reruns cost nothing and provide advertisers with better numbers?

I too don’t understand the economics of it. UFL games do eat up a lot of time and there’s hope to grow the league. Maybe Fox and these other networks own a piece of the league? 

[billsfan89]

5 hours ago, Gregg said:

These spring football leagues never seem to work out. The only football that matters is the NFL and college football. Until the NFL starts up again the only team that has my attention right now is.

 

 

USFL has some success doing Spring Football in fact their downfall was moving away from spring football and attempting to move head to head.

 

I think the NFL should have stuck with NFL Europe. I think if the NBA which is a much smaller league could have the foresight to stick with the WNBA for decades subsidizing the product despite losses year after year the NFL could have stuck with NFL Europe. It would have served many purposes and seen growth once the NFL did intentional games more regularly.

 

The NFL pinching penny’s cost them a chance to turn that into something 

[Gregg]

9 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

USFL has some success doing Spring Football in fact their downfall was moving away from spring football and attempting to move head to head.

 

I think the NFL should have stuck with NFL Europe. I think if the NBA which is a much smaller league could have the foresight to stick with the WNBA for decades subsidizing the product despite losses year after year the NFL could have stuck with NFL Europe. It would have served many purposes and seen growth once the NFL did intentional games more regularly.

 

The NFL pinching penny’s cost them a chance to turn that into something 

 

The problem these spring leagues have is all of the top talent coming out of college goes to the NFL since that is where the money is. The drop off in the level of play is noticeable because of it. Many fans (at least for me) also switch gears to NHL playoffs, MLB, NBA playoffs when spring is here. I don't think any other football league will have the same interest that the NFL and college have.

Edited April 15 by Gregg

[Steptide]

7 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

why does the stadium matter?  they are near empty--how would it be more enjoyable or watchable in an NFL stadium (only 4 teams would be in proximity to one for home games)?

Theoretically, you could bring in nfl players and coaches on the sideline or in the box for interviews and/or coaching for these ufl players. Also, just the fact that these teams are playing in nfl stadiums would draw more attention. Again, they'll never get the draw the nfl does, but these games need a major kick in the rear. I'd also use alternate nfl uniforms. Not the same as nfl, but similar. So some kind of alternate bills uniform that'd at the very least draw interest. I'm not talking throw backs, I'm talking re designs that'd get people talking. My biggest thing though is they need to change the rules. The scoring is so low. Ditch the punting, make it so these teams are putting up more points. 

[Captain Hindsight]

23 hours ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

Love watching games where the fans are disguised as empty seats.

 

Got the perfect place for ya

 

Miami Dolphins Forum | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

[Mr. WEO]

4 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

I too don’t understand the economics of it. UFL games do eat up a lot of time and there’s hope to grow the league. Maybe Fox and these other networks own a piece of the league? 

 

Fox is stuck owing 50% of this money pit for as long as it lives.  It's impossible to understand any major network executives would have reason to believe there's hope to grow the league.  Every iteration of these minor leagues has quickly died simply because there is no money in it as there is essentially no fan interest in this country for such.  It's the dumbest business ever, for a network.

 

3 hours ago, Steptide said:

Theoretically, you could bring in nfl players and coaches on the sideline or in the box for interviews and/or coaching for these ufl players. Also, just the fact that these teams are playing in nfl stadiums would draw more attention. Again, they'll never get the draw the nfl does, but these games need a major kick in the rear. I'd also use alternate nfl uniforms. Not the same as nfl, but similar. So some kind of alternate bills uniform that'd at the very least draw interest. I'm not talking throw backs, I'm talking re designs that'd get people talking. My biggest thing though is they need to change the rules. The scoring is so low. Ditch the punting, make it so these teams are putting up more points. 

 

The UFL and it's network sponsors couldn't afford to pay for the cost of broadcasting from an even larger, more empty NFL stadium one of their 3-3 heading into the 4th Q  football Kabuki shows. It costs millions per game to produce each NFL game.  UFL can afford to pay its players $4500 a month---before taxes.  If you are in Houston or the DC area or Detroit, why would you be more likely to buy a ticket to see this kind of football if it was in a nearby NFL stadium?  "Michigan Panthers" currently play in an empty Ford Field....

 

The NFL is the only broadcasted product in existence that has an almost magical ability to find money anywhere and everywhere (they broadcast a show the other night that was basically an announcement of which players will be attending the draft!).  American sports fans simply cannot satisfy their hunger for NFL content (at the expense of every other pro league too).  The fact that they look sideways at the UFL (if they truly look at all) confirms that they see not a penny to be made by associating with this stuff.  

[billsfan89]

8 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Fox is stuck owing 50% of this money pit for as long as it lives.  It's impossible to understand any major network executives would have reason to believe there's hope to grow the league.  Every iteration of these minor leagues has quickly died simply because there is no money in it as there is essentially no fan interest in this country for such.  It's the dumbest business ever, for a network.

 

 

Fox owning it makes sense in terms of how this is functioning. The USFL 40 years ago was the only spring league to ever have success and that league only had a few franchises that actually made money most of the league lost money. That was in an era when the NFL salaries hadn't exploded to a point where it became fiscally unviable to even try to compete for top football talent without having a massive media contract pouring money in. The USFL investors burnt about 600 million in todays dollars on the league. 

 

The USFL was able to get top college talents and some NFL players for salaries that adjusted for inflation would be 1.5-5 million a season. If the UFL or any spring league could bring in first round level talents for 1-3 million a season topping out at 4-5 million a season (All in todays dollars) that would be doable for a big network. Now you would have to pour in Billions yearly to get these talents and poach NFL players. And only the Saudi's who could burn 10-50 billion on such an insane venture could afford to do so and they likely wouldn't make money on it. 

 

So for a current style spring league to be successful you have to find some sort of way to make the league successful with third rate talent. Which I think is a massive challenge unless you have the backing of the NFL in some way and even then like NFL Europe that would require burning tens of millions yearly for likely decades. 

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

On 4/14/2025 at 4:35 PM, Logic said:

Being addicted to the NFL and trying to get your fix from watching the UFL is like being addicted to sex and trying to get your fix from looking at the "intimates" section of the Sears catalogue.

Brilliant

[Orlando Buffalo]

I have watched the majority of 3 games so far this season and I have seen only a few TDs. The biggest issue the QB play is bad and the DBs don't have to respect it past 25 yards. If the NFL doesn't ever see the worth of allowing the 3rd stringers play in it I don't think the odds of success are good. 

[Mike in Horseheads]

8 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

USFL has some success doing Spring Football in fact their downfall was moving away from spring football and attempting to move head to head.

 

I think the NFL should have stuck with NFL Europe. I think if the NBA which is a much smaller league could have the foresight to stick with the WNBA for decades subsidizing the product despite losses year after year the NFL could have stuck with NFL Europe. It would have served many purposes and seen growth once the NFL did intentional games more regularly.

 

The NFL pinching penny’s cost them a chance to turn that into something 

And Ahem.... we know who's brilliant idea that was

Edited Wednesday at 02:52 AM by Mike in Horseheads

[PromoTheRobot]

8 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

I too don’t understand the economics of it. UFL games do eat up a lot of time and there’s hope to grow the league. Maybe Fox and these other networks own a piece of the league? 

In a sense. The keep the league afloat because they want programming. And up until this year UFL, USFL, XFL ratings were good enough to keep going. Don't forget a lot of people bet on UFL games. (The bet on Polish ping pong, why wouldn't they bet on UFL?)

[Mr. WEO]

12 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Fox owning it makes sense in terms of how this is functioning. The USFL 40 years ago was the only spring league to ever have success and that league only had a few franchises that actually made money most of the league lost money. That was in an era when the NFL salaries hadn't exploded to a point where it became fiscally unviable to even try to compete for top football talent without having a massive media contract pouring money in. The USFL investors burnt about 600 million in todays dollars on the league. 

 

The USFL was able to get top college talents and some NFL players for salaries that adjusted for inflation would be 1.5-5 million a season. If the UFL or any spring league could bring in first round level talents for 1-3 million a season topping out at 4-5 million a season (All in todays dollars) that would be doable for a big network. Now you would have to pour in Billions yearly to get these talents and poach NFL players. And only the Saudi's who could burn 10-50 billion on such an insane venture could afford to do so and they likely wouldn't make money on it. 

 

So for a current style spring league to be successful you have to find some sort of way to make the league successful with third rate talent. Which I think is a massive challenge unless you have the backing of the NFL in some way and even then like NFL Europe that would require burning tens of millions yearly for likely decades. 

 

The USFL failed 40 years ago.  Every copycat since has also failed, for the same reason---there wasn't enough money in it.  The owners initially agreed to a cap, but then some blew right through it, burying the others. The NFL kept them out of NFL stadiums.  When it inevitably folded, the league as a whole had lost $160 million by 1985.  

 

UFL/FOX should pay "1st round talent 1-5 million a season?? 

 

1. The entire league budget is only  $24 million!  Last year the salaries were $55k.

2. 1st round NFL annual avg contract starts at $2.5 million for #32 and peaks at $7.8 million for #1--a total of $364 million on 1st round contracts alone--fully guaranteed for 4 years.

3. with NIL, top Power 5 NCAA players are already getting millions---to play college ball.  why would they take less to join a league that won't survive to pay them?

4. as we both noted above, the USFL failed specifically because a few owners ignored the agreed upon cap, causing other teams to actually cancel their TV contracts and fold.

 

 

 

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

https://www.espn.com/united-football-league/story/_/id/44729619/new-ufl-cba-increases-minimum-salary-roster-size

 

So the league and players finally reached a labor deal. It includes year-round health coverage and a small boost in salary and roster size.

Edited Saturday at 01:19 PM by PromoTheRobot

[Mr. WEO]

10 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

https://www.espn.com/united-football-league/story/_/id/44729619/new-ufl-cba-increases-minimum-salary-roster-size

 

So the league and players finally reached a labor deal. It includes year-round health coverage and a small boost in salary and roster size.

 

Probably hoping to make through the season before the end times come.

 

https://awfulannouncing.com/ufl/ratings-paint-bleak-picture-week-3.html

 

Ratings down 33% form the poor numbers of last year.  3 of 8 HCs already bailed out (Wade!!).

 

 "Through 12 games this season, only one has seen both teams score over 20 points. 10 out of 12 games have seen at least one team score 12 or fewer points. The UFL is not producing an attractive brand of football.

Individual player stats look just as ugly. Five of the league’s eight starting quarterbacks have completion percentages under 55%, with several sitting under 50%. Only one quarterback has thrown for more than two touchdowns through three games. The league’s best rusher is averaging a meager 63 yards per game."

[Roundybout]

Currently watching Houston/Birmingham and I think I’ve figured out what’s wrong with the UFL - there’s nothing novel about it.

 

AAF was fun because they had all sorts of former NFLers that you knew, like Trent Richardson and Johnny Manziel.

 

XFL was a reboot of one of the greatest failures ever. 
 

The UFL is just boring football. There’s nothing interesting about it. There’s no star power, the stadiums have maybe 2,000 people inside, and they don’t try to be anything different. 
 

Its football in the same way that hydrogen peroxide is substance to an alcoholic

Edited Saturday at 11:16 PM by Roundybout

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

Meh … everything has its season, and this is not football season. Rather watch the Yankees or NHL playoffs and impatiently wait for actual pleasant weather 

On 4/15/2025 at 10:39 PM, PromoTheRobot said:

In a sense. The keep the league afloat because they want programming. And up until this year UFL, USFL, XFL ratings were good enough to keep going. Don't forget a lot of people bet on UFL games. (The bet on Polish ping pong, why wouldn't they bet on UFL?)

Then apparently a lot of people have debilitating gambling addictions 

[WotAGuy]

Geez - it’s clear you people

know nothing about sex, alcohol or gambling addictions.  Leave those to the professionals. Ahem….

 

And the problem with the UFL is the uniforms.  Hideous. 

Edited yesterday at 01:05 AM by WotAGuy

[Just Jack]

2 hours ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

Then apparently a lot of people have debilitating gambling addictions 

 

I was reading an article just the other day about a guy that was so addicted to online gambling, and chasing losses, that he was taking out bigger and bigger loans to pay back the previous loans he had taken out to gamble. And he would gamble on sports like Peruvian girls' basketball, trying to get some wins to offset his losses. 

Edited yesterday at 02:03 AM by Just Jack