Federal regulators on Thursday approved the merger of the Dwayne Johnson-owned XFL and its springtime rival, the USFL.
The USFL returned for the first time since the 1980s in 2022 and has since played two seasons under FOX Sports ownership. Meanwhile, the XFL returned for the third time as it is currently owned by RedBird Capital Partners, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia. The two spring leagues were competing against each other, but will now merge.
The XFL launched the third version of its league last spring after the group bought it out of bankruptcy after Vince McMahon’s second go at the league fell apart in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
The kickoff date will be March 30th, 2024.
Despite each league carrying eight teams, they will not expand to 16 teams and will instead keep four teams from each league.
From the XFL, the Arlington Renegades, DC Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas, and St Louis BattleHawks will be retained while the Seattle Sea Dragons, Vegas Vipers, Houston Roughnecks, and Orlando Guardians will no longer stay. On the USFL side, the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, Memphis Showboats, and Michigan Panthers will be kept while the Pittsburgh Maulers, New Orleans Breakers, Philadelphia Stars and New Jersey Generals will not.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral UFL stories via Google! Follow Us
Following the merger, the two leagues released a statement.
“We are pleased to have completed the antitrust review process in connection with the proposed merger of the XFL and USFL and intend to play a combined season this spring kicking off on Saturday, March 30. We are now finalizing terms of the definitive agreement and will share more about this new League in the coming weeks,” via Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal.
Details like its name, surviving markets and teams, broadcast rights deals and player employment terms are still in development.
