CFL Teams Benefiting From USFL-XFL Merger to Form UFL
Over a dozen XFL and USFL players from 2023 have signed on with CFL teams since the start of the New Year. There should be more signings as the ramp up continues to the 2024 CFL season in June.
It's the inevitable byproduct of the XFL and USFL merger. The two American spring pro football leagues have condensed their player pool in half, from 16 teams and over 800 players to eight teams now, and there will be 400 players in total when the United Football League season starts on March 30.
As a result of the merger, Hundreds of players for the USFL and XFL in 2023 were left out in the cold dead of winter.
The general idea behind the newly merged partnership of FOX, Disney and RedBird Capital Partners is that the union will create a winning formula for the long-term health of spring pro football in the United States.
However, in the short term, the biggest winners from the XFL-USFL marriage in this space are the CFL and its nine football teams. Eliminating eight pro football teams has opened a portal and pathway to adding new football talent.
The primary selling point for the CFL over any non-NFL pro league has always been long-term stability. Something that leagues like the newest face in this landscape, the UFL, can not match or promise.
The United Football League does have an advantage over the CFL in American player recruitment, as well as playing at home in an NFL-compatible league that allows for an easier transition since the spring season ends in June.
Still, the Canadian Football League remains the more trustworthy and time-tested option.
Nearly 120 players from the USFL and XFL signed NFL contracts in 2023. About 40 players from both leagues are on NFL rosters heading into 2024. As a result, the United Football League can make a strong case for prospective players to join their league over any other. But now, fewer opportunities are available for players who want to plunge into spring pro football.
A year ago, CFL standouts like LB Darnell Sankey, OT Colin Kelly and QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson tried their hand successfully in American spring pro football but have returned to Canada seemingly for good.
CFL teams have benefited from folding American leagues in the recent past. Several All-Star players in the CFL, like RB James Butler, DL Shawn Oakman, OT Dejon Allen, DT Casey Sayles and DB Deatrick Nichols came from the discontinued XFL four years ago.
The next group of CFL All-Stars could or may have already arrived from the dissolved teams and players from the XFL and USFL in 2023.
Former XFL/USFL players that have signed this CFL offseason:
- Toronto Argonauts: RB DeAndre Torrey (Las Vegas Vipers).
- Saskatchewan Roughriders: WR Geronimo Allison (Vipers).
- Edmonton Elks: DE Keyshon Camp (Birmingham Stallions), QB Steven Montez (Seattle Sea Dragons), DT Trevon Mason (Houston Roughnecks).
- BC Lions: DL Daniel Joseph (Sea Dragons/ Stallions),
- Montreal Alouettes: OL Jachai Baker (Roughnecks), QB James Morgan (Pittsburgh Maulers), RB Mike Weber (Orlando Guardians).
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers: QB Eric Barriere (New Jersey Generals), DE Ali Fayad (Philadelphia Stars).
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats: OT Brendan Bordner (San Antonio Brahmas).
- Calgary Stampeders: DB Bentlee Sanders (D.C. Defenders).
Courtesy Release: Argonauts, Dariusz Bladek Part Ways
You can find Mike Mitchell on X @ByMikeMitchell.
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Mike Mitchell is a pro football writer/insider with decades of experience covering and following multiple leagues. He covers the New York Jets for TheJetPress.com at FanSided. He has also written for XFL Board and at Hub Publishing covering the CFL, XFL and USFL.