UFL President Reveals League's Future Plans, Schedule, Vision

United Football League president/CEO Russ Brandon comments on the league's future plans, schedule and long-term vision.

UFL president/CEO Russ Brandon shared the newly formed league's future plans, structure, and vision for this year and beyond during an appearance on 101 ESPN "Sports Talk For St. Louis" with hosts Randy Karriker and Brooke Grimsley.

The first UFL Dispersal Draft does indeed commence this Friday January 5th amongst all eight teams. With a player pool from the disbanded 2023 USFL and XFL teams.

The league will not officially release results until Monday. It’s a multi-layered process. https://t.co/uivoydxahD

— Mike Mitchell (@ByMikeMitchell) January 3, 2024

Here are some notes from Brandon's conversation, plus other news:

• Talked about his excitement for St. Louis and how it's been the high watermark for the XFL and spring pro football. He was happy that the news of the Battlehawks' inclusion into the UFL was the No. 1 story of this past weekend in St. Louis.
• Truly believes the merger is a long-term play.
• Confirmed the expectation that the UFL's training camp will start six weeks from now in Arlington (Feb. 24) and that all eight teams will play in their markets.
• Late word is that the Houston Roughnecks, who have explored several venue options for 2024, including Shell Energy, will play at Rice Stadium this season.
• Anticipates that the UFL 2024 game and TV schedule on FOX, ABC and ESPN will be released in the middle of January. The league and its partners are working diligently on the schedule.
• UFL regular season kicks off with the USFL and XFL champs, Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades, squaring off on March 30. There's potential for an all-XFL versus USFL lineup in week one.
• Early word is that the premier UFL game will occur in the league's centralized training and travel hub in Arlington at Choctaw Stadium.
• The 10-week regular season will see teams play six conference contests and four non-conference games, with two conference games (XFL and USFL) in the opening playoff week, followed by a league championship game in mid-June. Although not confirmed yet, St. Louis and The Dome is the reported site for the UFL title contest.
• As a result, the UFL season will start and end with the USFL and XFL champions squaring off.
• The league's football ops team, headed by Daryl "Moose" Johnston, Doug Whaley, Russ Giglio, Jim Popp, Doug West, and David Dykeman, are working on all the particulars for their eight-team player protections in a league dispersal draft that will consist of players from the eight teams who will not be a part of the 2024 UFL season.
• The first phase of what could be multiple drafts starts with a dispersal draft on Jan. 5, a process that will include all eight existing UFL teams with players from disbanded XFL and USFL teams in the pool. The league says that draft results will not be public until Monday. 
• The dispersal draft is expected to be one of a few player acquisition portals for the UFL before camp starts in late February. Much like the XFL and USFL in 2023, The league will look to add players who just missed the cut in the NFL this past Summer and those who finish the year on NFL practice squads, much like the 16 players who signed futures deals and then played in the XFL last year.
• Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino will work in tandem on the UFL's officiating and rules side of things. UFL brass continues to work with NFL executive of football operations Troy Vincent in that regard. Brandon talked about some potential alterations moving forward in the UFL. But he loved the transparency the league had during games with officials.
• League rules are expected to be released shortly. Of much contention will be the XFL kickoff, something the NFL is seriously considering implementing for its future. The USFL and XFL in 2023 shared similarities in their rule book borrowed from XFL 2020 with some tweaks. Seeing where the new UFL lands in meshing current and new concepts will be fascinating.
• Brandon says that the league is looking at expansion shortly. Brandon stated that it's unfortunate that specific markets are not returning in 2024 but that the UFL is here for the long haul.

Top UFL Dispersal Draft Targets by Position

You can find Mike Mitchell on X @ByMikeMitchell.

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