Promises Kept? Continued Vision for 50/50 XFL-USFL Merger

With the UFL's structure official and the inaugural season around the corner, are promises of a 50/50 merger between the XFL and USFL being kept?

From the moment Axios first reported that the XFL and USFL were deep in talks about merging, the message has been that the marriage of both leagues would be structured as equal.

That report didn't stop certain news outlets that haphazardly cover spring pro football from running with countless false reports about the structure of the proposed USFL-XFL league, however.

If you are an avid follower of the XFL and USFL, you likely saw some of the irresponsible reporting that said all eight USFL teams would return while the XFL would be downsized and absorbed by FOX.

UFL Partnership group, Pictured from left to right: Co-Owner Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, RedBird Capital head Gerry Cardinale, FOX head Eric Shanks, ESPN head Burke Magnus, RedBird's Mark Dowley, League CEO/president Russ Brandon, and league founder/co-owner Dany Garcia / Dany Garcia IG

Unfortunately, many whose livelihoods were at stake — especially on the USFL side — breathed a premature sigh of relief because of these false reports.

The misinformation from these outlets was all over the map, suggesting league configurations of eight and four, seven and five, multi-hubs, single hubs, etc.

I first reported the merged league name on social media in November, along with the eight cities — Arlington, Birmingham, D.C., Michigan, Memphis, San Antonio, St. Louis and Houston. Some immediately jumped the gun and assumed that Houston would be home to the Gamblers brand rather than the Roughnecks, but at least that instance of premature guesswork was partially correct.

Thus far, at least in the short term, the early alignment of the United Football League appears to be following the equal merger concept on the football and business side. That is obviously something that could change as time progresses and more details emerge, but for now, the operation appears to be united and pushing in a joined direction. 

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You can find Mike Mitchell on X @ByMikeMitchell.

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