UFL 2025: Make Or Break Season for Spring Pro Football's Staying Power
With the NFL and College season in full swing, chances are that the UFL is the furthest thing on the minds of the majority of football fans.
Football enthusiasts are fully immersed in the NFL season and the evolution towards a broader college playoff system. Within the confines of a specialized football community, however, the news of the UFL's second season starting next March has resonated.
Therein lies the rub and challenge the United Football League faces as it heads toward year two of a merged entity that has yet to win over mainstream football fans.
As the NFL and College Football continue to eclipse viewership markers, the UFL remains an afterthought. That's not to state that there isn't some spring pro football influence seeing its way onto fields in the fall. Look no further than the NFL's adoption of the XFL kickoff or the continuing success of spring league stars like Dallas Cowboys All-World kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Brandon Aubrey has more points than the Dolphins this season 😬#NFL | #GoFins pic.twitter.com/EbyEFkmEAR
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 30, 2024
However, these peripheral achievements must extend beyond catering to the football landscape. To ensure its longevity, the UFL must pivot towards establishing itself as a widely recognized independent brand.
Since 2019's AAF, Spring Pro Football has existed in some form on national television. Each entity that has come forward has struggled to break through and become a popular and most importantly profitable proposition.
In the last few years, FOX Sports and Redbird Capital Partners have successfully adapted models for financial survival. However, even with a measured approach, the USFL, XFL and now UFL have operated in the red, incurring losses at an acceptable rate but at a loss nonetheless.
The question is how much longer will FOX and RedBird play this losing game for?
The merger of the UFL came about because neither side saw the light at the end of the tunnel as separate entities. The UFL was born out of the idea of finally achieving commercial success.
The 2024 UFL season was a mixed bag. The league had a solid on-field product and improved television ratings from its predecessors, but the league fell short at drawing fans to games.
Ultimately, the UFL's inability to generate local or national media interest limited the league's drawing power. The mainstream sports media barely covered the UFL.
Inside the UFL, multiple voices believe that the 2025 season will be the league's last if interest in the property doesn't grow. The expectation is that TV ratings have reached their floor and that if the UFL doesn't garner an increase in local and national sponsorships, the next UFL campaign will be its last.
Beyond amping efforts to establish local market teams to build interest, the UFL has a serious awareness problem in the sports landscape. The property is not seen as a major league and likely never will be. Unless that reality changes, the road to long-term viability in spring pro football will end.
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.
You can find Mike Mitchell on XÂ @ByMikeMitchell.
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