UFL Combats Tanking with Winner-Take-All Game for Top Draft Pick
The biggest game of the final UFL regular season week is undoubtedly the St. Louis Battlehawks and the San Antonio Brahmas as the two battle for a home game in the XFL Conference title game. Now there is one other game with meaning and intrigue.
In a social media post, UFL executive vice president of football operations Daryl Johnston announced that the winner of the Houston Roughnecks (1-8) and Memphis Showboats (1-8) game will win the first overall pick of the 2025 UFL Draft. A win will also earn the team the first pick in every round of the draft.
The winner claiming the No. 1 pick obviously avoids the incentive to tank and lose on purpose to finish with the worst record. Unlike many sports, including the NFL, that reward the worst team with the best draft selection, the UFL is trying to flip the script and eliminate the tanking urge, as well as create interest in an otherwise meaningless game.
Creating interest is key for the league. Johnston admitted recently that the UFL itself is to blame for the poor attendance in most markets this season.
The USFL had a similar winner-take-all setup back in 2022 between the Michigan Panthers and Pittsburgh Maulers as both teams were 1-8 as well. Michigan won the game 33-21 as the team got the first overall pick in the 2023 USFL College Draft.
Houston and Memphis have not played each other since Week 1 of the UFL season where the Showboats defeated the Roughnecks 18-12. Since then, the Showboats have gone on an eight-game losing streak while the Roughnecks’ only win was against the Arlington Renegades in Week 4.
The two teams meet in the last game of the regular season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST on Fox.
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ANTHONY MILLER