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USFL Planning to Return in Spring of 2022
The United States Football League announced Thursday that it plans on returning in the spring of 2022.
The league, which initially launched in 1983 but halted its operations after the '85 season, will target a minimum of eight teams instead of the 12 it initially consisted of and will utilize Fox Sports as its broadcast partner.
Fox Sports, according to the official release, also owns a minority equity stake in the company that owns the USFL.
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"I'm extremely passionate about football and the opportunity to work with FOX Sports and to bring back the USFL in 2022 was an endeavor worth pursuing," Brian Woods, cofounder of the new USFL and founder and CEO of The Spring League, said in a statement. "We look forward to providing players a new opportunity to compete in a professional football league and giving fans everywhere the best football viewing product possible during what is typically a period devoid of professional football."
The initial iteration of the league featured a number of standout players, including running back Herschel Walker and quarterbacks Doug Flutie and Steve Young. Future president Donald Trump was the part-owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals, though his eventual decision to try to make the spring football league into a fall football league played a key role in its demise.
From the SI Vault—Donald Trump and the USFL: A ‘Beautiful’ Circus
In recent years, a number of different companies have tried to build successful spring football leagues. Among them, the Alliance of American Football suspended all operations despite being just eight weeks into its inaugural season and the XFL suspended its operations in April 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this past October, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and business partner Dany Garcia announced plans to bring the league back for the spring of '22.
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