If the thrill of Super Bowl LVIII has left you in the mood for more football, then you will be happy to hear the United Football League (UFL) is starting its 2024 season soon.
The UFL is a merger of the pre-existing leagues known as the XFL and USFL, which both played a full season in 2023. Now, the leagues have combined into an 8-team league that will start playing games very soon this spring.
We have all the 2024 UFL season information you need, including important dates, an introduction to the teams and what rule changes we will see. This way, you’re well-prepared when placing the best bets at the top-rated sportsbooks.
Introducing the 8 UFL Teams for 2024
Thanks to this merger, some teams did not make it over from last year to the new UFL.
Only 8 teams remain, and they will retain their franchise names. In a smart move, the teams are being split into conferences (4 teams per conference) to build up a rivalry between the 2 brands.
USFL Conference:
- Birmingham Stallions
- Houston Roughnecks
- Memphis Showboats
- Michigan Panthers
XFL Conference:
- Arlington Renegades
- D.C. Defenders
- San Antonio Brahmas
- St. Louis Battlehawks
The XFL added 4 of its teams, the USFL added 3 of its teams and what happened with the 8th team was that both Houston-based teams merged into the Houston Roughnecks (replacing the USFL-named Houston Gamblers).
Key Dates for the 2024 UFL Season
The 2024 UFL season is going to feature a 10-game schedule, there will be no bye weeks and the opening games will take place on Saturday, March 30.
In fact, the opening game is a battle of last year’s XFL champion (Arlington Renegades) and last year’s USFL champion (Birmingham Stallions).
The regular season is expected to run through June 2. The playoffs are a 2-week event that will feature 4 teams. The championship game will conclude the season on June 16, 2024.
Subject to change, the UFL games should air live on Saturdays and Sundays. They will be broadcast by the ABC and ESPN family of networks, as well as Fox and FS1.
The Head Coaches of the UFL
Here are the 8 head coaches in the UFL this season. Most have been retained from last season.
USFL Conference:
- Birmingham Stallions: Skip Holtz, 2nd season (2-time USFL champion and 2023 USFL Coach of the Year)
- Houston Roughnecks: Curtis Johnson, 2nd season (former Tulane head coach, 2012-15, and head coach of the 2023 Houston Gamblers in the USFL)
- Memphis Showboats: John DeFilippo, 1st season (former Eagles quarterbacks coach in 2016-17 and the 2023 coach of the New Orleans Breakers in the USFL)
- Michigan Panthers: Mike Nolan, 2nd season (former 49ers head coach, 2005-08)
XFL Conference:
- Arlington Renegades: Bob Stoops, 2nd season (former Oklahoma head coach, 1999-16)
- D.C. Defenders: Reggie Barlow, 2nd season (former NFL player and Virginia State head coach, 2016-21)
- San Antonio Brahmas: Wade Phillips, 1st season (former NFL coach and 2023 coach of the Houston Roughnecks in the XFL)
- St. Louis Battlehawks: Anthony Becht, 2nd season (former NFL player)
The Players
In shrinking 16 teams from the USFL and XFL into 8 teams for the UFL, a dispersal draft process was held in January to divvy up the players from the teams that did not make it to the UFL merger.
The process had 3 phases to it:
Phase 1: The last 8 teams selected up to 42 players currently under contract or who had a letter of intent with the team. These players would be excluded from Phase 3.
Phase 2: It involved separate dispersal drafts for the USFL and XFL teams. The rosters of the 4 contracted teams from each league were placed into different pools where the 4 remaining teams from each league could claim up to 20 players from their league’s pool.
Phase 3: The UFL Super Draft allowed for any players not claimed in Phases 1 and 2 –as well as free agents– to be eligible to be claimed by a team. Former Orlando Guardians quarterback Quinten Dormady was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft by the San Antonio Brahmas.
Here are some of the UFL players this season that football fans may already be familiar with:
- QB Case Cookus: Memphis Showboats (NFL preseason hero and successful quarterback for the 2022-23 Philadelphia Stars in the USFL)
- WR Vinny Papale: Memphis Showboats (son of former Eagles receiver Vince Papale, the inspiration for the film Invincible)
- LB Reuben Foster: Houston Roughnecks (former NFL 1st-round pick)
- LB Vic Beasley: Arlington Renegades (No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft by the Atlanta Falcons)
Rule Changes to Know This Season
Dean Blandino and Mike Pereira, former Vice Presidents of Officiating in the NFL, now oversee the UFL rules.
They have mixed and matched elements from the USFL and XFL for this merger. Certainly, some of the rules differ from what we see in the NFL too:
- Receivers must get 2 feet inbounds for a completed catch, eliminating the XFL rule of 1 foot being enough.
- The defense caps pass interference penalties at 15 yards or the spot of the foul, whichever is shorter. No 40-yard penalties in this league like the NFL sometimes has.
- Kickoffs will come from the 20-yard line and resemble normal kickoffs, which should lead to better-starting field positions for offenses.
- Overtime is going to follow the XFL system, which is a best-of-3 shootout with 2-point conversion attempts from the 5-yard line.
- In the 4th quarter, teams can bypass a traditional onside kick for a 4th-and-12 attempt from the 28-yard line to gain an extra possession. This is similar to what the XFL and USFL had in place last year.
- For extra points, there will no longer be any options to kick for a single point like the USFL had. Instead, it will be the XFL system of having conversions worth 1, 2 and 3 points from different distances on the field.
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