The XFL and the USFL are nearing an agreement to merge operations, according to sources not authorized to comment on the matter. The upstart football leagues would still need to clear regulatory approval in order to create a single league for spring football in the U.S.
The XFL and the USFL both declined to comment.
Resolving TV broadcast rights will be one of the hurdles the two leagues must overcome. The XFL—owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and business partner Dany Garcia—struck an agreement with Walt Disney Co. last year to broadcast the league’s games through 2027 on ESPN and ABC. The USFL, which is solely owned by Fox Sports, has an agreement with that network and NBC to broadcast its games on multiple platforms of those companies.
Consolidation would stabilize recent efforts to startup professional spring football. The XFL relaunched for the 2020 season only to be shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and then filed for bankruptcy. Subsequent merger talks with the Canadian Football League never materialized, and the XFL canceled the 2022 season with plans to return to play in 2023.
The USFL launched in 2022 with all eight of its teams slated to play games in Birmingham, Ala., with future plans to move to individual cities. The league said its 2023 season would take place at two “hub” locations for all teams. Details on the number of teams or their locations in the proposed combined league are yet to be determined.
The Alliance of American Football—another spring football league, which was founded by Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian—launched in 2019 with games on CBS, Turner and NFL Network, but failed to make it through its first season.
(This story has been updated with details throughout.)
