The feds have approved a merger between the USFL and XFL, allowing the two spring professional football leagues to operate as one going forth. Both parties can now proceed with planning for the 2024 season, which the new league has announced will begin in 2024.
What hasn’t been clear until now was which teams would be a part of the league when the dust settles. The USFL and the XFL include eight franchises each, but only eight total will be kept on board for the 2024 season.
Four USFL teams have been announced for termination, and they are as follows.
USFL Teams That Will Not Play In 2024
- New Jersey Generals
- New Orleans Breakers
- Philadelphia Stars
- Pittsburgh Maulers
That leaves these remaining franchises that will be brought into the new consortium.
USFL Teams That Will Remain Post-Merger
- Birmingham Stallions
- Houston Gamblers
- Memphis Showboats
- Michigan Panthers
During the 2022 and 2023 United States Football League seasons, regional stadiums were utilized. This alleviated the need for excess travel and kept costs down across the board.
This strategy also neutered the USFL’s ability to develop home markets and fanbases or inspire ticket sales. Misiscule audiences were often seen on-screen with piped-in crowd noise mimicking the sound of thousands of rabid and responsive fans.
Memphis, Birmingham, and Detroit were hub cities in 2023, so it makes sense that they’ve been retained.
Which Teams Will Be Kept From The XFL?
All XFL franchises exist and play games in their home cities, but some markets were more successful than others. Even between seasons one and two in the XFL’s return, Tampa, New York, and Los Angeles were abandoned for Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Antonio.
Based on local support and geographical considerations, we’re betting on the XFL to retain the following franchises for the 2024 season.
- St. Louis Battlehawks – No city in either league has adopted a team like St. Louis has with the Battlehawks. They’ve flocked to the stadium in droves that exceed 30,000, so keeping them in 2024 is a n0-brainer.
- San Antonio Brahmas – Dwayne Johnson and XFL ownership were eager to add the San Antonio market in 2023, so we’d be surprised if this former AAF franchise isn’t a part of the new formation.
- Arlington Renegades – Coach Bob Stoops and the Dallas/Arlington Renegades have been a featured franchise since the XFL began anew in 2020, and we expect that to continue.
XFL Teams That Could Be Terminated
- Orlando Guardians – Ticket sales were low, and play was poor in the only season of the Orlando Guardian’s existence. What’s also low are the odds that they’ll stick around.
- DC Defenders – Signs are pointing to the retention of the Defenders and it could be entirely due to maintaining a presence in the northeastern United States.
- Seattle Sea Dragons – Fan response was great in Seattle, but leaked information suggests they are on the chopping block. Otherwise, we’d feature them in the list above.
- Vegas Vipers – The league could use a team out west, but the lack of local response to the Vipers makes them an easy cut.
- Houston Roughnecks – It remains to be seen as to whether the Roughnecks or the Gamblers team name is retained, but this town’s only big enough for one of them.
Look for betting odds to appear for spring football games and championships at the sites in our online sportsbook reviews in the coming weeks.
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