As the United Football League (UFL) prepares for its 2026 season, the league is set to implement key changes aimed at strengthening team performance and enhancing fan engagement, according to a USA Today article by Jacob Camenker. With a focus on extending training camp and introducing a new free agency period, the UFL aims to address challenges from its 2025 season and build competitive rosters.
Extended UFL Training Camp to Boost Preparation
The UFL’s 2025 season saw roster sizes cut from 75 to 64 players and training camp shortened from four weeks to three, a move that left some teams struggling early on. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston indicated a potential reversal, stating, “Those will be conversations we have with our coaches. Did that impact you? Do you need more time?” A longer training camp in 2026 would provide teams with additional time to integrate players, refine strategies, and address early-season inconsistencies. This adjustment is particularly critical as the league looks to stabilize key positions, such as quarterback, exemplified by the Houston Roughnecks’ 5-5 finish in 2025 after Jalan McClendon’s midseason emergence as a starter.
New UFL Free Agency to Freshen Up Rosters
The UFL is also introducing a significant free agency period ahead of the 2026 season, offering teams the chance to reshape and refresh their rosters. Johnston highlighted the upcoming opportunity, saying, “We’ve got players experiencing free agency this year. So, there could be movement with guys being on a team for two consecutive seasons.” This new free agency window will enable teams to pursue and refresh their talent, addressing gaps and thereby boosting competitiveness, particularly in markets seeking to reverse the 5% attendance decline observed in 2025.
A UFL free agency that includes players who have been DC Defenders or Birmingham Stallions for two consecutive seasons could make for some intriguing possibilities, giving some of the league’s best players the freedom to choose who they want to play with. For example, could Matt Corral seek to find a more stable QB1 job than the one he hasn’t had with the Stallions? What if a Hakeem Butler decided that he would prefer playing with a different QB somewhere else? Or could players choose to play for their hometown team?
By extending training camp and leveraging free agency, the UFL aims to improve its early-season performance and refresh the experience for fans and the players by offering them more player choice. These changes aim to ensure that teams are better prepared and have more dynamic rosters for 2026, supporting the league’s ambitions for growth and increased fan engagement.
The change that fans want is the addition of new teams, potential city changes, and a change in the season start. Areas that are addressed by Russ Brandon and Daryl Moose Johnston in the USA Today article. It’s not quite addressing expansion or enhanced promotion of the league, but a new type of free agency system would provide some novelty to a league looking for any added hooks it can find for 2026.
2 Comments
by Ken Granito
The change I would most like to see regarding free agency. I feel a UFL team who has the rights to a player needs to offer that player a contract or open him up to free agency. e.g. The Michigan Panthers had the rights to Wes Hills, but did not offer him a contract. Finally, the Panthers released him so he could sign with the Showboats. Allowing teams the ability to stockpile players without paying them or even offering them a contract, leaving unemployed players incapable of signing with another UFL team is an unfair practice and something I had never heard before. Please note this does not include players signed by another league such as the NFL or CFL. A team should be able to keep their rights if drafted, etc.
by Gary Winter
If that’s true and I have no reason to doubt it. That definitely needs to be changed. If a team doesn’t put a player on their roster, they should be declared a free agent and allowed to seek employment elsewhere. This is a development league and holding someone from playing or trying out with another team seems a bit counter-productive and against the stated purpose of the league.