The United Football League (UFL) concluded its 2025 regular season, with FOX Sports airing 20 games and one postseason matchup, including “FOX UFL Friday.” Despite a 19% viewership drop across FOX, ABC, ESPN, and FS1 (from 651,000 viewers per game in 2024 to 816,000), FOX’s coverage, averaging 661,000 viewers per game, highlighted robust regional engagement.
The highest-viewed game, the Week 9 DC Defenders vs. Houston Roughnecks matchup on May 25, 2025, drew 1.348 million viewers, boosted by the Indy 500’s 7 million viewer lead-in. Notably, neither DC nor Houston ranked among the top TV markets, suggesting national appeal driven by the lead-in. A 2024 analysis at Sports Illustrated of top markets across FOX, ABC, and ESPN revealed Birmingham’s dominance (1.65 rating), a trend that continued in 2025.
The numbers below, courtesy of FOX Sports, do not reflect the XFL Championship Game on FOX, which averaged 873,000 viewers. Additional data, including that game, will be included in the future, which involved DC and St. Louis.
Top-Rated TV Markets for UFL Games on FOX, 2025: (Per FOX Sports)
Birmingham: 1.6 rating, 5 share – Despite continuous struggles with attendance, the Birmingham Stallions have strong viewership.
New Orleans: 1.4 rating, 5 share – Sustained enthusiasm post-USFL’s New Orleans Breakers.
St. Louis: 1.3 rating, 4 share – Robust support for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Louisville: 0.8 rating, 3 share – Notable non-UFL market interest.
Tulsa: 0.8 rating, 3 share – Loyal spring football viewership without a UFL team.
Dallas: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Engaged market for the Arlington Renegades.
Detroit: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Strong support for the Michigan Panthers.
San Antonio: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Loyal market for the San Antonio Brahmas.
Nashville: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Emerging non-UFL market interest.
Kansas City: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Solid non-UFL market viewership.
Cincinnati: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Consistent spring football fandom.
Milwaukee: 0.7 rating, 3 share – Growing non-UFL market interest.
Oklahoma City: 0.7 rating, 2 share – Signals Oklahoma expansion potential.
Memphis: 0.7 rating, 2 share – Support for the Memphis Showboats.
Analysis: Birmingham, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio, and Memphis, all UFL markets, drove viewership. Meanwhile, New Orleans, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City highlight growth opportunities, particularly in Oklahoma, for potential expansion. ABC’s 2025 market ratings, forthcoming, will further clarify regional trends.
Of all the non-markets watching the UFL, the Oklahoma region is of interest because of its continued trend of watching spring pro football since 2020. Uniquely, Tulsa continues to remain loyal to the product. As chronicled at USFLNewshub, Tulsa was a top-three rated league market for the USFL on FOX.
For what it’s worth, the UFL recently updated its existing trademark of the USFL legacy brand, the Oklahoma Outlaws.
The UFL has been undertaking significant intellectual property housekeeping in recent weeks. Abandoning some of the USFL and XFL legacy brands, while extending the life of others. As a result, much speculation has been tied to the league’s trademark and copyright transactions. With many speculating on what, if anything, it could mean for expansion or even relocation.
Despite the league’s intention to expand from eight to ten teams in 2026, and UFL VP of Football Operations David Dykeman publicly stating in an interview with CT Insider in April that an announcement of the two new league teams was forthcoming in 2025. In recent days, League president Russ Brandon has hinted that the UFL doesn’t have an imminent timetable set for expanding, with the messaging from Brandon suggesting that the league is taking a methodical approach.
One thing is for sure: the league’s leadership, which is having end-of-season meetings to reassess the 2025 season, and determine the direction for 2026 and beyond, will undoubtedly be looking at their internal ratings data from league owners FOX and Disney, to set a chart for where the league should go and remain moving forward.
We will be announcing later this year a ninth and 10th team for expansion in the 2026 season. *UFL VP of Football Ops David Dykeman to CT Insider In April*
7 Comments
by Ken Granito
I think it is safe to say that the Stallions who had the 4th best attendance in 2024 AND 4th or 5th in attendance depending on how you look at it. Also, regarding the 1.6 vs the 0.7 ratings for teams you felt could get a team. If Birmingham is doing better than twice what a market that Mike Mitchell thinks should get a team, maybe we get off knocking the Stallions. Houston, Arlington and Memphis are clearly worse markets for the league. And it’s possible San Antonio is. The Stallions are more important to Birmingham than the Showboats to Memphis, Renegades to Arlington and Dallas/Fort Worth area, the Roughnecks to Houston. With regards to stadium availability the Stallions are even more important to Birmingham than the Panthers are to Michigan and the Defenders to DC. The league is looking for success stories, please leave the Stallions alone.
by 4th&long
Not following that. AR (2.46% HH) has strong TV ratings in the largest TV market currently in the UFL. Roughly 4 times the size of Birmingham (.62% HH). That’s way more TV viewership in AR than Birmingham.
by 4th&long
Keep in mind Mike that local ratings don’t mean local viewership, due to relative market size.
A New Orleans 1.4 rating (with a HH mkt share of .52%) is less than .7 rating n Michigan (with a HH mkt share of 1.57%). Half the ratings but 3x the market size.
However, Michigan has more upside being a larger TV market. Arlington even more so.
The next move, whether via expansion or relocation should be to larger TV mkts… Bring back the NJ Generals and Philly Stars!
These would also be in the Eastern Time Zone where 47% of the USA population resides.
by Mike Mitchell
I am with you on larger markets. From a TV ratings perspective. The highest rated non NFL game since the XFL in 2001 is the 2020 FOX Sunday game between New York and Tampa. Had over 3 million viewers.
It’s a delicated balance, trying to find out a decent sized TV market with a market and venue partner that will truly be dedicated to the league.
You can go into a big market that doesn’t prioritize the UFL and treats it like a fourth or fifth class citizen. Or go into a market that will prioritize your league and embrace you.
I would like to see the UFL expand its map. But whatever they go. The preference would be for the UFL team to be treated like a big deal rather than an afterthought.
by Johnny the Angry Fuzzball
Tulsa/OKC: I’ve always suspected that Bob Stoops’s longtime coaching gig in Oklahoma has helped boost interest in that state as far as TV ratings go. It would make an ideal regional rival.
Kansas City: same state as St. Louis, likely a secondary Battlehawks market. Also fairly strong TAL team (St. Joseph Goats). Similar issue with Nashville perhaps having some residual interest in a same-state team even if Memphis is otherwise an on-field dud.
Cincinnati: might be a better idea for the long-anticipated Ohio team than Columbus if this is to be taken at face value (I wouldn’t).
Overall: clearly the midwest and south have a much higher interest in this league than the East Coast or West Coast. This is a league for the heartland. The UFL would be wise to avoid the pitfalls of the NHL in particular and try to “force” the big city Northeastern and Florida markets too much. If attendance is what needs to be shored up, go where you’re wanted, and remember: your TV exposure right now is guaranteed. College football has great TV deals with almost this exact same footprint and practically nothing in big cities like NYC or Philly that a certain user likes to talk up all the time.
by 4th&long
While I really like CFB, there’s reason they don’t match NFL ratings. They don’t have big teams in big many TV markets.
Also Look at XFL2020 viewership compared to USFL/XFL and more importantly the UFL. They had 2x+ the ratings of the better 2024 UFL season. Granted it was half a season and likely would have kept coming down but the avg was still likely 2x +/-.
Why? Well they were in markets making up 22% of the US total. UFL is at 11.3% of the US total. Two times the mkt size and 2x the ratings – its not a coincidence.
I get that there are benefits to operating in a smaller TV mkt, namely costs, but the viewership is the offset.
by Ken Granito
I hope the UFL is thinking this hard about it. Based on some of their actions in the past I am not so sure. By 2022 the XFL and USFL conferences and teams were formed. Since then there has only be detractions, league wide without any additions.
To me the league is stuck and they don’t have any drive or purpose. I give them credit for trying to put quality on the field, but someone said and it might have been Mitch that the league comes across as beggars. I have often felt that is the case in that they go to places that make it worth their while and I mean by that, that they come to where it makes sense financially, instead of where it truly makes sense for them from a growth perspective. This has lead them to a place of treading water. They have less than half the viewership it had in 2023 and now the attendance is going lower as well. I hope they come back to football. Keep to a two man team with one sideline reporter. Save the money by pulling back on the rest of those teams and put it into something else. I am going to say when Jason Garrett called the games he did a great job with it. He did his homework and still had the chops for the job and the football background to go along with it. There has to be someone they can hire that will bring that type of credibility to the UFL booth. Joe Tessitore has a great voice, but how often does he get excited and yell with that deep bellowing voice for a 2 yard gain. He gets it wrong more than right. I hope that doesn’t happen at home to that extent. A note of confidence for Jordan Rodgers. I gave him a little bit of a hard time earlier in the season, but he has gotten better. He definitely is at least paying attention. If you want to talk ratings let’s get real football people that are driven to get to the next level. Then make the product about football. So get people who love football to talk about football. To do that convincingly the football has to pass the sniff test. It has to be something that is real. You can’t have those people interrupt the game to talk about what play is coming. Real football don’t believe in that. Get all that stuff together and the fans will come. We really need to remind them how football is the best sport in the world. It seems we are doing everything, but reminding people of that.