As the UFL 2025 season draws closer to its conclusion, the league's continued attendance woes have cast doubt on potential expansion for 2026, with relocation of its current eight teams a seemingly more realistic and sensible option.
After all, interest in the United Football League has waned a year after the USFL and XFL merged. The novelty of a merger has worn off, and there are strong signs of apathy from the league's dedicated fan base.
Evidenced by the fact that UFL TV ratings are down 26% from a year ago, and the league's attendance continues to be its most significant sore spot. In Week 7, the UFL had its lowest weekend attendance totals in the last two years, averaging 7,201 per game.
After seven weeks, the UFL is averaging just over 12,000 in attendance. 5 percent behind last year's pace, and over two thousand fewer attendees per game from the XFL two seasons ago at 14,703. The goal to put boots on the ground in the league's cities with an added focus on connecting locally has not panned out.
Could Relocation Be in The Cards For The UFL?
The UFL's attendance, while being down in its two most dedicated markets, St. Louis and D.C, has more troubling signs in mainstay locations like Arlington and Birmingham, two centralized hub sites for spring pro football, in the last few years. The Stallions and Renegades have shown little to no prosperity as they complete their fourth seasons respectively in the marketplace, frequently averaging under 10,000 fans per game, with Birmingham hitting a documented low of 4,744 this past weekend on an ill-timed Mother's Day scheduling.
For a long time, the prevailing theory among spring football enthusiasts was that these leagues' teams should all play games in non-NFL cities. The lack of interest and success in San Antonio, Birmingham, and Memphis flies directly in the face of that line of thinking.
Memphis's most recent attendance figure of 4,215 is the lowest documented attendance in the modern spring pro football era (non-COVID season) since the NFL's short-lived attempt at spring pro football in the United States three decades ago, and the CFL's experimental expansion into America during the same period. The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks and Las Vegas Posse finally have company.
Memphis is not alone, however, in that ill-fated territory. Fans not showing up for the Showboats isn't just their problem. Houston and Birmingham have also recorded attendance figures in the 4,000 range this season. UFL teams in 2025 are in epic low territory.
Throwing up the white flag may have arrived for the UFL in locations like Memphis and perhaps even Houston. However, it's challenging to see the league abandoning one of its three Texas teams because of the financial benefits attached to that configuration. Nevertheless, the league has had talks with cities like Nashville, Denver, and Tulsa, among others, in the past. They could also explore returns to familiar territories if they cut bait with one or more of their current league cities.
The UFL’s leaders have negotiated with cities for potential team expansion in 2026. Still, the poor results of returning markets have them rethinking strategies, not only in where the league expands to but in what existing cities they move forward with. As a result, there could be more than two new cities in next year’s UFL. That's if the league doesn't press pause on expansion.
Will The UFL Pass On Expansion Plans For 2026?
The UFL's public announcement last November that it had officially launched its first expansion process, with the league accepting proposals from prospective markets, was a sign of prosperity. The immediate information from league insiders was that the UFL planned on adding four new teams by the 2027 season, with the first two starting play in 2026.
In April, CTInsider interviewed David Dykeman, the director of football operations for the United Football League. Dykeman let the cat out of the bag that the UFL would announce this year its ninth and tenth teams for expansion in the 2026 season.
One of the UFL's leaders and owners, Dany Garcia, publicly stated that the plan after condensing the UFL and XFL leagues from 16 teams to eight was to bring the team total back up after the first phase of the merger. In a recent interview with the league's official 4th and 12 podcast, Garcia said that the league's goal was to "go back up" and that the UFL has a lot of names and a tremendous amount of IP (Intellectual property) for expansion to make it happen.
If the UFL were to expand in 2026, a team in Seattle and Ohio would be perceived as likely choices. That's because the two locations that just missed the cut in the USFL-XFL merger were Seattle, with which, after the merger, the league retained a retainer agreement as an extension of a multi-year lease deal with Lumen Field, and Ohio, with both Canton, a USFL host site, and Columbus as options. On top of that, the UFL has trademarks for the Aviators, Bulldogs, and the already established Sea Dragons brand.
However, as of press time on May 14, there is much uncertainty as to whether the league will meet its goal of adding two new league cities for the 2026 season. That's because the 2025 season hasn't shown the growth the league had hoped for—Particuarly in its already established cities.
The league's latest announcement of ticket sale reservations for its eight teams further supports the belief that recalibration may be in the works from the UFL's brain trust. And that expansion could be off the table for now.
The UFL has announced the same ten-week regular season and two-week playoff format for 2026 without a set start date. Many analysts believe it should be moved from its late March launch point to a week after the Super Bowl to help boost ratings and attendance. However, the league's owners, FOX Sports and Disney, may have other plans due to programming schedules on their networks.
In theory, announcing a ten-week 2026 regular season slate doesn't rule out adding two new teams next year. The league could limit out-of-conference games to only two per team, rather than the current seasonal allotment of four, to accommodate the addition of a new XFL and USFL squad.
Nevertheless, announcing a 2026 return doesn't have the same effect it would have had in the first seasons of the revived USFL or XFL. Once the league announced its intent to grow its team and fan bases, the failure to deliver on expansion will leave many losing interest and faith in the UFL's viability. And there are signs from 2025 that they may have lost some of the faithful already.
The announcement of potential expansion was a marketing strategy to present a picture of prosperity to all outside interested parties and instill faith from within. Whether intended or not, the goal was to get league cities like Memphis, Birmingham, San Antonio, and others to buy in and finally see that the UFL was here to stay. It's safe to say that, based on the results, the buy-in hasn't occurred in 2025. It may never.
A familiar sports phrase for coaches and teams is having a lame duck season, when an individual or entity is perceived as weak or has fallen behind in achievement, and is on its last legs. If the UFL doesn't move forward with changes in a positive direction for 2026, it could become a lame-duck league.