Redbird Capital Partners founder and UFL co-owner Gerry Cardinale provided rare insights into the league's strategic vision during a recent CNBC Sports podcast appearance. The interview revealed the UFL's positioning within professional football, its relationship with the NFL, and Cardinale's company-building approach to sports investment.
Cardinale discussed the UFL's ratings performance, development league aspirations, venue challenges, and his belief that the UFL delivers NFL-quality football to fans year-round.
On the UFL's Core Strategy and NFL Relationship
Cardinale explained how the UFL differentiates itself from failed spring football leagues of the past by working within the NFL ecosystem rather than competing against it.
"I think the fundamental difference in the way we've approached this over the last several years versus what's been done in the past is we went into it not wanting to compete with the NFL. We went into it with a view that we wanted to be a worthy participant in the NFL's ecosystem, which obviously one aspect of that is to be the Development League."
I didn't like the tone of this question by host Alex Sherman. He clearly never watched the UFL before and was questioning the quantity of the games. Listen for yourself in the interview below.
On Player Quality and NFL Standards
When challenged about whether UFL football truly matches NFL standards, Cardinale defended the league's talent level by explaining the mathematics of roster limitations.
"Every year, you can only have 53 spots on an NFL team, and every year, coming out of college and coming down from the NFL are more than enough quality NFL players. The thing that ultimately convinced me to take a run at this was that I could field an NFL quality team."
Cardinale's argument centers on scarcity rather than ability - suggesting that talent exceeds available NFL roster spots. Again, going back to Sherman's line of questioning. There was so much more to ask him rather than focusing on this.
On League Performance and Ratings
Despite public perception of struggles, Cardinale shared specific ratings data that positions the UFL favorably against other professional sports leagues including the NFL and MLS.
"The ratings are not down. We actually have, if you look at the distribution that we have with ESPN and Fox, we outperform MLS 4:1 from a rating standpoint, and we outperform Hockey 2:1."
These numbers provide concrete evidence of the UFL's television appeal and suggest the league has found its audience despite attendance challenges. This is what we need to hear as fans. Yes their numbers are down from past years, but they are out performing other leagues that command big media right dollars. That means the United Football League is in good position for the long term.
On Development League Potential and Player Movement
Cardinale outlined how the UFL functions as a bridge between college and professional football, addressing a gap in player development infrastructure.
"Here, one of the KPIs for the NFL is that every year, our best players go to the NFL... There's no shock absorber between college and the pros in football, number one. Number two, people would like to have NFL quality football all year round if they could."
This quote reveals the UFL's dual purpose as both a development system and entertainment product. The emphasis on player advancement to the NFL demonstrates the league's success in its developmental role while addressing fan demand for extended football into the spring.
On Venue Challenges and Market Strategy
While celebrating television success, Cardinale acknowledged ongoing struggles with live attendance and venue selection that impact the fan experience.
"The Live event, we're still figuring out the venues. So the live event is still challenged, and we really need to play in. If the paradigm is to take a national quality product and put it into these local markets to compete against what else is available in those markets, like an MLS, then we got to get the venues right, and we haven't been able to get the venues right yet."
To read a bit between the lines we can go back to our article this week about the latest UFL trademarks and some potential team movement in 2026. Memphis, Birmingham and Houston are under performing venues. I assume he would use the term venue rather than city when explaining the situation. Other wise fans would freak out so close to the end of the season. Putting any of these teams in a $1 billion dollar stadium wont change attendance. Cardinale knows that.
UFL fans can access the complete CNBC Sports podcast interview through CNBC's digital platforms and podcast distribution channels, where Cardinale discusses additional topics including sports investment strategies and media rights evolution.