The new league plans to start in 2022.
The Birmingham, Alabama city council president wants to bring a United States Football League team to town in 2022. The rebooted USFL seems to be little more than a paper league with just the logos and trademarks of the original business which technically lasted from 1982 to 1986 and played just three years, 1983, 1984 and 1985. William Parker plans to meet with USFL officials about the possibility of the league playing some games in Birmingham. Birmingham had a World Football League franchise in the two years of that league’s existence in 1974 and 1975 and the Birmingham Stallions football business was a part of the USFL between 1983 and 1985. Birmingham business leaders tried to get the National Football League to put a franchise in the city following the demise of the WFL in 1975 but were turned down. Birmingham had a team in the Alliance of American Football in the only year of that league’s existence in 2019. Parker also pushed to get an XFL franchise in August 2020. The XFL has new owners including the former wrestler turned movie star Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock. Initially the plan was to start the XFL III in 2022, but that has been put on hold as the XFL and Canadian Football League try to figure out if the two leagues can work together.
Time is running short of the new USFL to get onto the field in 2022. The league does have some form of a TV deal in place. FOX Sports, which also owns a minority equity stake in the company that owns the USFL, will be carrying USFL games. But other than old team names, very little is known about the USFL plans. Spring football has been unsuccessful but people keep trying to make it a go.
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Tampa Bay Bandits left guard Chuck Pitcock, right, lands a right hook to the mask of Oakland Invaders? defensive end Dave Browning, whose head goes reeling back during the first half of their USFL game, June 30, 1985 in Oakland. The skirmish took place after a Tampa Bay fumble and the Invaders? Browning was given a unnecessary roughness penalty on the play in their first round playoff game. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)