Over the past week, Mike Repole has conducted a plethora of media rounds to promote the United Football League (UFL). Of those pieces, one of the most intriguing stories of them all was a feature piece done by Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal.
The article takes a close, unique, and inside look at Repole’s rise to UFL leadership. Ben’s article immediately brings up an important point: the UFL has been lacking a “true entrepreneur” the last few years in ownership. Mike Repole changes that entirely.
“They’re heavyweights in their industry…But they’re not necessarily entrepreneurs, and I think when you put an entrepreneur like Mike Repole on a team with people like this [UFL ownership]…It could be something very, very interesting. And that’s where we are right now.” – Mike Repole
It turns out that Repole’s investment in the United Football League dates all the way back to 2023. He crossed paths with former Fox Sports Executive Vice President Larry Jones, and Inner Circle Sports co-founder Steve Horowitz. Apparently, there was a bit of interest in Mike’s camp then about having conversations with the USFL.
Fast forward to when those discussions actually began in November of 2023, the USFL and XFL were already in the process of merging leagues. Almost two years later, Repole officially signed on with the UFL in July of 2025. Jones, who is still on the UFL board, thinks that Repole is “crazy” – but that’s exactly what the UFL needs in order to survive.
“We could get money from a lot of people, but we couldn’t get this type of expertise, this enthusiasm and willingness to be out there and do interviews, and go to cities like Columbus or Louisville or Orlando and pump the flesh and meet politicians…I’ve done a little of that when we were first starting, but this is a guy who’s just born to do it…You have to recognize when you’ve got the talent, and you hand over most of the keys to the person with the best chance of succeeding.” – Larry Jones
Fischer’s piece doesn’t reveal what Repole’s ownership stake actually entails – but it’s clearly large enough to give him (and Impact Capital) the keys to run the business.
According to Fischer, a few important notes regarding UFL ownership and leadership include:
- FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks and ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus focus on media strategy
- RedBird’s Kevin LaForce, alongside UFL CEO Russ Brandon focus on NFL relationship
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia focus on social and digital content strategies
- Redbird’s Gerry Cardinale oversees the entire enterprise from top to bottom
In an excerpt from Ben’s article, he details what Impact Capital’s role looks like:
“But Impact Capital, Repole’s investment shop, has a concurrent operating agreement to manage the business, and the other owners have given him wide latitude on day-to-day work and his particular sweet spot, brand development and marketing in each of the eight markets.”
We’ve seen the fruit of Mike’s labor over the last several months. The United Football League looks entirely different across the board. They’ve got three new franchises and cities, two more rebrands – and then three classic spring football brands to set the foundation. The league also has five new venues, and re-drafted all eight rosters earlier this year.
If anyone can keep spring football afloat, it will be the Mike Repole. He never slows down, rarely sleeps – and is always innovating something. At 57 years old, he still believes his best business days are ahead of him: an incredible mindset for someone Forbes has valued at $2.5 billion.
For us diehard spring football fans, all of this change has been a bit overwhelming. With that in mind, the new vision is coming together with kickoff less than two weeks away. We’re positioned to survive long-term. Hopefully, this positive momentum will continue throughout the season and beyond.
Are you excited for this new Era of UFL football under Mike Repole? Which games will you attend this year? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
