Earlier this year it was revealed that the United States Football League would be returning in 2022. The announcement came roughly halfway through The Spring League Season, but came with very little details.
The new USFL is owned by FOX under the National Spring Football League moniker. They are earmarking $150M to fund the league over its first three seasons.
Although there hasn’t been any confirmation on which teams will return, the league has a handful of trademarks ready. In fact, with the opening of the USFL online shop we saw merchandise for the Birmingham Stallions (of course), Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers and New Orleans Breakers.
Last month we learned that the USFL was in talks with representatives of the city of Birmingham, AL to host the 2022 USFL season. If a deal is struck the city would host all eight teams for the first season, as many as four in 2023, with all eight reporting to their respective cities by the third season.
Beyond that, all 43-games of the USFL’s 10-week season will be aired on FOX, FS1, NBC and USA. Part of the deal would see Birmingham get two spots per game. Considering that a majority of the matchups are to take place on network television, this is fantastic exposure for Birmingham.
Yesterday we reported that the Birmingham City Council voted to allocated $500,000 towards the 2022 USFL season in the city. This left only the Jefferson County Commission to vote and agree on their contribution to the league.
CBS 42 reports that when the Jefferson County Commission met today to vote on various agenda items they officially approved their part of the funding. With this vote, the city of Birmingham has secured and approved all of the funds necessary to cover the costs of the USFL’s inaugural season.
With the money seemingly ready, both parties are working to finalize the ink on the deal. It was reported earlier this week that Alabama State Senator Jabo Waggoner announced to his colleagues that FOX Sports will hold a formal announcement next week detailing the USFL’s plans in Birmingham.
It’s possible that an announcement could come as early as this week. As always, we’ll keep you posted as more information comes out on the 2022 USFL season.
Do you plan on supporting the USFL in 2022? Will you tune in, or even attend a game? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
