United States Football League (2022)

It is expected that the new USFL will operate as a single entity with all teams owned by the league, similar to other spring football leagues that have operated in the 21st century such as the XFL, Spring Football League (SFL) and Alliance of American Football (AAF) and in contrast to the original USFL which like the National Football League consisted of individually owned and operated franchises.[8] Also, whereas the original USFL ultimately sought to become a major professional sports league that rivaled the NFL in playing caliber, the new USFL has not indicated that it holds the same aspirations. Notably, the previous football ventures of the new USFL's backers had the stated goal of becoming feeder leagues of the NFL.

Other than the acquisition of the original USFL's trademarks, there is no legal connection between the new entity and the former league which ceased operations in 1986 and was officially dissolved in 1990. No principals from the former USFL are involved in the current league's ownership; Brian Woods, who had previously launched the Fall Experimental Football League and The Spring League, is the primary owner of the new league and acquired most of the trademarks after the last attempt to revive them, the A-11 Football League, let them go dormant after its own failed launch in 2014. The new USFL will not inherit the old USFL's unpaid liabilities, nor its television contract; it will instead hold a new contract with Fox Sports, which already owns both the rights to and an equity stake in The Spring League.

According to Steve Ehrhart, former USFL executive director, he still own the league rights and that the "USFL still exists", while stating that the league officials still get monthly royalty checks. He also mentioned that he refused previous attempts to "buy" the league, "including the people who founded the first version of the XFL".[9] Ehrhart would later explain that he was only "trying to protect the league legacy".[10]

The league announced the 2022 season will be played "with minimum of eight teams".[11] In addition to obtaining the rights to the USFL name and logo, the new league has obtained the rights to the aforementioned former league's team names including the Los Angeles Express, Chicago Blitz, Tampa Bay Bandits, and Houston Gamblers and more.[12][13] Additionally, the Generals rights are owned by The Spring League, another Woods entity. Since its original announcement, the USFL had purchased more trademarks including new teams names like the Birmingham Stallions, Jacksonville Bulls and Portland Breakers, and variations on the already existing trademarks. The eight teams were officially announced on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on November 22, 2021.[14]

On October 12, 2021, it was published that the league is in serious discussion with the city of Birmingham, Alabama, about the possibility of the USFL playing all of its games in the city. According to initial information, Birmingham will be responsible for housing the players during the season at the price of about $15 million (47,000 hotel nights), while the league would play the bubble season at Protective Stadium and Legion Field.[15][16]

The proposal includes an eight-team 10-week season with two additional playoff rounds, from April 15 through July 3, 2022, with broadcast proposal as follows: 25% on Fox, 25% on NBC, 25% of Fox Sports and 25% of games on the USA Network.[17][18]