Latest news with #non-NFL
Mint
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Mint
UFL's major 2026 shift: Birmingham, Michigan, Houston, and Memphis teams set to relocate
The United Football League (UFL) is set to undergo significant restructuring for its 2026 season. Reports indicate that four teams, Birmingham Stallions, Michigan Panthers, Houston Roughnecks, and Memphis Showboats, will likely relocate to new markets. Here's a deep dive into the reasons, destinations, and implications of the strategy. The UFL, born from the 2023 merger of the USFL and XFL, faced challenges in its second season. Attendance and viewership decreased in 2025, averaging 645,000 viewers per game, a 20% drop from 2024. Markets like Memphis struggled with fewer than 4,000 fans per game, while Birmingham, despite its championship pedigree, averaged only 8,800 attendees. Michigan's high venue costs at Ford Field and Houston's attendance woes further justified the need for change. The UFL's shift to non-NFL markets aims to avoid direct competition with the NFL and tap into untapped fanbases. The new markets reportedly include Boise, Idaho; Columbus, Ohio; a Florida city (likely Orlando); and Kentucky (either Louisville or Lexington). Each offers unique potential: Boise, Idaho: A growing metro area with a population of 482,000 in 2025, Boise has a passionate sports fanbase eager for professional teams. Columbus, Ohio: As the 14th-largest US market, Columbus benefits from strong Ohio State football fandom and Historic Crew Stadium's 20,000-seat capacity. Florida (Orlando/Tampa Bay): Florida's vibrant sports culture makes it a prime candidate for a UFL team, especially in Orlando. Kentucky (Louisville/Lexington): Louisville's Lynn Family Stadium and enthusiastic sports community position it as a strong contender. The UFL's response to the rumours was cryptic: 'The league office is in the planning stages for next season and beyond. At this point, we have nothing to report on any unauthorized speculation.' This non-denial denial has been interpreted as an implicit confirmation, with an official announcement expected soon. It remains unclear whether the Stallions, Panthers, Roughnecks, and Showboats will retain their identities or undergo a rebrand with new logos and uniforms. As the UFL gears up for its third season, these relocations mark a significant moment. The league has already addressed labour concerns with a new collective bargaining agreement through 2026, improving player salaries and benefits. By moving to non-NFL markets, the UFL aims to build a sustainable future.
NBC Sports
23-07-2025
- Business
- NBC Sports
UFL issues non-denial denial on relocation of Birmingham, Michigan, Houston, Memphis
On Tuesday night, reports emerged that the UFL will be relocating half of its entire league. Moving to new markets will be Birmingham, Michigan, Houston, and Memphis. And the new cities reportedly will be Boise, Columbus, Kentucky (Louisville and/or Lexington), and somewhere in Florida (probably Orlando). The UFL has issued a statement, via Mike Mitchell: 'The league office is in the planning stages for next season and beyond. At this point, we have nothing to report on any unauthorized speculation.' It's a non-denial denial. And we'll regard it as an implicit confirmation. If/when the four teams move to new markets, it's unclear whether they'll keep their current names or rebrand with new uniforms, logos, etc. However it plays out, it's both a strange development for a league that saw its attendance and viewership numbers drop in 2025 — and a necessary one. The UFL has a better chance to survive (and perhaps thrive) in non-NFL markets. Apparently, that's where the Stallions (if still the Stallions), the Panthers (if still the Panthers), the Roughnecks (if still the Roughnecks), and Showboats (if still the Showboats) will be in 2026.
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Why the NFL's desire for a new media deal hurts the rest of the Big 4
The NFL has made no secret that it sees itself above rival leagues like the NBA, NHL and MLB. It's currently in the process of snatching Christmas Day away from the NBA, it holds the NFL Draft right when the NHL playoffs begin and it (rightfully) assumes everyone will turn off baseball once the regular season kicks off in September. That doesn't include the NFL turning the schedule release into a months-long drawn out process, either. So it's no surprise to see reporting from Puck's John Ourand this week that the NFL is considering renegotiating it's media rights deals. The league reportedly believes it will be better positioned by acting before their 2033 expiration to jump the line ahead of the other Big 4 North American leagues. According to Ourand, the NFL has an opt out in it's current media rights package in 2029 that many in the industry expect will be used. But there's another scenario that could create more trouble for the rest of the Big 4. Per Ourand: According to my sources, the league could approach the networks before the 2029 opt-out and try to renegotiate new deals. In this current configuration, the NFL would waive any opt-out provision and extend the current broadcast deals, which expire in 2033, for another year or two. A lot has to happen before the NFL actually moves forward with this kind of plan—starting with the closing of the Skydance-Paramount merger. But it would make a lot of sense for the league, allowing it to bring its rights to market before MLB and the NHL, whose rights deals come up in 2028. By cutting the line, the NFL could proposition streamers and legacy media companies before they spend their treasure on other sports rights. In other words, this plan would require networks to figure out how much they want to bid on rights packages for the NFL before allocating funds for MLB, NHL and NBA deals rather than the other way around. As for what this means those of us who just want to watch the games: Fans who are sick of having to pay for a billion (rough estimate) streaming services and extra channels just to watch their favorite non-NFL teams won't get much of a break if the NFL goes through with this plan. If the legacy networks shell out even more for the NFL, the other sports have to look for revenue elsewhere. The NFL sees the rest of the Big 4 getting ready to enjoy a nice, refreshing milkshake and The Shield plans to drink it up first. It's a ruthless move, but the kind we've come to expect from Roger Goodell's tenure as commissioner. The NFL is on top of the North American sports world and will do whatever it must to stay there.
USA Today
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Bengals WR Tee Higgins appears at football camp
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins recently wowed onlookers at a celebrity basketball game. Higgins then made another non-NFL splash, hosting a one-day football camp at Huntington High School. RELATED: Bengals, Shemar Stewart nuclear option includes 2026 NFL draft route The offseason stop was one of many for NFL stars around the league hosting football camps during the offseason downtime ahead of training camps. As noted by WSAZ and others, travel delays moved the start of this particular camp hosted by Higgins back just a few hours before the standard football camp process unfolded with the Bengals star at the center. WSAZ's Jimmy Treacy provided some footage: RELATED: Bengals standouts after mandatory minicamp includes surprises
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Baltimore Ravens' One Big Question: Can Lamar Jackson Finally Transcend Postseason Demons?
Baltimore Ravens' One Big Question: Can Lamar Jackson Finally Transcend Postseason Demons? originally appeared on Athlon Sports. In this offseason series, Athlon Sports' Doug Farrar asks the One Big Question for all 32 NFL teams — the primary discussion point that will measure ultimate success (or not) for every franchise. We begin our AFC North discussion with the Baltimore Ravens, who have the second-most regular-season wins (78, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs' 90) since Lamar Jackson's NFL career began in 2018. So, why has Jackson's postseason tenure been so problematic, and is that about more than just his own failures? Advertisement Lamar Jackson is a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player (2019 and 2023), he had my regular-season vote for 2024, and he is unquestionably one of the game's great players, regardless of position. Jackson is still an amazing runner — he's the only quarterback ever to run for more than 1,000 yards in two separate regular seasons (2019 and 2020), and if you count postseasons, he ran the ball 160 times for 1,035 yards last season. And as a pure quarterback, Jackson has also managed to bust most of the myths that have surrounded him since he came out of Louisville and was the 32nd player selected in the 2018 draft — a hilarious miss by most non-Baltimore Ravens teams that year — in that he's become so much more than the "future receiver" projected by Big Brains like Bill Polian. Jackson has been a great thrower from the pocket for years, despite repeated insistences to the contrary from a lot of analysts, and that continued into the 2024 season. Last season from the pocket, Jackson completed 305 of 435 passes for 3,708 yards, 1,786 air yards, 34 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 117.3 that was by far the NFL's highest among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts from the pocket — Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles ranked second at 112.0. Basically, there isn't anything that Lamar Jackson can't do as a quarterback... with one notable exception. And yes, it's the one that Jackson and every Ravens executive, coach, player, and fan is sick of hearing: Advertisement To paraphrase Billy Beane, why doesn't Jackson's [expletive] work in the playoffs? We could go chapter and verse on the stats, but let's make it simple. Among quarterbacks who have been in the NFL every season from 2018 through 2024, only Patrick Mahomes (102.3 and 7.52) has a higher passer rating and Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt (Pro Football Reference's primary metric for quarterback efficiency) than Jackson's 102.0 and 7.26. But that's in the regular season. In the postseason from 2018 through 2024, Jackson ranks 20th in passer rating (84.6), and 18th in ANY/A (5.39) among quarterbacks with at least 100 postseason attempts. So, this is more than the mirage were were given regarding Jackson as a non-NFL quarterback. Jackson's overall postseason stats — 146 completions in 241 attempts for 1,753 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions — tell the story as much as anything, and it's not as if things have gotten much better over the years. Advertisement In last season's 28-14 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson completed 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 132.0. Jackson made a handful of explosive play throws both in and out of the pocket, but for the most part, he was a drive-extender against a very good defense, and the idea was to let his own Ravens defense and Derrick Henry lead the way. Jackson was almost more valuable as a runner in that game, with 81 yards on 15 rushing attempts, as the Ravens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken read-optioned Pittsburgh's defense to death. And then, there was the divisional game against the Buffalo Bills. Back in Week 4, the Ravens rick-rolled Buffalo to the tune of a 35-10 blastoff in which Henry ran the ball 24 times for 199 yards and a touchdown, and Jackson played off that brilliantly, exploiting the Bills' messy mesh point defense for 64 yards and a touchdown of his own on six carries. Advertisement In the rematch — a 27-25 win in Buffalo's favor — Monken called a completely different game for whatever reason against a defense that played more three-linebacker sets than usual, because it had been terrible against the kinds of stuff Jackson had demolished it with in Week 4. When facing quarterback keeps, draws, scrambles, or running back runs off read-option plays coming into that game, the Bills allowed 254 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. That's 7.5 yards per carry, third-worst in the NFL, a 55.9% first-down percentage (fourth-worst in the NFL), and a +0.55 EPA per attempt (fourth-worst in the league). And yet, there were just four read-option runs in the playoff game, and Jackson didn't keep the ball on... well, any of them. The Ravens, who knew full well that their best opportunity to get to and won a Super Bowl was to combine the best of Lamar Jackson as a runner and as a passer, failed to do that when it mattered most. One could argue, following Baltimore's 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 AFC Championship game, that it was the second straight season in which Monken failed to realize the quarterback he had when he really needed to. In that game, Jackson was asked to throw the ball 37 times, and there were just 16 rushing attempts for the Ravens, with Jackson getting eight of them for 54 yards. Advertisement In the Bills loss, Jackson took the responsibility off the shoulders of tight end Mark Andrews, who fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter, and dropped a two-point conversion that would have tied the game with 1:33 remaining. 'We're a team," Jackson said. "In the first half, I had two costly turnovers. Me not holding the safety, me just knowing the coverage and knowing it was man [coverage], I threw a B.S. interception. It was 7-7 at the time. I believe they scored after that. We battled back, fumbled the snap trying to make something happen. It was like an RPO play, so I couldn't really throw the ball to [tight end Isaiah] Likely [because] the offensive line was down the field, so I tried to make something happen, tried to squeeze the ball. It slipped out of my hand, [and the Bills] picked it up, got some yards that I think led to points for them, so it's a team effort out there. "[Mark Andrews has] been busting his behind. He's been making plays out on that field for us. [We] came up short, and like I've been saying all season, every time we're in situations like this, turnovers play a factor. Penalties play a factor. Tonight, the turnovers... We can't have that [expletive]. That's why we lost the game, because as you can see, we're moving the ball wonderfully. It's just hold onto the [expletive] ball. I'm sorry for my language. I'm just tired of this.' Everybody in the organization will be tired of it until it changes, and here, it all starts with Monken. Why he has been so eager to change the plan when everybody knows what works, and nobody is still able to consistently stop it, but that needs to become a thing of the past. Advertisement Letting Lamar be Lamar, as opposed to trying to outsmart an opponent on the biggest possible stage, would be an excellent way to help the Ravens' most important player on their way to what they hope will be a Super Bowl journey in the 2025 season — and mercifully, an end to all that (legitimate) talk about Jackson's postseason legacy. (All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise specified). Related: Buffalo Bills' One Big Question: Can This Franchise Finally Find the Super Bowl? Related: Miami Dolphins' One Big Question: Is Tua Tagovailoa a Franchise Quarterback? Related: New York Jets' One Big Question: Can Justin Fields Become the Quarterback They Need? This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
