Unsurprisingly, the XFL and USFL are expected to announce a merger in the coming days. Both leagues are winter pro football leagues that are making another attempted at being permanent. However, both of these leagues are finding it financially tough to keep the leagues afloat.
In the previous attempts at being fully functional leagues, both suffered financial difficulties that ultimately saw both league fold. However, this time around their is a chance that they can succeed. But, in order for that to happen, it was expected that both leagues would consider coming together.
Why Merge?
The XFL is currently owned by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his business partner Dany Garcia, and Redbird Capital Partners. After paying $5 million to buy the league out of bankruptcy, in the fist year under The Rock and his partners, the league lost $60 million. The viewership wasn’t high, but the results were beneficial.
The XFL saw several of its players sign NFL contracts once the season was over. It was a huge win for a league that only averaged about 600,000 viewers. The Championship game reached 1.4 million viewers.
However, the USFL did almost the same numbers once their season began. Except, the USFL actually made money. Unlike XFL, the USFL is owned by Fox Corp.
By no surprise, both leagues were meant to give football fans something to watch in the off-season and players an opportunity to be seen. Many of the players in both leagues are looking for a second opportunity to make it into the NFL.
Nevertheless, the USFL and XFL still have found difficulties in sustaining the initial excitement of another professional league. Also, both leagues technically were in competition with each other for the talent they have. Ultimately, it is in the best interest of both leagues to merge just like the NFL and AFL did in 1970.