2022 USFL season

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2022 USFL season
United States Football League (2022) logo.png
LeagueUnited States Football League
SportAmerican football
DurationRegular season: April 16 – July 3
Number of games43 (40 Regular Season, 2 Playoffs, 1 Championship)
Number of teams8
TV partner(s)Fox, FS1, NBC, Peacock, USA Network

The 2022 USFL season is the planned inaugural season of the United States Football League (USFL), and the first by a league by the same name since the 1985 USFL season. Planned to be played from April 16, 2022, to June 2022, it will involve eight teams, and will be played in its entirety in Birmingham, Alabama.

Background[]

Broadcasting[]

Fox Sports is the league's official broadcast partner, and plans to split the games' broadcast rights equally between Fox, FS1, NBC, and USA Network.[1] On December 15, 2021, Fox and NBC had finalized their deals with the latter joined as official broadcast and streaming partner.[2] Both partners plan to broadcast 23 over-the-air games (14 on Fox, 9 on NBC), 17 cable-only games (8 on FS1, 9 on USA), and 4 online-only games (on Peacock) during this season.

Location[]

The USFL began talks with officials from the city of Birmingham, Alabama, with a potential goal to host the entirety of the 2022 season in the city.[1] On January 25, 2022, the city of Birmingham and the USFL announced that the city would host all 8 teams, holding 43 games at Protective Stadium and Legion Field. 32 to 35 games are planned to be played at Protective Stadium while 8 to 11 games are planned to be played at Legion Field. [3]

On February 16, 2022, the league announced that the 2022 playoffs would be held in Canton, Ohio, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium instead of Birmingham due to conflicting scheduling with the 2022 World Games. Playoffs will be held from June 25 to July 3.[4]

Draft[]

The 2022 USFL Draft occurred on February 22 and 23, 2022, and had a format similar to the 2020 XFL Draft, where players would be selected in phases based on positions.[5]

Teams[]

The league's eight debut teams were announced on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on November 22, 2021.[6] The teams will be separated into two divisions; the North Division will contain the Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, and Pittsburgh Maulers, while the South Division will include the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, and Tampa Bay Bandits.[7] The eight teams that will compete in the league's first season all revive the names and colors of teams in the 1980s incarnation of the league, made possible because the trademarks had been abandoned at the time the current league acquired them.[7] The teams' logos and home cities were also unveiled. The league announced that the season would be held in one host city, in a format similar to the 2020 NBA Bubble and the 2021 Fan Controlled Football season; unlike those events, held behind closed doors, spectators will be admitted to USFL games.[8]

Team[9] Nominal area Location Stadium Surface Capacitydagger Head coach
South Division
Birmingham Stallions Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Protective Stadium/

Legion Field

Turf 47,100/

71,574

Skip Holtz
Houston Gamblers Houston, Texas Kevin Sumlin
New Orleans Breakers New Orleans, Louisiana Larry Fedora
Tampa Bay Bandits Tampa, Florida Todd Haley
North Division
Michigan Panthers Michigan Birmingham, Alabama Protective Stadium/

Legion Field

Turf 47,100/

71,574

Jeff Fisher
New Jersey Generals New Jersey Mike Riley
Philadelphia Stars Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bart Andrus
Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Kirby Wilson

Standings[]

Season schedule[]

The league announced in November 2021 that teams would each play a ten-game schedule, with each team facing divisional opponents twice and non-divisional opponents once. The champion and runner-up of each division will qualify for the playoffs, which will consist of a semifinal and championship round played in the beginning of July.[10] It is planned that games will be played on Saturdays and Sundays, with some "special broadcasts" planned for Fridays and Mondays.[11] On January 6, 2022, along with head coaches, the league also announced on their website that the 2022 USFL season would begin on April 16, 2022.[12]

While specific dates have not yet been announced, an agreement between the Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center Authority and the owners of the USFL gives use of Protective Stadium and Legion Field to the league between the dates of April 16 and July 3, 2022.[13][14]

It was revealed on January 25, 2022, that the first game of the 2022 USFL season would take place on April 16, 2022, with the Birmingham Stallions playing the New Jersey Generals (the same matchup that opened the 1984 and 1985 seasons) at Protective Stadium at 7:30 ET with Fox and NBC broadcasting the game, marking the first time the same football game would be carried on two major American broadcast networks since the New England Patriots/New York Giants NFL game on December 29, 2007. Tickets were released to the public at $10 per person, with children aged 15 and under free.[15] Each ticket serves as a day pass, granting admission to all games at any particular venue on that day.[16]

The full 2022 season schedule was released March 7, 2022, with the highlights including a tripleheader of Week 1 games on Easter Sunday.[16] Game dates and times from Week 4 onward have not yet been officially matched to the individual matchups as of March 21.[17][18]

Regular season[]

Week 1
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sat. April 16, 7:30 p.m. ET New Jersey Generals Birmingham Stallions Protective Stadium Fox, NBC & Peacock
Sun. April 17, 12:00 p.m. ET Houston Gamblers Michigan Panthers Protective Stadium NBC & Peacock
Sun. April 17, 4:00 p.m. ET Philadelphia Stars New Orleans Breakers USA
Sun. April 17, 8:00 p.m. ET Tampa Bay Bandits Pittsburgh Maulers FS1
Week 2
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Fri. April 22, 8:00 p.m. ET Michigan Panthers New Jersey Generals Protective Stadium USA
Sat. April 23, 12:00 p.m. ET Pittsburgh Maulers Philadelphia Stars Protective Stadium Fox
Sat. April 23, 7:00 p.m. ET Birmingham Stallions Houston Gamblers FS1
Sun. April 24, 3:00 p.m. ET New Orleans Breakers Tampa Bay Bandits Protective Stadium NBC & Peacock
Week 3
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Saturday, April 30, 4:30 p.m. ET Tampa Bay Bandits Houston Gamblers TBD Fox
Saturday, April 30, 8:00 p.m. ET Pittsburgh Maulers Michigan Panthers Fox
Sunday, May 1, 2:30 p.m. ET Birmingham Stallions New Orleans Breakers USA
Sunday, May 1, 8:00 p.m. ET New Jersey Generals Philadelphia Stars Peacock
Week 4
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Fri. May 6-Sun. May 8
Dates/times to be confirmed 		New Jersey Generals Pittsburgh Maulers TBD TBD
Houston Gamblers New Orleans Breakers
Philadelphia Stars Michigan Panthers
Tampa Bay Bandits Birmingham Stallions
Week 5
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Fri. May 13-Sun. May 15
Dates/times to be confirmed 		Birmingham Stallions Philadelphia Stars TBD TBD
Michigan Panthers Tampa Bay Bandits
New Orleans Breakers New Jersey Generals
Pittsburgh Maulers Houston Gamblers
Week 6
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sat. May 21-Sun. May 22
Dates/times to be confirmed 		Houston Gamblers New Jersey Generals TBD TBD
Michigan Panthers Birmingham Stallions
Pittsburgh Maulers New Orleans Breakers
Tampa Bay Bandits Philadelphia Stars
Week 7
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sat. May 28-Sun. May 29
Dates/times to be confirmed 		Birmingham Stallions Pittsburgh Maulers TBD TBD
New Jersey Generals Tampa Bay Bandits
New Orleans Breakers Michigan Panthers
Philadelphia Stars Houston Gamblers
Week 8
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Fri. June 3-Sun. June 5
Dates/times to be confirmed 		Houston Gamblers Tampa Bay Bandits TBD TBD
Michigan Panthers Philadelphia Stars
New Orleans Breakers Birmingham Stallions
Pittsburgh Maulers New Jersey Generals
Week 9
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sat. June 11-Sun. June 12
Dates/times to be confirmed 		Houston Gamblers Birmingham Stallions TBD TBD
New Jersey Generals Michigan Panthers
Philadelphia Stars Pittsburgh Maulers
Tampa Bay Bandits New Orleans Breakers
Week 10
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sat. June 18-Sun. June 19
Dates/times to be confirmed 		Birmingham Stallions Tampa Bay Bandits TBD TBD
Michigan Panthers Pittsburgh Maulers
New Orleans Breakers Houston Gamblers
Philadelphia Stars New Jersey Generals

Playoffs[]

Division
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sat. June 25, 3:00 p.m. ET TBD TBD Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Fox
Sat. June 25, 8:00 p.m. ET TBD TBD NBC & Peacock
Championship
Date and time Away team Result Home team Stadium Attendance Broadcast Viewership
(millions)
Sun. July 3, 7:30 p.m. ET TBD TBD Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Fox

Media[]

The 2022 season will air on Fox Sports and NBC Sports with Fox (12 regular season, 1 semi-final and the championship game)[19] and NBC (8 regular season games and 1 semi-final) airing the most games, with USA Network airing 9 games, FS1 airing 8 games, and Peacock airing 4 games.[20]

The opening game will be broadcast on April 16, 2022, at 7:30 pm Eastern time on both Fox and NBC. Fox will produce the game and NBC will produce all studio coverage.[21]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Birmingham, BJCC officials discussing playing all USFL games in the city". WVTM. October 12, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "USFL Reaches Media Rights Agreement with NBC Sports" (Press release). NBC Sports. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 15 December 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  3. ^ "USFL announce plans for inaugural season in Birmingham". al. 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  4. ^ "USFL announces inaugural playoffs, championship game in Canton, Ohio". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  5. ^ Bittner, Adam (February 14, 2022). "Here's what you need to know about the new USFL and the Pittsburgh Maulers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  6. ^ "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames and logos for 2022 debut". Fox Sports. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Gaydos, Ryan (November 22, 2021). "USFL's 8 teams bring back nostalgia for football fans". Fox News. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Fambro, Cassie (October 11, 2021). "USFL possibly returning to Birmingham". WBRC. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Pickman, Ben. "USFL Unveils Logos, Team Names Ahead of Return Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  10. ^ Kelley, Kevin (November 17, 2021). "USFL announces division structure, playoff format for inaugural season". FBSchedules. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "New USFL reveals team names, cities, logos for 2022 season". FOX 13 Tampa Bay. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Official Site of the United States Football League". UNITED STATES FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  13. ^ Johnson, Roy S. (October 18, 2021). "USFL, BJCC reach tentative MOU to bring inaugural season to Birmingham". AL.com. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "USFL announce plans for inaugural season in Birmingham". al. 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  15. ^ "USFL Officially Selling Tickets for Inaugural Game, Starting at $10". 25 January 2022.
  16. ^ a b "USFL 2022 schedule: Week 1 matchups released". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  17. ^ "2022 USFL Schedule: Dates, TV, opponents set for all eight teams," from FBSchedules.com, 3/8/2022 (accessed 3/10/2022)
  18. ^ "2022 USFL TV Schedule: Dates and times for the 10-week inaugural football season," from NBCSports.com, 3/8/2022 (accessed 3/10/2022)
  19. ^ Richmond, F. O. X. (2022-02-04). "2022 USFL ON FOX SCHEDULE". WRLH. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  20. ^ Hayes, Dade (2021-12-15). "NBC To Broadcast USFL Games Along With Fox Under New Multi-Year Rights Deal". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  21. ^ "USFL to debut with primetime simulcast on NBC and FOX". Sports Media Watch. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
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