The Rock's XFL to Merge with USFL to Form New Spring Football League, Details TBD

Spring football in the United States is set to be under one umbrella.

The XFL and USFL announced their intention to merge in a statement Thursday, combining the two spring leagues into a yet-to-be-named entity.

The arrangement will allow the two struggling leagues to continue operations for at least the foreseeable future. The XFL made major cuts in operations in May after losing $60 million during the 2023 season. The USFL's total revenue has been reported at just $7.5 million per season.

While the XFL has been a more expensive endeavor than the lower-key USFL, the XFL carries the cache of being owned by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson after he purchased the company from WWE's Vince McMahon.

It seems likely the two sides would choose to move forward with the XFL branding as it carries more brand equity than the USFL among younger fans. The USFL's relaunch came 36 years after the initial league's dissolution; the original XFL was launched in 2001 and still provides memories to younger fans.

Attempts at making spring football work are nothing new, but they've been racked with funding issues and lagging ratings. The quality of football has simply not been high enough to garner much of a consistent audience. Ratings for the XFL's relaunch were initially strong before falling off a cliff.

Other leagues, like the Alliance of American Football, started off with considerable hype only to fall flat as viewers turned away from the low-quality football.

The leagues have also not done nearly enough to differentiate themselves from the NFL product, which has only furthered the unfavorable comparisons.

It's unclear whether the merger will work, but it will at least keep the lights on for the time being.