USFL goes out with a whisper

On July 3rd, 2022 in Canton Ohio the USFL season came to an end with the Birmingham Stallions hosting the USFL Championship high in the air. The team that had played as the most complete team the whole year, from that the city hosted all USFL games up until the playoffs. The first year back was one of both triumphs and tribulations for the once number two league in the kingpin sport. Rating wise the league peaked with its first game which saw the hometown Stallions defeat the New Jersey Generals 28-24 in front of a great crowd and 3.07 million viewers on Fox and NBC. The second game between the Houston Gamblers and the Michigan Panthers got 2.15 million eyeballs on it. That however is where things take a nose dive. As the season went on the league failed to get more than a million viewers after week 6. The playoffs did draw .96, 1.00, and 1.52 million as those final three games were on FOX and NBC. The league is committed to a second season and I see no reason why they shouldn't be. Next year the league plans to continue to use hub cities to host their games. The cities nor the number to be used are currently unknown. There is a competitive balance issue with the league. And with the XFL returning next year we could see a new spring football war on the horizon. One that will see USFL and the coalition of TV networks of NBC, FOX, and USA take on the XFL and the machine Walt Disney has created in ESPN. A truly great time to be a football fan as we are seeing the return of year-round football.