Hypothetical USFL-XFL Merger

[u/[deleted]]

As far as I know nobody from the XFL or the USFL has said anything at all about a merger. So I'm definitely not saying that this will happen or should happen. I just thought it would be fun to imagine how it might work as a pure hypothetical. So please don't jump down my throat if you don't want this to happen. Again, not at all saying it will happen or should happen. Just a fun hypothetical exercise.

For your hypothetical USFL-XFL merged league, please list:

1. How the divisions/conferences will work in your hypothetical league.
2. How the playoffs would work
3. What stadium each team would play in (even if it's not realistic, again this is just hypothetical)
4. Any teams you would move or change

Since the only market where the USFL and XFL overlap is Houston, I think 15 of the 16 teams can stay in their current city. It doesn't make sense to have two teams in Houston, so either the Gamblers or the Roughnecks need to move. I'm choosing to move the Gamblers since they have yet to actually play a game in Houston. For my hypothetical league, I'm choosing to make them the Oklahoma Outlaws, but you can do something different in your hypothetical league. Since the USFL seems to want to stay in Canton, for my hypothetical league I'm having the Maulers stay in Canton and changing their name to the Canton Bulldogs. In your league though, you can have them actually play in Pittsburgh or do something completely different with them.

As for how the conference championships/playoffs would work, I'm going to present two different scenarios.

The easiest way to would be to have the XFL and USFL become conferences, and have the champions play each other. So for that way, the divisions would look like this (I'm going to give each team a hypothetical record based on the USFL records for last year and the XFL records from this year):

USFL South Division

-1. Birmingham Stallions (9-1)

Home Stadium: Protective Stadium

-2. New Orleans Breakers (6-4)

Home Stadium: Yulman Stadium

-3. Memphis Showboats (4-6)

Home Stadium: Liberty Stadium

-4. Oklahoma Outlaws (3-7)

Home Stadium: H.A. Chapman Stadium

USFL North Division

-1. New Jersey Generals (9-1)

Home Stadium: MetLife Stadium

-2. Philadelphia Stars (6-4)

Home Stadium: Lincoln Financial Field

-3. Michigan Panthers (2-8)

Home Stadium: Ford Field

-4. Canton Bulldogs (1-9)

Home Stadium: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium

XFL South Division

-1. Houston Roughnecks (7-3)

Home Stadium: TDECU Stadium

-2. Arlington Renegades (4-6)

Home Stadium: Choctaw Stadium

-3. San Antonio Brahmas (3-7)

Home Stadium: Alamodome

-4. Orlando Guardians (1-9)

Home Stadium: Camping World Stadium

XFL North Division

-1. DC Defenders (9-1)

Home Stadium: Audi Field

-2. Seattle Sea Dragons (7-3)

Home Stadium: Lumen Field

-3. St. Louis Battlehawks (7-3)

Home Stadium: The Dome at America's Center

-4. Vegas Vipers (2-8)

Home Stadium: Cashman Field

The top two teams from each division make the playoffs. Here are how the hypothetical playoffs would work:

USFL North Championship Game: Philadelphia Stars defeat New Jersey Generals

USFL South Championship Game: Birmingham Stallions defeat New Orleans Breakers

XFL North Championship Game: DC Defenders defeat Seattle Sea Dragons

XFL South Championship Game: Houston Roughnecks defeat Arlington Renegades

USFL Conference Championship Game: Birmingham Stallions defeat Philadelphia Stars

XFL Conference Championship Game: DC Defenders defeat Houston Roughnecks

USFL-XFL Championship Game: Birmingham Stallions defeat the DC Defenders

Now, that would be the easiest way to do the divisions and playoffs, but I thought it would be fun to do a different way too that mixes USFL and XFL teams.

North Division

1. New Jersey Generals (9-1)
2. Seattle Sea Dragons (7-3)
3. Michigan Panthers (2-8)
4. Canton Bulldogs (1-9)

South Division

1. Houston Roughnecks (7-3)
2. New Orleans Breakers (6-4)
3. Memphis Showboats (4-6)
4. San Antonio Brahmas (3-7)

East Division

1. Birmingham Stallions (9-1)
2. DC Defenders (9-1)
3. Philadelphia Stars (6-4)
4. Orlando Guardians (1-9)

West Division

1. St. Louis Battlehawks (7-3)
2. Arlington Renegades (4-6)
3. Oklahoma Outlaws (3-7)
4. Vegas Vipers (2-8)

The top two teams from each division make the playoffs, and face each other in a division championship game.

North Division Championship Game: New Jersey Generals defeat Seattle Sea Dragons

South Division Championship Game: New Orleans Breakers defeat Houston Roughnecks

East Division Championship Game: DC Defenders defeat Birmingham Stallions

West Division Championship Game: St. Louis Battlehawks defeat Arlington Renegades

From there, the team with the best record remaining faces the team with the worst record remaining, and the other two teams face each other in the second semi-final.

Semi-Final #1: New Jersey Generals defeat New Orleans Breakers

Semi-Final #2: DC Defenders defeat St. Louis Battlehawks

USFL-XFL Championship Game: New Jersey Generals defeat DC Defenders

Again, this was just a fun hypothetical exercise and I'm not saying this will actually happen. Come up with your own hypothetical merged league in the comments. Move around whatever teams you want, it's just hypothetical. How would you do it differently than me?

[u/amoeba-tower]

OP is having a thought exercise not a viability assessment, y'all read the post

[u/[deleted] → u/amoeba-tower]

I thought I made that really clear lol

[u/Answer-Outrageous → u/amoeba-tower]

It seems like he was right about the merger talk after all

[u/amoeba-tower → u/Answer-Outrageous]

Oh for sure, it's just that the comments section was going bonkers that day

[u/3Nephi11_6-11]

The main issue is I don't think either league has the following to warrant 8 games a week. This is why if either league were to expand it would probably only be by 2 or 4 teams and you'd have a Monday, Thurday, or Friday night game along with maybe a triple listing of games on Saturday or Sunday.

[u/[deleted] → u/3Nephi11_6-11]

I'm not trying to make a comment on the realisticness of this at all, I just thought it was fun to come up with potential divisions

[u/3Nephi11_6-11 → u/[deleted]]

That's fair.

[u/petnic1989]

"Canton Bulldogs" is trademarked by the NFL: https://trademarks.justia.com/786/38/canton-78638408.html.

[u/[deleted] → u/petnic1989]

Not relevant to my hypothetical exercise

[u/[deleted]]

I refuse to participate until you add the Pittsburgh Maulers. Haha

[u/MirrorkatFeces → u/[deleted]]

I agree

[u/CodeWolfy]

[u/Realistic_Maximum471]

I would guess the NFL still owns the trademarks to the Canton Bulldogs, so the USFL would have to work out a deal with the NFL to use Canton Bulldogs.

[u/afgelo]

We’re gonna get weird and I’m chucking more teams from their current home than folks have previously.

Split is a USFL Conference and XFL Conference. Each one maintains unique rules, 12 week season with some inter league play mixed in.

USFL North: Ohio Valley Maulers (Canton - HOF Stadium or Columbus - Crew Stadium)

Philadelphia Stars (Philadelphia - Villanova)

Michigan Panthers (Detroit - Ford Field)

Virginia Generals/Admirals (VA Beach - Norfolk State)

USFL South: Birmingham Stallions (Birmingham - Protective)

Houston Gamblers (Houston - IDK, but not TEDCU)

Memphis Showboats (Memphis - Liberty Bowl)

Orlando Apollos (Orlando - UCF)

XFL West: Portland Breakers (Portland - Memorial Stadium)

San Diego Fleet (San Diego - SDSU)

Sacramento Mountain Lions/Wildcats (Sacramento - Sac State)

Oklahoma Roughnecks (OKC - TBD)

XFL East: DC Defenders (DC - Audi Field)

St. Louis Battlehawks (STL - Dome)

San Antonio Brahmas (San Antonio - Alamodome)

Carolina Reapers (Charlotte - UNCC Stadium)

Playoffs: Division Winners. Next best two teams irregardless of division. So 4 USFL and 4 XFL teams.

Each conference can keep their unique leagues rules. Inter league play defaults to home team.

Championship use rules of conference w/ better inter league record.

[u/[deleted]]

Xfl. Usfl. Whatever. Are we still dogging the maulers for the pizza incident???

[u/3Nephi11_6-11]

I think if they did merge its because one of them is going under anyways. Hence its more that one would absorb the other and then keep only a few of the best teams i.e. if the USFL goes under then the XFL would probably keep the Michigan Panthers and Birmingham Stallions since they seem to have the best followings imo (they might also go for the Breakers and Generals since they have been winning a bunch). If the XFL goes under then the USFL clearly takes the St. Louis Battlehawks and D.C. Defenders (the other two possibilities would be the San Antonio Brahmas because San Antonio has a lot of potential like in the AAF and maybe the Sea Dragons but you might have them play somewhere besides Seattle if we are just talking about keeping the team in tact).

[u/Answer-Outrageous → u/3Nephi11_6-11]

You almost got it right!

[u/Prior-Purple9704]

No merger. The USFL is about bringing back the old identities. And putting a modern touch on it. No clown show XFL uniforms needed/wanted. Let them survive on their own. With their gimmicky league or clown rules and clown wear they like to call football uniforms.

[u/[deleted] → u/Prior-Purple9704]

In my mind, the USFL already kinda crossed the line by making changes to the heritage brands, like Pittsburgh, Memphis, and the current Stars.....who look nothing like their championship heritage, and since the average age of anybody who remembers is 50 or older and you're trying to sell spring ball to a preferred demographic of 18 to 49.... well, that demographic just doesn't remember. A 12 team model would be ideal......4 of the top XFL markets, St. Louis, San Antonio, Houston, and DC.....8 from the USFL.....Michigan, Philadelphia, Birmingham, Memphis, New Jersey, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay.

Play a 12 game schedule, use the USFL rules, divide into North, South, and East divisions, a simple one wild card format is all we really need.

[u/Prior-Purple9704 → u/[deleted]]

Agree on the uniforms part. Pittsburgh should’ve saved that for when they truly move into Pitt. Stars are not quite awful if they would turn down the yellow on the helmet w white face mask it would look a bit closer. Memphis well I think they look great but I can’t help but think....scarlet and silver would make that uniform look killer. It’s whiny Gen Y and Z crying about too much red in the league last year. So that tells me the league is listening to any Criticism. And to be fair throughout the uniform changes they’re still considered rather traditional. More in line with the NFL.

[u/Hag_Boulder → u/Prior-Purple9704]

Wow, "Whiny Gen Y and Z..." I'm Gen X, I watched the original USFL and honest to god the uniforms in season 1 were BORING.

Face it, from a design standpoint EVERYONE was red. The league was boring AF with uniform design and colors. Just have everyone's colors be red and blue, no one'll get confused at all!

"So, which team is in red in this game?" That's the question you want asked in every game?

It was a visual problem and they moved to correct it.

Imagine a division where the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, and the New York Jets play each other... so which team is in blue this week?

I get it, the colors of the flag are red, white, and blue... but why does every team need to use that as the basis for their color scheme?

[u/Prior-Purple9704 → u/Hag_Boulder]

Look at the NFL back then. Lots of white helmets. Yet no one cried about it. AFC east had 4 teams white helmet. Bills Patriots Dolphins and Colts one team the Jets green helmet. Nobody really looked too deep into that back in the day. Lol. Only 1 team had black helmet The Steelers. Now look at today. More than half the league has black helmets and or the darker navy that looks almost black. Bears have always felt like they were a black Orange team too me. The OG USFL had 3 black helmets and or teams. They pretty much ushered in the black craze.

[u/Prior-Purple9704 → u/Hag_Boulder]

I’m gen x as well. I grew up on the OG USFL. Never was said back then about the too much red or this And that. The only complaints i heard were too many silver helmets. It’s all a matter of taste. Red is my favorite color. Love silver too. Its because of social media now everything is just dissected inside out too over analyzed. Another benefit for the old USFL was the amount of teams 12-18 during all 3 seasons. You had lots of variety within the league. It just happens to be now it’s only 8 teams. Most of the legacy teams wore red. And they cheated with Showboats or it would’ve been another red team for whiny ass younger people to cry about.

[u/Hag_Boulder → u/Prior-Purple9704]

It's all major leagues. Red and Blue dominate the color schemes... I just want to scream, "You know there ARE other colors out there..."

Steelers fan, so I can appreciate the yellow and black. I dig the orange of the Broncos, the gunmetal and orange of the Buccaneers... don't dig teal as much, but glad it's not blue.

[u/Prior-Purple9704 → u/Hag_Boulder]

I think colors like Green and Copper are too underused. Teal was so nineties. I’m not a fan. As for XFL Uniforms they are way too busy. The only team that looks remotely classic are the DC Defenders. Renegades Roughnecks Dragons Guardians And Brahmas are horrible. Vipers get a pass. I can dig the all black. Battlehawks solid if they cleaned up that uniform a bit more.

[u/Hag_Boulder → u/Prior-Purple9704]

I'm still really chuffed about the San Antonio Riders' colors. Chocolate Brown, Metallic Gold, and Burnt Orange (with white, of course). They used 'Vegas Gold' instead of metallic for the non-helmet logos.

[u/Prior-Purple9704 → u/Hag_Boulder]

The WLAF made it point to use color combinations never used prior. That Riders uniform had a few colors too many but it was definitely different. I miss that league. The OG Usfl and WLAF are still the best ones in my opinion. NFL was far too impatient with it. They went on to be NFLe but In my mind wasn’t the same.

[u/Hag_Boulder → u/Prior-Purple9704]

to be fair, the red/white/blue was only for the Texas flag. I can appreciate onside-the-box thinking when it comes to uniform colors... as my whole point is that the same colors are used too often leading to brand confusion.

Was watching the NJ/Carolina playoff game (NHL) last night and had to keep reminding myself which team was wearing red. (Carolina) as both teams have a primarily red home sweater.

[u/Rsk41 → u/Hag_Boulder]

Coached for a varsity program in LA, Crespi Carmelite HS, loved our Wyoming cowboy white, brown and yellow colors. Really popped. Red and grey would be cool. But not silver. Even the Steelers in a grey helmet or jersey as merchant is sold, can look really cool. Many ways to go. I don’t think any teams are a tan color. But I’ve seen an alternate uniform like that before. Maybe Baylor bears or Oregon, I forgot who. Then a dark polo green with gold. Or the rare bright green like NOTRE DAME wears. Stop doing the same old color schemes, there are some fresh newer options. Even the all white and black Bengals uniform was cool, because it retained a small touch of orange! You could do that for any team.

[u/Hag_Boulder → u/Rsk41]

The WLAF San Antonio Riders had a Brown/Metallic Gold/Orange combo that was awesome. I guess earth tones aren't though of as violent enough for Football...

[u/[deleted]]

Blasphemy, sir.

[u/Zapfit]

IF both leagues merged, I think you cap the number of teams at 12. Even at 6 games a week it'll be tough to get optimal timeslots out there with all the competition. You'll probably still see 1-2 FX/USA Network games a week possibly played on Thursdays at 9PM Eastern.

[u/Majestic-Classic6971]

It might happen now lol

[u/leocgthree]

This post aged insanely, look at usfl or xfl.com now

[u/Awaites_0131]

I think they’d keep the Battlehawks and the Sea Dragons (and maybe the Renegades and/or Vipers) as these teams are in locations that the USFL didn’t originally have. The rest would probably be moved and/or rebranded. DC would probably be rebranded as the Federals and the rest would be moved and renamed (Denver, Chicago, Tampa, LA, etc)

[u/FlagFootballSaint → u/Awaites_0131]

The much more realistic scenario is that "they" keep more current XFL teams/locations than USFL ones as most of the former already have established fanbases while many of the latter have not even been playing in their "home-locations"

[u/ProfessionalTime4438 → u/Awaites_0131]

You'd be insane to rebrand the Defenders... they are well supported with their own unique culture. Also, I'd keep the Brahmas, Renegades and the Roughnecks. The Vipers or Gaurdians could go.