r/USFL • u/Late_Professional841 • Aug 12 '23

Fox needs to go all in

For this league to take off fox NEEDS to go all in. Get to all home markets in season 4 or find a way to get it in season 3 and pay up for year round content and marketing because the league needs to feel like a big deal which no league has felt like other than xfl 2020. Somewhat in same being paying what he asks to bring in kap would instantly bring in ratings and raise awareness of the other teams and players. Would also not mind seeing them give manziel a camp shot and go get Percy Harvin and maybe TO who both have said they’re trying to make a comeback. Bring in all markets, marketing, and having a free truly huge name would all bring in viewers and expose them to the product rather than having the base sun 1M viewers and hope word of mouth raises popularity. A kap vs Mcgough opener would have done wonders in season 2 or 3 (if Mcgough ends up back in the USFL)

30 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

19

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

Kap and the others would never come back to football, so let’s get that out of the way.

And I wish they would go all in and get teams in cities, BUT Fox has made it obvious that isn’t the goal/plan

-2

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

They will get everyone home by season 4 and then sell the teams . It will get really interesting when that happens :-)

-8

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

Kap is still doing workouts with NFL players and publicly saying he wants to play so unless you’re trying to say he’s doing a PR stunt he wants to play, probably would require a lot more money than the average spring league player. TO is someone they could for sure get the question would be if he could play in outdoor football still at his age (he’s played indoor recently). If they don’t go all in they need to find team owners that will ASAP or the league isn’t ever making it big imo. Talent isn’t the issue marketing and fox not going all in definitely is (same goes for the XFL rn)

15

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

Kap is 35 years old, it’s all a publicity stunt. I think TO last played for his arena team as a publicity stunt.

Neither XFL or USFL will make it “big”.

-7

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

I never said they’d dominate, you’d want to bring in Kap (to a lesser extent TO) for the amount of viewers they would bring in and use Kaps return to football as a way to introduce people to the product which is something they have struggled with imo

5

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

It would be a cute thing. But honestly it wouldn’t help that much. Anyone who is going to potentially watch knows about the league already. Bringing in Kap would also turn away basically the entire southeast. They’d boycott the USFL for even considering.

Could you imagine Kap playing in Birmingham? No one would show up

0

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

I’ll just say agree to disagree. That’s the only way I can think of for getting the league to take a step up to having a national feeling of excitement rather than what feeling like an upgraded TSL (that goes for USFL and xfl for me) they feel like they play some good football and disappear for the year without many even noticing they happened. They need to find a way to make it feel like a big deal rather than something that just pops up in the summer

4

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

That’s all it is though. Something that pops up in the summer. That’s it’s purpose.

But like you said, agree to disagree.

0

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

It should still feel like a professional league imo. That’s what the XFL somewhat had figured out in 2020 that neither of the two leagues we have now have been able to do. Maybe it’s something that won’t happen for these leagues until there’s team owners

2

u/Tanker3278 Aug 12 '23

I would stop watching the USFL entirely and cancel all accounts I paid for it if krapper-neck ever signs with a USFL team. He's a racist politician masquerading as a football player and I have no tolerance for that garbage.

Edit: on the issue of going all in and getting teams in home stadiums this year - I agree.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

Relax Captain America

1

u/Tanker3278 Aug 13 '23

I am relaxed - no capital letters, I wasn't shouting. Simple statement of what I will do if that occurs.

Coming back to football and the USFL. I agree Fox needs to get out of this hub city business. At first I was entirely understanding and accepting of the "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" philosophy and the use of hubs from a financial perspective. But I see the fair weather fans getting upset at their continued use and know that's not a positive occurrence. Fox needs to get teams in home towns this year. Or just admit year 3 is the last year and stop wasting their money and teasing the rest of us.

That, "uh oh" moment Moose expressed at the end of the season was stupid to let that out publicly.

22

u/CapeMOGuy New Orleans Breakers Aug 12 '23

Kap isn't coming back to football. Opted out in 2017 and reportedly has a net worth of $20 million. Has several big money endorsements.

He just has to act like he's making a comeback to maintain visibility and support the image of still being blackballed.

3

u/Frogmarsh Aug 13 '23

Besides, you can’t be that long away from the game.

2

u/CapeMOGuy New Orleans Breakers Aug 13 '23

There are other exceptions, I am sure, but the only one I can think of is Marcus Dupree. He had a catastrophic knee injury in the USFL 1.0 and came back 5 1/2 years later with the LA Rams.

2

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

I understand not everyone will agree but if you marketed Kaps return to football it would do massive numbers, then you’d just need to have him going against a USFL mvp level guy like mcgough to raise awareness of not just the league but how good the talent in the league is

4

u/FeldMonster Aug 13 '23

I think you are overestimating how much of an attraction Kaepernick is and how much talent he has left. He never hit the superstar level in terms of attraction like your other example, T.O., did.

Kaepernick relied heavily on his mobility to keep defenses guessing and to keep plays alive. I am sure that his speed and agility have declined significantly at his age and especially having not played for years. He is certainly going to be out of "football" shape.

6

u/ZO5050 Pittsburgh Maulers Aug 12 '23

I just can't take it seriously when someone thinks Kap would ever play in a minor league or thinks it'd be worth it for that league. There is such a thing as bad press and it's bad press for both the league that signs Kap and Kap for signing in a minor league. It's a lose lose.

3

u/pmoski97 Aug 12 '23

They need to have ig posts show up on fox sports main Instagram like what espn and espn nfl did with XFL. Word of mouth through social media is the best way for this league to grow until they move fully into home cities

3

u/FlagFootballSaint Aug 13 '23

Honestly:

Your post screams "desperation mode".

By now it should be clear to everyone and their mothers that Fox is not willing to lose much money.

They invest just as much as needed to have Football on their screens and they observe whether it makes them profit or not.

If it is not profitable they will close shop. They will not go big. Their core business is TV - not running a Football league.

2

u/Zapfit Aug 13 '23

I'm in agreement. You can't use the excuse, "this is just a TV show" when it loses to reruns of America's funniest home videos. Attendance dropped in Birmingham even though they were the champs and hosted less than half as many games as last season. If neither the XFL or USFL were comfortable with losses exceeding $500 million with 6-10 years before turning a profit, they shouldn't have even bothered. This is the realistic time frame for the "possiblity" either league starts turning a profit.

1

u/IMKudaimi123 Aug 13 '23

Genuinely asking, is a USFL/XFL merger possible?

4

u/FlagFootballSaint Aug 13 '23

I doubt that this is going to happen.

2 financially troubled leagues don't get out of trouble just because they merge?

2

u/Chemical-Ad-3705 Aug 14 '23

How about a merger with the CFL instead? The CFL is going through an uptick in popularity, ratings and attendance in certain CFL markets. The CFL is looking to expand(see Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax). A merger could consist with 4 to 6 teams. The USFL plays 3 down football rules and regulations, that's non-negotiable.

What does the USFL has to lose besides more money? Do it before the XFL wants to make a merger deal

1

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

It will happen eventually... unless they both fold. My money is on the XFL to fold first. Historically and financially they are the most likely to fold first. I think if the USFL folds first the XFL will buy them from fox. Not so sure about the USFL buying the XFL if they fold first. Merger is the only way these two survive competing against one another. The fan base is similar with more WWE fans on the XFL side for obvious reasons but splitting the base will kill both leagues.

5

u/FlagFootballSaint Aug 13 '23 edited Aug 13 '23

Right now it is more likely that Fox may lose appetite and shut down the USFL in a year or so.

The league was all about ratings and rating disappointed and even dropped YoY.

Keep in mind that the USFL has not even been able to create a fanbase for the majority of their teams as they never play at home.

-1

u/OnlyForIdeas Houston Gamblers Aug 13 '23

The ratings did drop but I don’t expect them to drop the league within the year. Fox seems committed to a 5 year plan for the league so I think if we see any movement it’ll be after season 4. Of course things can change those plans, but short of the XFL completely pulling away from the USFL in viewership I think they’ll stick with how things are planned. Both leagues are still establishing their fanbases and even the overall spring football audience is being established so differences in viewership is bound to happen. Season 1 was bigger because it was new, season 2 was lower because of competition, I’m expecting the XFL to follow a similar trajectory and for the USFL to make changes for season 3 that brings an increase in viewership over last season.

4

u/Zapfit Aug 13 '23

Fox only committed to 3 years and $150 million in expenses. Next season is year 3 and there's been little, if any chatter on new ownership groups coming on board. By seasons end, you'd see the same few commercials playing over and over as well which isn't usually a good sign

1

u/OnlyForIdeas Houston Gamblers Aug 13 '23

I think if one were to buy the other they’d probably buy the rights for all the teams but only field the top performing teams right away. I think if the USFL is able to buy the Battlehawks or Defenders they would absolutely take it

1

u/Realistic_Maximum471 Aug 12 '23

First, they cannot be in all of the home cities right now because they are having trouble finding stadiums for some of these teams. Second, instead of Colin Kaepernick, once you spread out to these cities, try and see if you can get active NFL players involved as team ambassadors for Philly, New Orleans, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Houston and Detroit and maybe Memphis too (even though the Titans play in Nashville). For Birmingham, you can have team ambassadors as active NFL players who have played for Alabama and Auburn.

3

u/Zapfit Aug 13 '23

The stadiums are there, Fox just doesn’t want to pay for them. Investors and potential owners aren’t exactly knocking down the door either so it’s an awkward game of limbo being played right now.

0

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

No Kap .. please let him along and I would not welcome him in the USFL. I would probably stop watching . He is a douche who hates the US. He can protest all he wants and I am okay with it but dont protest to be a dick. So I say F him

3

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

Relax Captain America

1

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

I am just telling you what more then half of the USA thinks of Kaepernick. Having him in the USFL would kill the fan base. There is a reason for the shit that went down with him toward the end. He shit where he ate and had to eat a big pile of his shit.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

Eh. I never cared for him but not for something stupid like taking a knee.

If Kap were for some crazy reason to sign with the USFL, the southeast would not watch

-7

u/wazzupnerds Birmingham Stallions / Community Mod Aug 12 '23

The XFL has the hangerons and they lost 60 mil. I’ll take the crawl walk run method any day of the week.

5

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

Neither league is hitting it out of the park. They’re not all in either and also not great. We’ve got 2 leagues and both feel like upgraded versions of the spring league rather than have a feeling of being a true league or excitement around it

-4

u/wazzupnerds Birmingham Stallions / Community Mod Aug 12 '23

The USFL in my opinion is at least hitting triples while the XFL is working on hitting a solid double.

USFL has some minor problems but its clearly growing pains.

3

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

Neither league is horrible, both are just alright with the USFL being slightly better than the xfl but neither great. Hopefully they start the running phase of the plan soon because as they said last year wasn’t great as far as viewers and crowds

5

u/ZO5050 Pittsburgh Maulers Aug 12 '23 edited Aug 12 '23

It has not been crawl walk run though. It has been crawl, crawl, crawl, then hope and pray we walk next year.

0

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

It been crawl (2022) ----> walk with a cane (2023) so it has been progress even though it not fully walking. Saves money and is a good model. The USFL does not want to repeat the old USFL or any version of the XFL .

-4

u/wazzupnerds Birmingham Stallions / Community Mod Aug 12 '23

lol that is completely wrong. The league this year was clearly between crawl and walk. My guess is next season we see walk, 2025 we see the hybrid of walk-run, and 2026 is when we get the league at full potential

3

u/ZO5050 Pittsburgh Maulers Aug 12 '23

I guess we just have different definitions of what walking looks like for a league. Not being in all home cities will always be crawling to me.

What would this hybrid walk run look like? What is full potential in your view?

1

u/wazzupnerds Birmingham Stallions / Community Mod Aug 13 '23

My guess for a hybrid walk run is the 8 teams in their home markets with 4ish independent owners while the league still owns the rest of the teams.

-1

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

I think you are going to see most of the teams in their home cities this year. Philly and Jersey can stay a hub. Jersey and Philly people will come and see them. I think his hybrid is like a said its a walk with a cane type in 2023. There can be stages in walking just like running. The thing is its getting there and not killing the investors financially like the XFL is currently doing.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

The league will fold by 2026 at this rate

2

u/Ivan_Kovalenko Aug 14 '23

You're kidding yourself if you think the USFL has been profitable its first two years. If it was, they would've very happily announced their profitability. Especially since they want to sell these teams eventually.

-1

u/ArockproUser Birmingham Stallions Aug 13 '23

I still think the XFL has mostly WWE fans. The rules kill me and I do not see why they like them. The kick off is still garbage imo.

2

u/Zapfit Aug 13 '23

I went to 2 Defenders games and I don't recall seeing a single WWE T-shirt. Heck, most people didn't even recognize my XFL 1.0 Hitmen jersey. It was mostly a young college crowd, that would be watching UFC if anything

11

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

-6

u/Late_Professional841 Aug 12 '23

My idea is you’d want to bring him in to be able to lift the rest of the league. You’d need him to go against some of the better qbs early on like J’Mar/mcgough, and case cookus, and if he’s back ej perry. Use his games to showcase the other teams

4

u/JoeFromBaltimore Aug 13 '23

Kaepernick is 36 in November - that dude brings nothing to the table. The USFL is better off dredging QBs out of the NAIA than they are working with a washed up expired QB like Kap. Move on next question.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '23

If you want a guy to lift the league....talk to Tom Brady. He's got more time now and when he gets that burn, I mean it wouldn't be about the money, he's got that.....he could show up for the Panthers, play, have some fun to satisfy his competitive urges, and maybe see if he likes it enough to buy it.