There once was a UFL. There might be one again.
Via Nick Moyle of the San Antonio Express-News, the XFL applied for protections last week for “United Football League” and “UFL.”
As Moyle explains, this suggests that the merging XFL and USFL will rebrand itself as the United Football League.
The original United Football League/UFL launched in 2009 and folded in 20212.
Why, frankly, would two established brands ditch either of those names and dust-off a short-lived alternate pro league? Either XFL or USFL would be better.
Or even UXFL. Or even my own personal favorite: SUXFL.
It’s possible that they haven’t made any decisions, and that they’re simply squatting on UFL in the event that they decide to go that way. When the USFL first returned in 2022, Fox had to deal with claims from those who allegedly held the rights to the original four-letter spring league.