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USFL and XFL appear set to merge into one spring league

All American football leagues will pale in comparison to the NFL, of course, but both the USFL and XFL could have some importance to potential NFL players. Basically, the USFL and XFL work like some kind of minor league for players who are still trying to show they belong at the highest level. And the fact that the USFL and XFL don't play in the fall helps the leagues and the players as they have more exposure to NFL execs.

Now, though, the USFL and XFL appear on the verge of merging, at least according to Sara Fisher of Axios. The deal would still have to be approved and no official announcement has been made on the merger yet, but that announcement might come as soon as this week.

The USFL is owned by FOX Corp. while the XFL is owned by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners. The XFL had a broadcast contract with NBC in 2023, so any merger would have to see some new TV deal. Possibly FOX would buy out any contract that remains with NBC as FOX letting some of the games for a league that it partly owns being shown on a different network makes no sense.

Per Axios, the hope is that the merger will be done before each league's 2024 season begins in the spring. That means details would need to be worked out now for where teams practice, if any two teams become one, and where the teams play because while the USFL mostly played in Detroit, Birmingham, Canton, Ohio, and Memphis, the XFL was more spread out for home games.