UFL Relocation Can Be Stopped by One Thing
Professor and Author Jon Kabat-Zinn once said, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” If that statement is true, Spring Football fans are the equivalent of surfing’s Big Kahuna. Offseason in the UFL is not for the faint of heart. In 2023, we had the big merger where four USFL and four XFL teams were shuttered, with the remaining eight teams merging to form the UFL. The 2024 off-season was just as tumultuous, with strike talk and collective bargaining headlining the offseason. Now we are in 2025 and only about a month into what is supposed to be a relaxing time as a UFL fan, and we have rumors dropping about team relocation.
Multiple sources reported that the league was laying off full-time and seasonal local staff for some of its teams, but the quote that blew up and caused ripples across the Spring Football Sea was short and to the point: “We are hearing that the reason for the layoffs is that four UFL franchises are moving locations. We hear that Michigan, Houston, Memphis, and Birmingham are out.” (Perry, 2025)
Here in the cow pasture, we always like to focus on the positive, so before we go any further, despite reports of the entire USFL conference getting relocated, no XFL teams were part of the rumors, and “the city of San Antonio confirmed Thursday that the Brahmas remain slated to return to the Alamodome in 2026. “We have an agreement with the UFL for the coming season and are preparing to host the Brahmas again,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. (Luca, 2025)
Before the 2025 season, the league started looking for new sites to expand operations and stated its goal was to add four teams over the next two years, but the recent relocation news likely means that process has been placed on hold. “Expansion” news was met with tremendous fanfare and support, but now that the league has shifted to “Relocation” news, fan bases for the Birmingham and Michigan teams have been taking to Twitter expressing their displeasure with the league and sharing their heartfelt pleas with the league to save their team. The Memphis and Houston fans have not been nearly as vocal. Petitions have started, calling for Spring Football fans everywhere to save their teams from relocation.
But are petitions enough? Some fans fail to see the big picture, as if their love and loyalty blind them to their teams. The very X post quoted in this article by Iowan Stallion speaks of their effort to travel to a game and boasts about the team’s past success, but doesn’t address the league’s actual problem: attendance. There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words; looking at the stands in the above post does all the talking. The post clearly shows the attendance woes for the “most successful franchise spring football has ever seen.”
The only team not ranked in the bottom three in average attendance that is rumored to be relocated is the Michigan Panthers. Their relocation might have more to do with stadium issues than attendance, but let’s be clear: Every team other than the St. Louis Battlehawks, including San Antonio, should be concerned. If every team in the league doesn’t see a significant improvement next season, fans will have more to talk about on social media than relocation news.
It is not certain that all four teams rumored to be part of the relocation will be on the move. The mayor of Birmingham and the Stallions Head Coach both claimed that all of the relocation news surrounding their city and team is pure speculation and simply internet rumors.
Will petitions, social media outcry from fans, or pressure from local politicians be enough to save even one of the teams rumored to be relocated? Only time will tell, but one thing that will stop the league from relocating current teams is ticket sales, or what I like to call “Butts in Seats.”
References
Luca, G. (2025, July 24). San Antonio still on track to host Brahmas in 2026 amid relocation rumors for some UFL teams. Retrieved from San Antonio Express News: https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/san-antonio-still-track-host-brahmas-ufl-rumors-20785034.php
Perry, M. (2025, July 22). Exclusive: Four UFL Franchises Are Moving. Retrieved from UFL News Hub: https://uflnewshub.com/ufl/exclusive-four-ufl-franchises-are-moving/