UFL sees strong viewership amid solid attendance

The United Football League saw mixed results from its viewership and attendance marks during the spring league's inaugural season.

A merger between the former XFL and USFL, the first UFL season concluded with the Birmingham Stallions beating the San Antonio Brahmas 25-0 in Sunday's championship game.

The 27,396 fans in attendance in St. Louis on Sunday brought the league's total to 581,016, according to a Front Office Sports report. The 13,512 fans the league averaged across all games was a tick lower than the XFL's average of 14,703 fans per game in 2023. The USFL did not provide a good comparison with eight teams playing across only four markets.

However, FOS also reported that the UFL's average of 816,000 viewers across FOX, ABC and ESPN represented a 30 percent increase over the XFL and USFL average last year. Both conference championship games topped one million viewers, representing a 57 percent increase from the USFL/XFL playoff audience.

FOX owns 50 percent of the UFL, and has announced plans to move "many" games from Sundays to Friday nights next spring.

NFL fans may see several UFL stars play this coming season.

Among some bigger names, St. Louis Battlehawks running back Jacob Saylor is signing with the New York Giants, according to his agent, while the Detroit Lions have reportedly signed former Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates.

Other players reportedly heading to NFL training camps include the UFL leading tackler Willie Harvey Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys, Memphis Showboats wide receiver Daewood Davis signing with the Carolina Panthers and Arlington Renegades defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, who said he is signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

--Field Level Media