| 2026 UFL season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | United Football League |
| Sport | American football |
| Duration | Regular season: March 27 – May 31 Playoffs: June 7 – 13 |
| Games | 43 (40 regular season games, 3 postseason games) |
| Teams | 8 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC,ESPN,ESPN2,Fox,FS1 |
| Streaming partner(s) | ESPN app,Fox One,DAZN |
| Draft | |
| Picked by | TBD |
| 2026 UFL Championship | |
| Seasons | |
2027 → | |
The2026 UFL season is the upcoming third season of theUnited Football League.
In July 2025, the UFL sold a large minority stake of itself to Impact Capital, a private equity fund owned by multibillionaire sports drink founderMike Repole, who assumed direction of the league's business operations.[1][2]
Even before Repole's management had been made public, news broke that the entireUSFL Conference was being potentially shopped for relocation to potential expansion markets,[3] due to a number of factors: Birmingham and Houston due to declining and underperforming attendance, Michigan due to exorbitant stadium costs atFord Field and an unwillingness to use the only other viable stadiumRynearson Stadium,[4] (while later reports suggested that the Panthers' future could be tied to the plannedAlumniFi Field, a 15,000-seat stadium scheduled to open in southwest Detroit in 2027 as the new home ofDetroit City FC[5]) and Memphis due to the death of sponsorFred Smith and even worse attendance.[6] Repole first addressed theBirmingham Stallions by challenging the Stallions fan base to purchase 5,000 season ticket deposits in order to keep the team in Alabama;[7] though the drive fell short of that number, Repole was impressed by the speed in which the city had invested in 2,200 season tickets and a corporate suite that had not yet even been put up for sale and confirmed the Stallions were safe from relocation for 2026, but that he hoped the city would purchase 15,000 to 20,000 tickets per game for the upcoming season to continue beyond that.[8] His overall target for attendance across the league is between 10,000 and 15,000 fans per game, compensating by using smaller, more intimate stadiums that would avoid the empty seats and lack of ambiance that Repole felt made the games feel like "a COVID game."[2]
Among potential relocation targets,Columbus, Ohio had been named as a potential new market for the UFL in 2026 as early as April 2025.[9][10] The UFL confirmed the addition of aColumbus UFL team shortly after Repole's arrival.[1] Other possible candidates for relocation for the 2026 season were identified in the offseason includingLouisville, Kentucky atLynn Family Stadium.Boise, Idaho andLexington, Kentucky were identified in early reporting but they either denied having heard from the league or stated they could not host games in 2026.[11] Boise had reached a "verbal agreement" with the previous UFL management for a team to play atAlbertsons Stadium, one that was suddenly abandoned upon Repole's arrival.[12]
Though the UFL had initially planned to expand to 10 teams for 2026,[13] Repole paused those plans and chose to keep the league at eight teams for 2026, with intent to begin the oft-delayed expansion by 2028[1] and have a 16-team league by 2035.[2]
On October 7 the UFL announced three new franchises, theColumbus Aviators playing atCrew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; TheLouisville Kings playing at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky; and theOrlando Storm playing atInter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The league also announced that the Arlington Renegades would become the Dallas Renegades and play atToyota Stadium in Frisco, TX; and that the Houston Roughnecks would become the Houston Gamblers and move toShell Energy Stadium. It also announced that new head coaches, uniforms and the 2026 schedule would be announced at a later date.[14]
Players and staff under contract to the Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats and San Antonio Brahmas were transferred to the Columbus Aviators, Louisville Kings and Orlando Storm, respectively. However, the new teams are considered separate and will not inherit the history or records of the folded ones.[15][16]
Returning unchanged[edit] | New teams[edit] | Rebranding teams[edit]
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In November 2025, Repole revealed in an interview that each team will carry 60-man rosters to training camp (compared to 75 in the 2024 season and 64 in the 2025 season), with regular season rosters set at 45 (down from 50 in the 2025 season) without specifying how many will be on the game day roster and if the teams will carry a practice squads.[21] This would violate the terms of the CBA as negotiated in 2025.[22] It was later announced that teams would be able to carry a offseason roster of a 60 (minimum) to 64 (maximum) players.
This is the second and final year of the UFL'scollective bargaining agreement with theUnited Football Players Association. Under the agreement, player minimum salaries will be set at $6,400 per game, with each player also receiving seven months of health insurance and access to year-round coverage underCOBRA.[23][24] UFL players will also be entitled for "players accolade bonuses" for Player of the week ($1,000), Player of the year ($5,000), and MVP ($7,500), with winners of the 2026 UFL Championship Game winning a $5,000 per-player bonus.[22]
Beginning in the 2025–26 offseason, UFL players who have accrued two years under contract to the same team were allowed to test free agency, although none of that happened since the league decided to reallocate all players through the multi-phase leaguewide draft.[25][26]
Previous plans to hold the draft in September 2025 fell through due to continued uncertainty about team composition.[27][28] The delay in the draft from its previous scheduling in July was in part because a large number of the players who were drafted in 2024 (including first overall selectionJason Bean) had opted to remain in the NFL,[29] prompting the league to place its draft after NFL preseason cuts and practice squad assignments to better assess who will be available.[30]
In an unanticipated move, Repole planned to liquidate all eight rosters and will redistribute players currently under UFL contracts in a process similar to the2020 and2023 XFL drafts, with no way for current coaches to protect their existing talent. Birmingham quarterbackJ'Mar Smith quit the league in protest of this decision and leaked the news of Repole's plans to the press.[27][31] When plans were finalized, the surviving teams were given permission to protect up to 12 players from their 2025 rosters.[32]
The2026 UFL draft was held from January 9-14, 2026, at UFL HQ in Arlington, Texas.[32]
After initially implying that he would be joining theTennessee State Tigers staff and leaving his position as interim head coach,Shannon Harris agreed to stay on as theDC Defenders' head coach on a permanent basis. He will work both jobs for their upcoming seasons.[33] He will be the only head coach returning with the same team he had coached in 2025.
Of the three coaches of teams who were relocated, Michigan'sMike Nolan was formally terminated November 15;[34] San Antonio'sWade Phillips had reached the end of his contract[35] (he had not taken any action on an offer to return to the UFL before Repole's arrival);[36] and Memphis'sJim Turner accepted a position as offensive line coach withRutgers on December 22.[37]Payton Pardee, who had served as the interim coach of San Antonio during Phillips's illness in 2025, joinedUTEP as its tight ends coach in January 2026.[38]
For the 2026 season the UFL signed all coaches to a year long contract, instead of the seasonal contracts they used in previous years.
| Team | Departing coach | Incoming coach | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Aviators | N/a | Ted Ginn Jr. | N/a | Ginn has never held a coaching position at any level. He had spent 14 seasons as ajourneymanwide receiver in theNational Football League.[39] |
| Louisville Kings | N/a | Chris Redman | N/a | Redman spent 9 seasons as a backup quarterback in the National Football League; his only coaching experience prior to this was as an assistant at the high school level.[40] |
| Orlando Storm | N/a | Anthony Becht | Reassigned | Becht had accrued a record of 22–10 (.688) in his three years coaching the Battlehawks, having the league's best record in 2025 but failing to win any postseason games. He was reassigned to Orlando on December 23, 2025, a position that brings him closer to his home in central Florida.[41] Proehl had most recently been the Battlehawks' wide receivers coach in 2023. |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | Anthony Becht | Ricky Proehl | ||
| Houston Gamblers | Curtis Johnson | Kevin Sumlin | Fired | Johnson had spent three seasons as Houston's head coach, accruing a record of 11–19 (.367) and no playoff appearances. He was fired November 29 as part of Repole's internal overhaul.[42] Sumlin returns to the Gamblers after coaching the team during its inaugural season in 2022. In the interim, he had been assistant head coach at Maryland in 2023 and 2024. |
| Dallas Renegades | Bob Stoops | Rick Neuheisel | Retired | Stoops was the first head coach to be hired in either of the UFL's predecessors and had been the only coach in the Renegades' history. He accrued a record of 16–21 (.432) over the course of 3½ seasons in the XFL and UFL, including anXFL Championship in 2023. He announced his retirement from football on December 15, 2025.[43] Neuheisel was previously the head coach at Colorado, Washington, UCLA and the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football. He has a career record of 87-59 in college football and a 5-3 record as head coach of the Arizona Hotshots. |
| Birmingham Stallions | Skip Holtz | A. J. McCarron | Unclear | Holtz, the winningest coach in UFL history with three league championships and a 39–8 (.830) record in four years as coach of the Stallions, announced that he would not be returning as the Stallions' head coach on December 16, 2025, a move that Holtz stated was "not retiring" and a "pause" while he pursued other opportunities.[44] Holtz's fatherLou Holtz enteredend-of-life care shortly after the announcement, prompting the younger Holtz to devote much of his time to the elder's care.[45] McCarron was most recently the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the 2023 and 2024 seasons; he had spent 2025 out of football after an attempt to sign with theSan Antonio Brahmas was nixed by the Brahmas general manager. At the time of his acceptance of the Stallions position, he had been the frontrunner candidate in theLieutenant Governor of Alabama race for2026; McCarron withdrew his candidacy the day after Holtz's exit and was formally announced as coach the day after that.[46] His experience as a coach had theretofore been limited to youth-levelflag football.[47] |
This is the fourth year of the league's agreement withArlington, Texas, to serve as the league's centralized hub. Repole indicated that the hub model would be continuing for 2026 but that time in individual markets would be increased (he mentioned potential two- to three-day stays during game weeks and ten-day stays when teams play back-to-back home games) so that teams can build followings in their home cities.[2]
The UFL will continue to follow its model of a ten-week regular season. How the scheduling will play out without conferences or divisions has yet to be determined, as the scheduling formula used by all of the eight-team spring leagues of the 21st century have all relied on two four-team divisions to ensure an even schedule of playing each division rival home and away and the other division teams once. In a late August 2025 interview, Repole indicated that the season would likely run from the weekend of "March 1 through the end of June."[48] This would have been four weeks earlier than previous years and closer to theXFL's post-Super Bowl window. Repole reversed this and stated that the season would again start on the last Friday in March as the previous two seasons had (March 28 in 2025),[49] but that a move to the post-Super Bowl window was being considered for 2027.
The top four teams in the UFL standings will be seeded in order of record in the league semifinals, with the winners advancing to the2026 UFL Championship Game.[49]
| UFL League | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | TD+/- | TD+ | TD- | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STK | ||
| Birmingham Stallions | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| Columbus Aviators | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| Dallas Renegades | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| DC Defenders | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| Houston Gamblers | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| Louisville Kings | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| Orlando Storm | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| St. Louis Battlehawks | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| (x)–clinched playoff berth;(y)–clinched conference;(e)–eliminated from playoff contention | ||||||||||||||
All games stream onESPN+ orFox Sports app unless otherwise noted.
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 27 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Stallions | Louisville Kings | Lynn Family Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| March 28 | 12:00 p.m. ET | DC Defenders | St. Louis Battlehawks | The Dome at America's Center | ESPN | ||||||
| 4:00 p.m. ET | Houston Gamblers | Dallas Renegades | Toyota Stadium | Fox | |||||||
| March 29 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Columbus Aviators | Orlando Storm | Inter&Co Stadium | ESPN | ||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3 | 8:00 p.m. ET | DC Defenders | Columbus Aviators | Historic Crew Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| April 4 | Louisville Kings | Orlando Storm | Inter&Co Stadium | ESPN | |||||||
| April 5 | 12:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Stallions | Houston Gamblers | Shell Energy Stadium | ESPN2 | ||||||
| April 7 | 8:00 p.m. ET | St. Louis Battlehawks | Dallas Renegades | Toyota Stadium | FS1 | ||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Storm | Louisville Kings | Lynn Family Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| April 11 | 12:00 p.m. ET | Houston Gamblers | DC Defenders | Audi Field | ESPN | ||||||
| April 12 | Columbus Aviators | Dallas Renegades | Toyota Stadium | ABC | |||||||
| 3:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Stallions | St. Louis Battlehawks | The Dome at America's Center | ||||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Louisville Kings | Houston Gamblers | Shell Energy Stadium | ESPN app | N/A | N/A | ||||
| April 17 | Dallas Renegades | Columbus Aviators | Historic Crew Stadium | Fox | |||||||
| April 18 | 12:30 p.m. ET | St. Louis Battlehawks | DC Defenders | Audi Field | ABC | ||||||
| 4:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Storm | Birmingham Stallions | Protective Stadium | Fox | |||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 24 | 8:00 p.m. ET | DC Defenders | Birmingham Stallions | Protective Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| April 25 | 7:00 p.m. ET | St. Louis Battlehawks | Orlando Storm | Inter&Co Stadium | ESPN | ||||||
| April 26 | 12:00 p.m. ET | Columbus Aviators | Houston Gamblers | Shell Energy Stadium | ABC | ||||||
| 3:00 p.m. ET | Louisville Kings | Dallas Renegades | Toyota Stadium | ||||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 30 | 8:00 p.m. ET | St. Louis Battlehawks | Louisville Kings | Lynn Family Stadium | FS1 | ||||||
| May 1 | Houston Gamblers | Columbus Aviators | Historic Crew Stadium | Fox | |||||||
| May 2 | 12:00 p.m. ET | Dallas Renegades | DC Defenders | Audi Field | ABC | ||||||
| May 3 | 4:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Stallions | Orlando Storm | Inter&Co Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Columbus Aviators | St. Louis Battlehawks | The Dome at America's Center | Fox | ||||||
| May 9 | 1:30 p.m. ET | Louisville Kings | DC Defenders | Audi Field | |||||||
| 8:00 p.m. ET | Dallas Renegades | Birmingham Stallions | Protective Stadium | ESPN | |||||||
| May 10 | 6:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Storm | Houston Gamblers | Shell Energy Stadium | FS1 | ||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Storm | Dallas Renegades | Toyota Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| May 16 | 12:00 p.m. ET | DC Defenders | Louisville Kings | Lynn Family Stadium | ABC | ||||||
| 3:00 p.m. ET | Houston Gamblers | St. Louis Battlehawks | The Dome at America's Center | ||||||||
| May 17 | 1:00 p.m. ET | Columbus Aviators | Birmingham Stallions | Protective Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22 | 8:00 p.m. ET | DC Defenders | Orlando Storm | Inter&Co Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| May 23 | 3:00 p.m. ET | Birmingham Stallions | Columbus Aviators | Historic Crew Stadium | ABC | ||||||
| May 24 | 4:00 p.m. ET | Dallas Renegades | Louisville Kings | Lynn Family Stadium | Fox | ||||||
| 7:00 p.m. ET | St. Louis Battlehawks | Houston Gamblers | Shell Energy Stadium | ESPN2 | |||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Dallas Renegades | St. Louis Battlehawks | The Dome at America's Center | Fox | ||||||
| May 30 | 3:00 p.m. ET | Houston Gamblers | Birmingham Stallions | Protective Stadium | ESPN2 | ||||||
| May 31 | 12:00 p.m. ET | Orlando Storm | DC Defenders | Audi Field | ABC | ||||||
| 6:00 p.m. ET | Louisville Kings | Columbus Aviators | Historic Crew Stadium | Fox | |||||||
The playoffs will start on June 7 and will end with the championship game on June 13.
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 | 3:00 p.m. ET | TBA | TBA | Fox | |||||||
| 6:00 p.m. ET | TBA | TBA | ABC | ||||||||
| Date | Time | Away team | Result | Home team | Stadium | Attendance | Broadcast | Viewership (millions) | Rating | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 13 | 3:00 p.m. ET | TBA | TBA | ABC | |||||||
Reference:
Announced attendance figures for each home game. In the weekly columns, dashes (—) indicate away games, whilebold font indicates the highest attendance of the week.
| Team / Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Semifinals | Championship | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Stallions | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Columbus Aviators | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Dallas Renegades | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| DC Defenders | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Houston Gamblers | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Louisville Kings | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Orlando Storm | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| St. Louis Battlehawks | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Average | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source:[50]
In the United States, the television rights for the UFL are held byESPN in the fourth season of a five-year deal,[51] and league co-ownerFox.
