The United Football League (UFL) completed its inaugural season on June 16, with the Birmingham Stallions defeating the San Antonio Brahmas in the UFL Championship Game. This victory marks the Stallions' third consecutive spring football championship.
The season featured exceptional on-field action, innovative television broadcasts, significant social media interactions, and strong corporate partner support. The UFL exceeded expectations, building on the legacies of both the USFL and XFL brands. For 2025, the focus remains on continued execution and innovation to benefit players, fans, viewers, and corporate partners.
Russ Brandon, President and CEO of the UFL, expressed satisfaction with the league's debut season, highlighting the strong viewership and high-level football. He noted the consistent engagement throughout the season, affirming the demand for spring football. Brandon thanked players, employees, partners, and fans for their support and expressed optimism for future growth.
2024 Full Season Highlights:
Broadcast Viewership:
- The UFL reached 32 million unique viewers.
- The season averaged 850,000 total viewers per game, a 34% increase over the 2023 XFL/USFL combined season.
- Network broadcasts averaged 945,000 viewers, up 9% from the 2023 combined season.
- Cable telecasts averaged 630,000 viewers, a 43% increase from 2023.
- Viewership for "UFL Today," ESPN’s weekly digital post-game show, was up 20% across YouTube, Facebook, and the ESPN App.
Championship Game:
- Averaged 1,596,000 viewers on FOX, a 23% increase from last year’s XFL and USFL Championship games.
- Peaked at 1,723,000 viewers.
- Delivered a 6.8 rating/19 share in Birmingham and a 3.6 rating/15 share in San Antonio.
Attendance:
- Over 580,000 fans attended UFL games.
- St. Louis set an attendance record with 40,317 fans at The Dome at America’s Center on April 6.
Football Highlights:
- 93.3% kickoff return rate.
- Average starting field position at the 36.5-yard line.
- Average of 43.2 points per game.
- Jake Bates set a spring football record with a 64-yard field goal.
UFL to NFL:
- 12 players signed to NFL contracts as of June 26.
Innovation:
- TrU LINE virtual line to gain using 4K optical cameras.
- Elevated coach-to-player communications.
- Full-motion live sideline video with Apple iPads and DVSport Rewind technology.
- Mindfly body armor camera for officials and ActionStreamer helmet cam for players.
Corporate Partners:
- Exclusive partnership with The United States Army as the Presenting Partner.
- Other corporate supporters included Gatorade, Molson Coors, Under Armour, Verizon, Big Game, and more.
