Can the UFL survive?

The United Football League has had its share of problems moving from a four team league to expansion and from transitioning from a single entity league to having local control over its teams. If they can survive year three without another huge loss, and finally gain a ton more main stream positive acceptance they may be here for awhile. The chances of that happening are pretty slim, but stranger things have happened.

The first problem is this league has lost 82 million dollars in two years. It lost 32 million in year one, and another 50 million in year two. That seems to indicate they are headed in the wrong direction, but they did rebrand and move two teams a year ago and will not have that expense this year. The more troubling problem is the two best UFL teams (Las Vegas Locos and Florida Tuskers) actually draw in the smallest UFL live crowds.

Worse than all of that the Florida Tuskers are gone. I don’t want to hear that they are now the Virginia Destroyers because just taking the roster and slapping a different helmet on them is not really what happened. The coach is gone, and that means the Destroyers will take on the persona of whoever ends up coaching this team.

In the end I do not think this league has teams in the right markets to survive long term. No teams in Texas or in the Mid West two places were football is king, and the populace is use to embracing upstart football leagues. If the UFL cannot come very close to breaking even in year three I think they will go the way of the USFL, and the World Football League before them.