The 2026 UFL season was the third season of the United Football League.
Offseason In July 2025, the UFL sold a large minority stake to their own self over to the Impact Capital, a private equity fund owned by multibillionaire sports drink founder Mike Repole, who assumed direction of the league's business operations.
Even before Repole's management had been made public, news broke that the entire USFL Conference was being potentially shopped for relocation to potential expansion markets, due to a number of factors: Birmingham and Houston due to declining and underperforming attendance; Memphis due to even worse attendance and the death of team sponsor Fred Smith; and Michigan due to exorbitant stadium costs at Ford Field and an unwillingness to use the only other viable stadium in the Detroit market, Rynearson Stadium (though later reports suggested that the Panthers' future could be tied to AlumniFi Field, a planned 15,000-seat stadium scheduled to open in southwest Detroit in 2027 as the new home of soccer's Detroit City FC).
Repole first addressed the Birmingham Stallions by challenging the Stallions fan base to purchase 5,000 season ticket deposits in order to keep the team in Alabama; 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 he hoped the city would purchase 15,000 to 20,000 tickets per game for the upcoming season to continue beyond that. Repole's 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."
Among potential relocation targets, Columbus, Ohio had been named as a potential new 2026 market for the UFL as early as April 2025. The UFL confirmed the addition of a Columbus UFL team shortly after Repole's arrival. Other possible candidates for relocation for the 2026 season were identified in the offseason including Louisville, Kentucky at Lynn Family Stadium. Boise, Idaho and Lexington, Kentucky were identified in early reporting but they either denied having heard from the league or stated they could not host games in 2026. Boise had reached a "verbal agreement" with the previous UFL management for a team to play at Albertsons Stadium, one that was suddenly abandoned upon Repole's arrival.
Though the UFL had initially planned to expand to 10 teams for 2026, 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 and have a 16-team league by 2035. The first of the two new teams for 2028 was revealed during the 2026 season, an Oklahoma City team that will play at MAPS 4 Stadium once it is complete.
On October 7 the UFL announced three new franchises, the Columbus Aviators playing at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; The Louisville Kings playing at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky; and the Orlando Storm playing at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The league also announced that the Arlington Renegades would become the Dallas Renegades and play at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas; and that the Houston Roughnecks would become the Houston Gamblers and move to Shell Energy Stadium. It was also announced that new head coaches, uniforms and the 2026 schedule would be announced at a later date.
Players under contract to the Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats and San Antonio Brahmas were all transferred over to the Columbus Aviators, Louisville Kings and Orlando Storm, respectively, for the purposes of protecting players in the subsequent dispersal draft. However, the brand new teams are considered separate and will not inherit the history or records of the folded franchises.
Teams Relocations and rebrandings
Returning unchanged Birmingham Stallions DC Defenders St. Louis Battlehawks
New teams Columbus Aviators Louisville Kings Orlando Storm
Rebranding teams Arlington Renegades → Dallas Renegades Houston Roughnecks→ Houston Gamblers
Not returning from 2025 Memphis Showboats Michigan Panthers San Antonio Brahmas
+Teams in the 2026 UFL seasonTeamLocationStadiumCapacityHead coach Birmingham Stallions Birmingham, Alabama Protective Stadium 47,100 A. J. McCarron Columbus AviatorsColumbus will be the new home of a UFL team in 2026 Columbus, Ohio Historic Crew Stadium 19,968 Ted Ginn Jr. Dallas Renegades Frisco, Texas Toyota Stadium 11,000 Rick Neuheisel DC Defenders Washington, D.C. Audi Field 20,000 Shannon Harris Houston Gamblers Houston, Texas Shell Energy Stadium 22,039 Kevin Sumlin Louisville Kings Louisville, Kentucky Lynn Family Stadium 11,700 Chris RedmanOrlando Storm Orlando, Florida Inter&Co Stadium 25,500 Anthony BechtSt. Louis Battlehawks St. Louis, Missouri The Dome at America's Center 67,277 Ricky Proehl
Players 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 practice squads. This would violate the terms of the CBA as negotiated in 2025. It was later announced that teams would be able to carry an offseason roster of a 60 (minimum) to 64 (maximum) players.
Unionization and compensation This is the second and final year of the UFL's collective bargaining agreement with the United 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 under COBRA. 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.
Player movement Free agency 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.
Draft
Previous plans to hold the draft in September 2025 fell through due to continued uncertainty about team composition. 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 selection Jason Bean) had opted to remain in the NFL, prompting the league to place its draft after NFL preseason cuts and practice squad assignments to better assess who will be available.
In an unanticipated move, Repole planned to liquidate all eight rosters and will redistribute players currently under UFL contracts in a process similar to the 2020 and 2023 XFL drafts, with no way for current coaches to protect their existing talent. Birmingham quarterback J'Mar Smith quit the league in protest of this decision and leaked the news of Repole's plans to the press. When plans were finalized, the surviving teams were given permission to protect up to 12 players from their 2025 rosters.
The 2026 UFL draft was held from January 9–14, 2026, at UFL HQ in Arlington, Texas.
Trades On February 11, 2026, the Columbus Aviators traded TE Briley Moore to the DC Defenders for DT Patrick Jenkins.
On March 14, 2026, the DC Defenders traded OT Gottlieb Ayedze to the Houston Gamblers for WR Braylon Sanders.
On April 19, 2026, the DC Defenders traded QB Mike DiLiello to the Louisville Kings for QB Jason Bean.
On April 19, 2026, the Birmingham Stallions traded QB Matt Corral and DE Amani Bledsoe to the Orlando Storm for QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
On April 21, 2026, the Dallas Renegades traded QB Luis Perez to the St. Louis Battlehawks for OT Corey Stewart.
On May 4, 2026, the Houston Gamblers traded DE Lonnie Phelps to the Louisville Kings for WR JaVonta Payton.
Coaches After initially implying that he would be joining the Tennessee State Tigers staff and leaving his position as interim head coach, Shannon Harris agreed to stay on as the DC Defenders' head coach on a permanent basis. He will work both jobs for their upcoming seasons. 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's Mike Nolan was formally terminated November 15; San Antonio's Wade Phillips had reached the end of his contract (he had not taken any action on an offer to return to the UFL before Repole's arrival); and Memphis's Jim Turner accepted a position as offensive line coach with Rutgers on December 22. Payton Pardee, who had served as the interim coach of San Antonio during Phillips's illness in 2025, joined UTEP as its tight ends coach in January 2026.
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 NotesColumbus Aviators Ted Ginn Jr.Todd Haley (week 3) Ginn has never held a coaching position at any level. He had spent 14 seasons as a journeyman wide receiver in the National Football League. Ginn was suspended on April 11 following an arrest for driving under the influence. Haley, the team's offensive coordinator who had previously coached the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits, was named interim head coach for the team's April 12 contest. Ginn was reinstated April 14.Louisville Kings Chris Redman 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.Orlando Storm Anthony BechtReassignedBecht had accrued a record of 22–10 () 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.
Proehl had most recently been the Battlehawks' wide receivers coach in 2023.St. Louis BattlehawksAnthony BechtRicky ProehlHouston GamblersCurtis JohnsonKevin SumlinFiredJohnson had spent three seasons as Houston's head coach, accruing a record of 11–19 () and no playoff appearances. He was fired November 29 as part of Repole's internal overhaul. 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 RenegadesBob StoopsRick NeuheiselRetiredStoops 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 () over the course of 3½ seasons in the XFL and UFL, including an XFL Championship in 2023. He announced his retirement from football on December 15, 2025. 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 StallionsSkip HoltzA. J. McCarronStepped DownHoltz, the winningest coach in UFL history with three league championships and a 39–8 () 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. Holtz's father Lou Holtz entered end-of-life care shortly after the announcement, prompting the younger Holtz to devote much of his time to the elder's care. The elder Holtz eventually died March 4, 2026.