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Report: Michigan Panthers survive USFL-XFL merger, will join new 8-team league

jared ramsey, detroit free press
·2 min read
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The Michigan Panthers appear to have survived the merger between their United States Football League and the XFL, and will be one of eight teams in a new blended spring football league.

According to the Sports Business Journal, federal antitrust regulators approved the proposed merger between the two leagues and competition will start March 30, 2024. The two leagues, which both had eight teams last season, will each bring four members to form the new eight-team league. Other details such as the league's name and where games will be broadcast are still in development, according to the reports.

Joining the Panthers in the new league will be the USFL's teams in Birmingham (which won both the 2022 and 2023 titles), Houston (another legacy team) and Memphis (only in the league in 2023). The XFL will contribute the Arlington Renegades (the Texas squad which won that league's 2023 title), the DC Defenders (the 2023 runners-up), the San Antonio Brahmas and the St. Louis BattleHawks.

Fans greet Michigan Panthers Jamal Milan (94), Frank Ginda (5) and their teammates as they walk into the field before the start of their game against the Birmingham Stallions at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
Fans greet Michigan Panthers Jamal Milan (94), Frank Ginda (5) and their teammates as they walk into the field before the start of their game against the Birmingham Stallions at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

The USFL is owned by Fox Sports, which launched the league in 2022 to revive the old USFL of the 1980s. The Panthers were an original USFL team from 1983-85, winning the inaugural championship in 1983. The league did not survive its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, forcing the Panthers to close up shop in the mid-1980s.

The new USFL started in April 2022 with the Panthers as one of the eight members. Through the first two seasons, the Panthers hold a 6-15 record which includes a playoff loss in 2023. The Panthers played their first season in Birmingham, Alabama, as did the rest of the USFL. The league moved to a hub-based system in 2023, with Detroit's Ford Field hosting the Panthers as well as the Philadelphia Stars.

The XFL launched the third version of its league last spring under the ownership of RedBird Capital Partners, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia. The group bought it out of bankruptcy after Vince McMahon's second go at the league fell apart in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Panthers 1 of 8 teams included in USFL-XFL merger