Here’s one you don’t see every day — the UFL is reportedly about to move half the league. Not add teams. Not tweak logos. Just pack up four franchises and drop them in new cities like it’s Madden franchise mode. And we’re not talking about struggling startups either. The Michigan Panthers, Houston Roughnecks, Birmingham Stallions, and Memphis Showboats. That’s the whole USFL side of the league.

And while the UFL hasn’t exactly come out and confirmed anything, they’ve done the next closest thing: a bland, vague statement about “planning for next season” and having “nothing to report on unauthorized speculation.” Translation: something’s cooking behind the scenes, they just don’t want to serve it yet.

If this all pans out, it’s not just a shakeup — it’s the biggest shift we’ve seen in spring football since the USFL and XFL first merged.

Where the Smoke’s Coming From

The Reporters

Most of the heat behind this relocation talk started with reporting from James Larsen at Pro Football Newsroom and the crew over at UFL News Hub. These aren’t just dudes spitballing on Reddit — they’ve been covering the league since the merger and tend to only speak up when they’ve got solid info.

Their reporting says the UFL has its sights set on four new markets: Boise, Columbus, Orlando (or somewhere else in Florida), and Kentucky — likely Louisville or Lexington. And it’s not just vague market interest — it sounds like serious movement, with conversations already happening behind closed doors.

All four teams on the chopping block are carryovers from the USFL half of the merger, and all four have had their share of challenges. Between bad stadium deals, rough attendance numbers, and the general grind of competing in crowded markets, the writing’s been on the wall for a couple of these cities. Others — like Michigan — are a lot tougher to explain, but we’ll get to that.

The League Response

The league’s lone public comment so far came in the form of a short, carefully worded statement:

The league office is in the planning stages for next season and beyond. At this point, we have nothing to report on any unauthorized speculation.

That’s not a confirmation — but it’s definitely not a denial, either. It’s the kind of vague language leagues love to use when they’re trying to buy time. When a statement sounds that sanitized, there’s usually something happening behind the curtain that’s just not ready to go public yet.

You don’t have to squint too hard to read between the lines. “Planning stages” basically means the wheels are in motion. They’re likely finalizing contracts, weighing stadium options, and figuring out how to manage the PR side of things without tanking fan sentiment in the cities that might be on the chopping block. It’s awfully tough to sell season tickets if everyone thinks their team’s skipping town.

Why These Four? Follow the Money (and the Empty Seats)

Let’s be real: the UFL’s margin for error is razor thin. You can’t carry markets that don’t pay the bills. Here’s why each of these four teams is on the board — and why one of them, honestly, makes no sense on paper.

Memphis Showboats — The No-Brainer

Memphis finished dead last in attendance this season, with fewer than 4,000 fans per home game. And in a league where every dollar matters, that kind of turnout is hard to justify. Spring football isn’t the NFL — you can’t afford to let one market lag that far behind while still footing the same operational bills.

To be fair, Memphis has always had a complicated relationship with pro football. There’s a history there — people still remember the original Showboats from the ’80s — but history only gets you so far if the seats are empty.

Add in the fact that there’s been little to no year-over-year growth, and it starts to feel like Memphis just never bought in. Even the presence of a well-funded sponsor like FedEx wasn’t enough to spark meaningful buzz. In a league looking to plant long-term roots, that’s a tough sell. So while it’s disappointing for the fans who did show up, this one feels like a no-brainer for relocation.

Houston Roughnecks — Stuck in Neutral

Houston’s problem has been pretty straightforward: nothing is clicking. Reports have called it “zero growth,” which is just about the worst label you can get in a startup league trying to prove it belongs. Attendance hasn’t budged. There’s been no noticeable momentum from season to season. That’s a red flag for any team, but especially in a city where football is already everywhere.

The Roughnecks have bounced between stadiums over the last couple years, and that kind of instability doesn’t help build a loyal fanbase. Rice Stadium one year, back to the University of Houston’s place the next — it’s hard for fans to even know where to show up.

Even with a recognizable name like the Roughnecks and the backing of a major media market, the team just hasn’t taken off. There’s been no surge in interest and not much to hang the future on. If the UFL is serious about trimming the fat and focusing on long-term health, it’s hard to make a case for keeping a team that’s shown so little — especially when smaller, less crowded markets might actually be hungry for a team to call their own.

Birmingham Stallions — Winning Can’t Fix Everything

This one’s tricky. Birmingham was the UFL’s crown jewel for a stretch. The Stallions won back-to-back USFL titles in 2022 and 2023, then took home the first UFL championship in 2024, completing an impressive three-peat. But in 2025, the streak finally ended. They still had a strong season — finishing 7–3 and earning the top seed in the USFL Conference — but got bounced in the conference championship by Michigan, marking their first playoff loss in years.

So while they’re still one of the league’s premier brands, their reign officially ended this past season. And even with all that success over the last few years, it hasn’t translated into huge growth off the field. That’s what makes their potential relocation such a weird situation.

The thing is, Birmingham has a real football culture. The fans who do show up truly care. Groups like The Horsemen and other loyalists bring energy to Protective Stadium. And the city itself has supported spring ball more than most markets ever did. So if Birmingham is on the way out, it’s not because the fans failed — it’s probably because the league is shifting toward a different kind of market, one where the economics and competition aren’t quite as tight.

Michigan Panthers — The Head-Scratcher

If there’s a relocation target that really makes you pause, it’s Michigan. Unlike some of the other teams being floated, the Panthers aren’t floundering. In fact, they were one of the few bright spots for the UFL in 2025. Attendance actually grew for them. They were up over 30% from the previous year, averaging 11,681 fans per game.

And the Panthers backed it up on the field. They beat Birmingham in the conference title game, earned a spot in the UFL Championship, and had league MVP Bryce Perkins under center. You could argue they had the best season top to bottom. So why are they even being considered for relocation?

It all comes down to cost. Hosting games at Ford Field reportedly costs around $500,000 per game, and that’s just not sustainable — even for a team with growing fan interest. Add in what’s reportedly a strained relationship between the UFL and people running the stadium, and you’ve got a situation where the economics might outweigh the on-field success.

Could the league keep the Panthers in Michigan but shift them to a smaller, more cost-effective stadium? That’s a real possibility. Places like Eastern Michigan or Western Michigan — MAC stadiums — might be cheaper and offer a better environment for the size of crowd the Panthers draw. But from what the reporting suggests, the league might not be looking to downgrade in the same market. They might be looking to leave it altogether.

And that’s the part that stings. Because this isn’t a fanbase that failed to show up. It’s one that did, and probably would’ve continued to grow if given time. If the Panthers do get moved, it won’t be because of anything they did wrong — it’ll be because the math didn’t work out. And for fans who just watched their team make a title run, that’s a brutal reason to lose the team they were just starting to believe in.

The New Pins on the Map

Back in May, reporters noticed that the UFL filed for four brand-new trademarks tied to potential team names — and none of them had anything to do with the existing eight teams.

If the league really does greenlight this four-pack of moves, here’s what they’re betting on:

• Boise, Idaho — You won’t find a more football-proud city without a pro team. Boise lives and breathes Boise State, and the community really rallies around their own. There’s no NFL competition for attention or sponsorships, and while it’s a smaller market, that might be exactly the point — own it, don’t fight for it. The question is whether there’s enough population and business support to make it sustainable long-term.

• Columbus, Ohio — Now this one makes all kinds of sense. Ohio State dominates the scene, but that fanbase is massive and deeply loyal. If the UFL can tap into that energy during the offseason, Columbus could be a monster market. Plus, there’s money here — corporate dollars, big media attention, and a stadium that’s already ready for football.

• Florida (likely Orlando) — Florida is just built different when it comes to football. Orlando has done spring ball before with the AAF’s Apollos, and despite the league folding, the team actually drew decent crowds. UCF’s stadium is right there, the weather’s perfect, and the city’s a tourist magnet. If they market it well, this one could work — though Florida’s crowded sports calendar is always a risk.

• Kentucky (Louisville or Lexington) — This one’s a little more speculative, but not out of left field. Kentucky isn’t traditionally thought of as a pro football hotbed, but that’s part of the pitch — become the team the state didn’t know it needed. Louisville probably has the edge with a bigger population and more infrastructure (plus the Yum! Center ties), but Lexington has SEC energy thanks to Kentucky football.

The UFL clearly believes that college towns — or places with strong college football identities — are the sweet spot for spring football. They’re not chasing big TV markets or trying to wedge into cities that are already overloaded with pro sports. Instead, they’re targeting places where football is already baked into the culture, where the fans live and breathe the game even in the offseason.

So… Is This the Right Play?

This whole thing is going to get messy; there's no denying that. Uprooting four teams is no small deal, and the fanbases left behind aren’t going to go quietly. People have already poured their time, money, and support into these teams.

But if the UFL plays this smart — and that’s a big if — it might just be the kind of reset they need. The key is getting the big things right: picking the right cities, locking in affordable stadium deals, embedding themselves in the community, and not cheaping out on local marketing.

This league doesn’t need to hit home runs every week. What it needs are manageable costs, steady TV partners, and 10 to 15 thousand fans in the seats who actually care. If they can get that consistently, they’ve got a real shot.

Columbus and Boise already feel like solid bets — they’ve got the population, the infrastructure, and a natural appetite for football. Orlando and Kentucky are bigger gambles, sure, but that’s the nature of building something new. You’ve got to take some swings if you want to be more than a one-and-done experiment.