How much does a USFL franchise cost?

The USFL is officially back in 2022 as it once again tries to cement itself as a legitimate spring football league in the United States. This iteration is getting underway with eight teams, all playing in Birmingham, Alabama for the inaugural season.

Spring leagues such as the USFL are notorious for keeping certain financial information private. That makes sense, as the entire goal from the start is to build hype and not mention any potential financial issues.

Yet fans may want to know who owns the teams and how much each one costs to purchase. The answer is complex and also interesting.

How much does it cost to own a USFL team in 2022?

The answer is a unique one. Each USFL team does not have an individual owner. Instead, FOX Sports owns each team under a subsidiary known as National Spring Football League Enterprises.

Per reports, FOX Sports has committed $150 million over a period of three years to operate the league. Outside funding is also being sought. So the easy answer is that FOX is commmitting $50 million annually for a period of three years. Yet the goal still remains to just complete one full season and move forward from there.

Thus, there are no individual owners in the USFL at the moment. Could that change? That is anyone's guess, and will likely depend on the financial success of the league in 2022 and beyond.

The rest of the structure is unique as well, as the head coaches of each team also serve as general managers. This goes in line with a compact coaching staff and an active roster of only 38 players. Compared to the NFL, everything is a bit smaller in the USFL.

Again, the entire goal of the league is to complete a full season. That is something the AAF and XFL could not do recently, although the latter is returning in 2023 as a direct competitor in the spring season.

As for an investment, FOX Sports is not committing too much to the USFL compared to the billions spent by networks on broadcasting the NFL. The network can also make money back easily by broadcasting the games and selling ads.

So what is the future of ownership in the league? If it takes off, FOX can always open bidding and sell to potential buyers. That would be a natural progression if the league succeeds and grows beyond its current eight teams.

For now, the goal is to survive the 2022 season and start up again in 2023. Keeping ownership under one wing ensures everything is fair as the entire league tries to stay afloat.