By Larry Rupp
NFL action has been in the rearview mirror for months now and football fans are filling the gap in their lives by prepping for the upcoming draft. It’s important to remember that the inaugural United States Football League season starts on April 16, too. The brand new eight-team league includes squads from some of the biggest cities in the country that will battle it out for a title.
Each team will play a 10-game regular season schedule with games televised by both FOX and NBC. Those contests will take place every weekend before a four-team playoff is set. Semifinal action will go down on June 25 before the Championship game on July 3. Joel Klatt and Curt Menefee recently became the first two broadcasters signed to provide play-by-play coverage.
We are the USFL 🏈
🐾 @USFLPanthers
🎖 @USFLGenerals
⭐️ @USFLStars
⚒️ @USFLMaulers🐎 @USFLStallions
🎰 @USFLGamblers
🌊 @USFLBreakers
🤠 @USFLBandits pic.twitter.com/IWppp5b2Sz— USFL (@USFL) November 22, 2021
One of the main reasons spring football leagues have failed to garner a big enough audience to stick around in the past is the fact that sports betting hadn’t been legal in many states prior to 2020. Obviously, that is no longer the case. Sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings have announced that odds will be released for singular USFL games as well as future markets.
The Michigan Panthers have opened as the favorites to win it all with odds set +450, according to BetRivers. Of course, the Panthers made national headlines when they hired former NFL coach Jeff Fisher to guide the team to the promised land. Michigan also landed the No. 1 overall pick in February’s draft and used it to select quarterback Shea Patterson. The former Wolverines standout will get an opportunity to prove he has what it takes to play at the professional level.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Bandits (+500) will aim to do what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did during the 2020 season and be the last team standing. Former NFL offensive coordinator Todd Haley is the captain of this ship and drafted former Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta’amu with the No. 2 overall pick. The 24-year-old shined in a brief stint with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL in 2020. Ta’amu ended up throwing for 1,050 yards and 5 touchdowns across five games played.
🗣 USFL futures just dropped
Michigan enters the inaugural season with the shortest title odds at +450.
The Panthers have both Paxton Lynch and Shea Patterson in their quarterback room and are coached by Jeff Fisher. pic.twitter.com/mJNIAVN7UU
— BetRivers (@BetRivers) April 5, 2022
Teams filling out the rest of the odds feature the New Orleans Breakers (+500), Philadelphia Stars (+550), Pittsburgh Maulers (+600), Birmingham Stallions (+650), Houston Gamblers (+700) and New Jersey Generals (+800). All regular season games will also be played at either Protective Stadium or Legion field in Birmingham, Alabama in order to reduce team travel.
It’s worth noting to prospective bettors that the USFL will not feature the same rules as the NFL. For example, three-point conversions from the 10-yard line are an option after touchdowns have been scored and two forward passes from behind the line of scrimmage are legal. Any overtime game will consist of each team attempting three two-point tries from the two-yard line. The leader after all tries are completed will be deemed the winner. A tie would move to sudden death.
All things considered, no one truly knows what to expect when it comes to how successful the USFL will be. One thing is for sure, though, and that is that people are going to bet on it.
Picture Credit: Andrew Angelov
