All eight UFL teams unveil new/updated uniforms

The United Football League will begin its third season of play in roughly one month, and the league has begun its promotional efforts by unveiling new and/or updated uniforms for all eight of its franchises. The UFL will be a new-look league in more ways than one -- after the merger of the re-launched XFL and the re-launched USFL back in 2024, three teams remain from the XFL and two from the USFL. The Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats and San Antonio Brahmas folded after the 2025 season, and three new teams, in three new locations, were launched to replace them. 

XFL Holdovers
Dallas Renegades
St. Louis Battlehawks
DC Defenders

USFL Holdovers
Birmingham Stallions
Houston Gamblers

Expansion Teams
Columbus Aviators
Louisville Kings
Orlando Storm

Before we dive in, one must acknowledge than naming and dressing a new professional sports team in this day and age is not easy. With 124 teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, all the "good" names have been taken for decades. Re-running a name already utilized by an established franchise starts you behind the 8-ball in terms of carving your own identity, which is everything for a start-up team. Go too far the other way, though, and you veer into the land of the silly. If your team name would sound at home in an 8U travel baseball bracket, you've gone too far.

So, too, it goes with uniforms. You're painting on a canvas that is at once blank and well-worn. The line between generic and ridiculous is razor-thin. Personally, I judge the following by asking two questions:

1) Would this team have fit in as an opponent of the Miami Sharks in Any Given Sunday?
2) Do these uniforms all look like they were designed by the same people?

Dallas Renegades

The Renegades moved from Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers, to FC Dallas's Toyota Stadium in Frisco. In moving from one suburb to another, the club changed its location from Arlington to Dallas. The team also changed its helmets from sky blue to black -- and it's a nice change. 

St. Louis Battlehawks

The 'Hawks (not sure if that's an approved nickname) are -- or, were -- the only team in the league not to have a white road uniform, wearing gray instead. The helmets have been darkened, and the Gateway Arch now appears more prominent on the sleeves.

DC Defenders

When given a blank slate, many start-up teams make the mistake of incorporating four or five different colors into their visual portfolio. This leaves the team's identity looking muddled. The Defend-ing champions smartly restrained themselves to two -- red and white.

Birmingham Stallions

Now coached by former Battlehawks quarterback and one-time Alabama lieutenant governor candidate AJ McCarron, the Stallions use the classic burgundy, gold and white color combination, except they don't wear it as well as USC, Iowa State, or the Commanders. The burgundy home jersey has been swapped for gold, and it feels like a downgrade. 

Houston Gamblers

The Gamblers re-launched under the old USFL team's name, switched to the Roughnecks for 2024-25, and are now the Gamblers again. The Roughnecks' logo deftly harkened to the Oilers' old oil derrick logo, but the uniforms fell on the wrong side of the unique/silly line. I'd have rather seen them refine -- get it? -- the oil motif, but the team instead opted to try the Gamblers identity for the third time. I'd have nixed the on the helmet.

Columbus Aviators

And now the new teams. The team chose "Aviators" on account of the Wright brothers calling Dayton, Ohio, home. It's obvious why a team named the Aviators would choose sky blue as a color, but the end result finds them looking too much like the Renegades.

Louisville Kings

Here's an example of the lose-lose most expansion teams deal with in choosing their name. The NBA and NHL already have Kings, but the city of Louisville was named after King Louis XVI of France, so credit to them for choosing a name that's rooted in local identity. The royal colors of France are dark blue, gold and white, and Louisville's city flag uses those same colors. Naturally, the Kings are wearing... dark green, neon green, and gray.

Orlando Storm

The city that gets the fifth-most rainfall per year in America went with the Storm for its nickname... and the most Any Given Sunday color scheme and uniform design in the league -- black, purple and orange. The Phoenix Suns are the only American pro or college team to make this color scheme work, and how they pull it off is a mystery even to them. 

Which one is your favorite?