As long as the NFL and college football continue to dominate American culture and TV slots, there will always be other leagues hoping to get a piece of the football pie during the spring and summer periods.
Whether it's the new-look UFL, which recently merged with the XFL in an attempt to form one, respectable cohesive on-field product, or we're talking about defunct recent attempts like the Spring Football League, or the Alliance of American Football, the goal is always the same - to captivate a football hungry fan base during the NFL and college football off seasons.
Whether you're an avid fan of these alternative leagues, or you've never caught a game, one thing that can't be denied is they've had an undeniable impact on the fall product we all love and live for. The freedom to experiment in (at least a partial attempt) to capture attention has led to discoveries like the revamped NFL kickoff format.
Right or wrong, reality is watching a college football game between two top teams that's a defensive battle and ends in a 10-7 decision can be a chalked up to two great defensive performances, but the same score for a UFL game is going see the on-field product criticized heavily. With that in mind, for the league to have success beyond just a year or two, they've got to combine that innovation with what can only be described as a tipping of the scales in favor of the offense.
That brings us to the UFL's recent announcement of some rule tweaks, with at least two of them aimed at paving the way for offenses to light up the scoreboards.
For starters, in their latest attempt to "revolutionize the game," the UFL is going to award four points for any field goal of at least 60 yards.
"Kicking a 65-yard field goal is a lot harder than one from 35," Blandino shared with ESPN. "Why should they count the same? So it promotes excitement. Those are really, really exciting plays, whether it's an end to half or end of game, and it's also going to change the strategy of the game as well."
The league has also banned punting inside of the opponent's 50-yard line unless the game is within the two-minute warning of either half. Once the ball crosses the 50, a team cannot punt even if a penalty or play resulting in a loss of yardage moves the ball behind the midfield point. If the ball is spotted directly on the 50, teams are allowed to punt.
Outside of those two-minute parameters, teams will either have to go for it, or attempt the long field goal, which is sure to create an interesting in-game dynamic.
The UFL has also moved to ban the tush-push - a proposal that has been made by a number of NFL teams over the last few years in the name of "player safety," but the proposal has continually failed to really gain any traction among the NFL Rules Committee. The UFL specifically defines the tush-push as "a play in which after the quarterback takes the snap, he immediately drives forward as the offensive line surges and is assisted by additional players behind him who physically push him forward into the surging offensive line."
In another attempt to provide a scoring advantage to offenses, the kickoff team was also moved back 5-yards from the 40, to the 45 to create more space for kickoff returners, and also in an attempt to help average field position and thus improve scoring chances.
Innovation literally lies at the center of UFL's purpose, according to co-owner Mike Repole.
“The UFL exists to innovate. If we're not making the game more exciting and fan-focused, we’re not doing our job. These rule changes make football faster, more dynamic, and more exciting for the fans.”
Other rule tweaks include adopting the NCAA stance only requiring one foot in-bounds for a completed catch, and after gathering feedback from coaches, the options for points after scoring a touchdown have changed. Teams will be able to go for two points at the 2-yard line (as opposed to the 5), and teams will also have a new option to kick a PAT for one point from the 33-yard line, or go for a three-point conversion from the 8-yard line.
The UFL's 10-week season is set to kick off on March 27th, and here's a look at each of the eight team's uniform combinations with that start date just around the corner.