The 2025 UFL season kicks off March 28 with the St. Louis Battlehawks versus Houston Roughnecks, while contract negotiations continue between the league and players.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The United Football League (UFL) hosted its first-ever media day in Arlington ahead of the 2025 season. It marks the second season after the merger of the XFL and USFL.
The St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Roughnecks are set to open the season Friday, March 28 in Houston, despite rumblings of a contract dispute.
Reporting by ESPN says last month , all 24 of the UFL’s quarterbacks skipped a league-sponsored passing camp in protest of the current contract terms.
“I’m not involved in those conversations, and I think those are conversations behind closed doors, but I know a lot of the guys that are here are really grateful for this opportunity and really excited to be a part of this,” former TCU standout and current Battlehawks quarterback Max Duggan told WFAA on Thursday.
The 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year, Hakeem Butler, added, “All that stuff is just noise for people with nothing to do. I focus on football and I love this game too much to worry about that other stuff. The chips will fall where they may but I’m truly just having fun with it at this point.”
In a statement, the UFL told WFAA:
“The United Football League continues to negotiate in good faith with the players union to finalize a Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will be beneficial both to the players and the league.”
The league says viewership is up, with the 40-game regular season in 2024 averaging more than 800,000 viewers per game. Six of those games reached more than 1 million people.
“Why shouldn’t people be watching the UFL? I mean, great football,” Butler told WFAA. “Everybody loves football. It’s America’s favorite sport at this point but everybody loves football, and honestly, we play this game at a high level and I think guys in this league are hungry, which makes it even more fun. Guys really want to make the play, make the tackle, make the catch, so that makes it super exciting.”
The Arlington Renegades play in Choctaw Stadium and will face the San Antonio Brahmas in its season opener on Saturday, March 29 at 3 p.m. If you’d like to attend a UFL game, visit www.theufl.com/tickets for more information.
