Michigan Panthers and USFL to make long-awaited return in spring of 2022

Detroit Free Press

Professional football in the spring could be considered a fool’s errand.

There has been multiple attempts to generate buzz after the annual Super Bowl in late January or February, and even compete in-season against the NFL. Yet, no league has survived trying spring football.

The only spring football league to be successful, at least commercially, was the United States Football League that was founded in 1982 and ended operations four years later in 1986. During that time, the Michigan Panthers shined.

Well, what’s old is new again and the USFL is back, and so are the Michigan Panthers. The updated league will be begin this coming April, and will be controlled by Fox Sports, according to the Sports Business Journal.

The Panthers have more postseason wins (two) than the Detroit Lions since 1957, including winning the first-ever USFL championship in 1983. The Panthers weren’t long for the league however; by 1985, they had ceased operations.

While we know there probably won’t be roster spots occupied by Anthony Carter and Bobby Hebert, there has not been any news of roster moves according to the SBJ story.

The league announced their grand return on Colin Cowherd’s show on FS1 on Monday and will start play next year. Joining the Panthers will be seven other USFL franchises that are getting reboots.

Each team will play a 10-game schedule, according to The Athletic, followed by a four-team playoff featuring the top two teams in each division and then a championship game.

Although there are eight teams in eight different locales, the league will play all games in one location, yet to be undetermined.

Contact Andrew Hammond at aahammond@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @ahammFreePress. Check out some of the tremendous offers from the Detroit Free Press and subscribe today!

USFL returns

The eight teams announced for the revived United States Football League, scheduled to begin play in 2022:

North Division

Michigan Panthers

Philadelphia Stars

New Jersey Generals

Pittsburgh Maulers

South Division

Birmingham Stallions

Houston Gamblers

New Orleans Breakers

Tampa Bay Bandits

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