XFL and USFL reportedly in merger talks

In theory, the hunger for competitive football is there during the spring from fans, and while leagues have popped up over the years most of them fold before they can gain any traction.

The XFL and USFL have competed against each other for eyeballs during the spring while attempting to prove themselves as the minor leagues for NFL hopefuls, and now there's talks of them joining forces.

According to a report from Axios this morning, the two leagues are in "advanced talks to merge."

The aim would be for the two to combine before the 2024 season.

An announcement of the merger is possible by the end of the week, the report adds.

While the USFL has turned a profit, with the help of a TV deal from NBC, the XFL lost a reported $60 million in their first season of a third relaunch, this time under the direction of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his partners.

As far as viewership is concerned, the championship games for each league drew over 1 million viewers, with the USFL's 1.2 million and the XFL attracted 1.4 million. However, the regular season games averaged just north of 600,000 viewers for each game.

What would happen to the teams was not outlined in the report, but the good news is Houston is the only city that houses both a USFL and XFL team, which could make for a relatively clean merger in that regard.

The XFL has teams located in Arlington, Washington DC, Houston, Orlando, San Antonio, Seattle, St. Louis and Las Vegas, while the USFL is in Birmingham, Houston, Memphis, Detroit, New Jersey, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.

This is now officially in the works, "subject to customary regulatory approvals."