‘Gridiron Guarantee’: New collective bargaining agreement signed as UFL aims to establish itself in NFL off-season window

08/05/2025

Led by Sports Solidarity president Harry Marino, the United Football Players Association (UFPA) has finalised a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Football League (UFL). The deal most notably includes a minimum salary increase, expanded health insurance coverage, and performance bonus incentives.¹ 

Following regulatory approval in 2023, the UFL formed from the merging of the XFL and USFL American football leagues. Despite signing notable NFL talent and obtaining celebrity endorsements and ownership, both leagues only enjoyed brief spells of success before folding, recently re-emerging after multi-decade hiatuses.²

While American football dominates the US’ most-watched TV broadcast ratings,³ neither the NFL nor NCAA play any games in the spring months. This leaves an opening that the UFL hopes to fill by enticing the gridiron-loving US audiences to engage with its eight-team league, spreading across major media markets in the southern and eastern United States.

The UFL hopes that deals such as the new collective bargaining agreement will give the league greater legitimacy, giving potential fans confidence that, this time, the former XFL and USFL teams are here for the long term. This sentiment is echoed by Michigan Panthers QB Danny Etling, who expressed how the new deal will give the league stability and continuity, ensuring consistency amongst player rosters.⁴

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Speaking on behalf of the UFPA, Harry Marino states that “this is a reflection of the fact that the UFL and the UFPA ultimately wanted to come together to reach a sustainable deal that will ensure that spring football will be here to stay”.