The United Football League (UFL), the American football league formed out of a merger between the XFL and the US Football League (USFL), has announced a global media rights deal with international sports platform DAZN for the 2025 season.
The deal was secured by the league’s media rights partner IMG, the international sports marketing agency, and will see DAZN air every game of the UFL’s 2025 season across most markets it broadcasts in.
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The deal does, however, exclude Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, China, sub-Saharan Africa, Canada, and the US.
The UFL 2025 season kicked off on March 28 and features eight teams contesting a 10-game regular season, followed by post-season playoffs and a championship game on June 14.
The eight teams are made up of four former XFL and four former USFL teams, with the league playing across the National Football League’s off-season to avoid a clash.
DAZN Group chief executive Shay Segev has said: “DAZN’s dedicated audience of sports fans already enjoys a wide range of American Football content on our platform.
“Our partnership with the United Football League is an exciting extension of this portfolio and will support the growth of this sport’s reach worldwide.”
The rights add to DAZN’s growing portfolio of American football rights, which includes NFL (in all markets except the US and China), NFL Game Pass, European League of Football, and EFL Game Pass.
The XFL and USFL first announced their intention to merge in September 2023 after both leagues suffered from poor viewership and lack of interest in their respective 2023 seasons.
The UFL ownership makeup is a 50/50 split between the ownership groups of the two merged leagues.
The USFL was owned by global media giant Fox Corporation, while the XFL was owned by a group made up of former professional wrestler and American football player Dwayne Johnson, US businesswoman Dany Garcia, and private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners.
Last year, the UFL announced premier global experience agency Legends as its official event and e-commerce partner.
As part of the deal, Legends’ global merchandise division oversees event merchandise sales, including in-stadium shopping experiences for fans attending UFL events, as well as e-commerce operations, which include the league’s online retail platform.
The partnership also sees the company design and produce merchandise for the league.
The league also has deals in place with US sportswear brand Under Armour and the US Army.
