Dany Garcia, Russ Brandon Discuss 2025 UFL Season and Future

Image via theufl.com

The leadership group of the UFL is all set for full throttle in 2025 and beyond.

Before the San Antonio Brahmas-Arlington Renegades game on Saturday, UFL co-owner Dany Garcia and UFL President Russ Brandon took time with the media to discuss multiple topics about the league. Some of those topics included expansion and the overall outlook of the business.

Overall UFL Business Outlook

Garcia kicked off the press conference, discussing how impressed she has been with the overall talent of the players and their consistent year-after-year performance.

”The quality of athletes that's on the field playing, the level of play year over year. When we were at camp this season, and you saw our athletes taking the field, and you saw their conditioning and how quickly they adapted. We're going to see that.”

One aspect that has interested me as a member of the UFL media is how the league finally had a full year of an offseason to market and prepare for the next year properly. I asked Brandon how important it was for the league to have that extra time they didn’t have last year.

”It's funny you mentioned that we joke about it often, Dany and I. It feels like 14 years, but it's been 14 months. When we sat here a year ago, we were drinking out the proverbial fire hose, just operationally trying to get everything up and running. We were fortunate as Legacy XFL to have a year under our belt in this area, but bringing USFL friends into the mix, it was a seamless transition. That starts with the leadership of Arlington, and Mayor Ross, and Sean Decker from the Rangers, and that whole team have been incredible for us. But to answer your question as well, to have the opportunity from a business standpoint to really start to build the foundation with a lot of discipline and a lot of structure in each of our markets along here in Arlington has been critical. Even last year, we had to reframe and restructure some things. We're really going into what we say is our season one and real off-season planning that we're really looking forward to.”

Expansion Discussions

A big topic of discussion was the league opening its doors for owners to come in and join the UFL in a potential expansion opportunity. Garcia answered that the process is underway and currently being worked on with finding the right partners.

”Expansion is absolutely a part of our business plan. It was a part of our business plan when we knew we were bringing the two leads together. The development process, the research process of that is something that we're deeply into and that we are very, I would say, meticulous about looking where we need to be and which markets we should be at. Our athletes and our new communities will merge perfectly.”

Brandon added that the league started the RFP process five months ago and has generated interest from multiple cities. The names of those cities have not been disclosed, and no timeline has been established for when an announcement could be made.

When asked about what goals and thresholds the league needed to hit to expand, Garcia is looking more for the right time, people, and the right opportunity for expansion to happen.

”It's less about a threshold and more about process and alignment. The ecosystem of football, which is the most amazing thing I've ever experienced, is a living, breathing thing. It's really about making sure the processes are in place, the partnerships are in place. You never want to run too early so that you can run right. That takes time. I would say less about milestones and more about the correct and the right amount of information and questions answered.”

Standalone League Or Developmental League?

Last year, UFL vice president of football operations Daryl Johnston didn’t want the league to be viewed as a developmental league. I asked Garcia if that is the same mindset as a business entering 2025 or if it has changed. Garcia views it as its own league, with great stories emerging from it.

”We are a standalone league first. While our players get opportunities, it's symptomatic of doing great work. Now, I think the narrative would be like, Okay, our players are here. They move. You did your job. No, every time an opportunity comes because whether it's a player or a coach or our reps, anyone within the organization is able to move in a different manner, that means we are doing an excellent job. We will continue to be a league that wants to have greatness come from time with us, whether it's three years, five years, 10. But that's how we look at every decision.”