Shakeup In UFL Ticket Sales Department Casts Negative Shadow On 2025 Attendance Prospects

Fans watch from the stands during UFL game between San Antonio Brahmas and Memphis Showboats
at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, on Saturday, 4/6/2024 / Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA

Many aspects of the United Football League in 2024 were universally praised. However, game attendance was an aspect of the UFL that even the league publicly touted as needing improvement. As a result, a shakeup in the league’s sales operation was expected, just not so close to the league's kickoff of the 2025 regular season.

The UFL has parted ways with two key members of its ticket sales team. Senior Vice President Jason Gonella, a carryover from the XFL in 2023, headed up UFL sales in 2024, and Matt Cords, the UFL’s Senior Director of Ticket Sales.

In the meantime, other Ticket Sales and Service team members have taken on the duties of the league’s two open vacancies. The entire department is under the direction of Brooke Campbell, UFL Executive Vice President, Marketing & Team Business Operations.

The change in leadership is not surprising. The timing of these departures, however, is. With just over a month till the 2025 season starts, moves like these wouldn’t be occurring if prospects for the league’s sales were looking bright.

Changes in any walk of business, particularly sports, are inevitable when expectations or performance levels are unmet.

The UFL saw year-over-year growth in TV viewership and digital engagement compared to its predecessors, the USFL and XFL. However, the league’s overall attendance didn’t show the same progress that league owners, RedBird Capital Partners, and FOX sought.

After the merger of 16 teams into 8 in the UFL, the three remaining USFL teams saw a minimal increase in ticket sales from the prior year. Although the league itself never publicized its attendance figures. Michigan, Birmingham, and even Memphis saw a slight tick-up from the 2023 USFL season.

The USFL, which housed eight teams in four separate hub locations that year, saw games at Protective Stadium (Shared by the Stallions and New Orleans Breakers) average just over 6,000 distributed tickets per game. Ford Field games featuring Michigan and Philadelphia averaged an estimated 5,000. Simmons Liberty Bank Stadium, the host site for hometown Memphis and the Houston Gamblers, averaged 4,000. While the neutral site of Canton, Ohio, which housed the New Jersey Generals and Pittsburgh Maulers, averaged just under 3,000 tickets distributed.

The Stallions, Panthers, and Showboats saw the three surviving USFL teams average 10,255, 8,134, and 6,893 in 2024 attendance, respectively.

As an eight-team league in 2023, the XFL side of the spectrum averaged 14,703 fans per game. This is down from what the relaunched brand did three years earlier, averaging over 18,000 fans during a COVID-shortened season with no playoffs.

The downward trend in attendance continued in 2024 with the UFL. In 43 games, the XFL’s overall attendance figure in 2023 was 632,247. The UFL’s figure in 2024 was 513,105, for an average of 13,512 (including three playoff games).

For better or worse, these types of numbers will get department heads chopped off. Even though a valid argument can be presented that part of the league’s failings in attracting fans to games goes way above the job titles of figureheads.

Upper management and the allocation of the UFL’s marketing budget, or lack thereof, are the primary reasons ticket sales have not been up to snuff.

UFL President Russ Brandon, Top Football Executive Daryl ‘Moose’ Johnston, and League Owner Dany Garcia addressed attendance issues head-on after the 2024 season concluded.

Brandon talked about putting boots on the ground in local markets with marketing teams in place. Garcia cited the belief that an earlier schedule release and the first “full sales cycle” this off-season would help grow support in team markets. Moose admitted the league was “disappointed” with attendance at games for the inaugural season but felt that the short ramp-way played a factor.

Thus far, the early word is that season ticket sales for the UFL’s eight teams have been tepid at best. Single-game tickets are expected to go on sale soon. Last year, the UFL opened up single-game sales to the public on February 22nd.

In fledging entities like the UFL, a large part of ticket sales is word of mouth and walk-up business on the day of games. The UFL, despite having a strong presence in the Texas region and headquarters in Arlington, has not put forth a strong enough marketing campaign to entice added local attention.

The Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, and San Antonio Brahmas all saw significant declines in attendance last season. The Renegades' attendance dropped from 12 to under 10k per game. The Gamblers, under the adopted Roughnecks banner playing at Rice Stadium, cratered from 11 to 7k. The Brahmas' attendance declined from 14 to just under 12k.

All of this occurs while talk of soliciting offers from expansion locations is ongoing.

The UFL's cost-effective strategy of Spring Pro Football has paid off, as the league has survived to this stage. But for the league to win its war of growing popularity in its markets, real change will have to go beyond replacing soldiers on the battlefield. It can only come with a shift in strategy and the number of weapons utilized.