News just broke that the United Football League will be looking to expand its operation into two new cities in 2026. Right now, the league consists of eight teams, four in each conference. They have the XFL conference and the USFL conference. Both conferences used to be their separate spring football leagues before the UFL joined both competitors into one product.
Spring football has not been nearly as exciting as the performance of the NFL. The Steelers should not be shaking in their boots, even if Pittsburgh lands an expansion team. You might be asking, who makes up the player personnel of the UFL? Well, most of them are former NFL players who either fizzled out or are just trying to get a shot on a team's training camp roster.
The Steelers have utilized spring football before by bringing in guys like Hakeem Butler and Luq Barcoo just to name a few. Barcoo had more success when it came to sticking with the roster for a little, while Butler was cut before the regular season and went back to spring football to produce another preseason shot. The connection between the UFL and Pittsburgh remains fairly obvious.
Pittsburgh could be top choice for the upcoming UFL expansion
For those unfamiliar, Pittsburgh used to house two football teams at one point in time. The Pittsburgh Maulers called the city home while the Steelers dominated the headlines. The USFL, now the UFL, had two different stints of the Maulers which included from 1983 to 1984, and then were brought back from 2022 through the 2023 season. Neither stint has lasted too long for different reasons.
They aren't producing a quality product on the football field, and it has caused spring football to fold several times. The Steelers have never seen any money issues when the Maulers were in business, but the UFL would be foolish not to consider Pittsburgh as an expansion city. They already have all the Mauler designs laid out from the past, so they wouldn't take long to situate.
READ MORE: Ex-Steelers star wide receiver already in the doghouse
People in the city love football, and the Pittsburgh Pirates remain dreadful and sadly the Penguins look to be starting a rebuild. Perhaps the UFL could take advantage and see if people would go see a football game in the spring. They won't ever come close to toppling the Steelers as the city's favorite sports club, but they might have an untapped market if they wish to pursue it.
Time will tell who sends expansion proposals to the UFL. This will likely only be the start of their expansion process. Thus far, they have tried to limit the number of cities they are in that have NFL counterparts.
That is not to say the UFL will completely steer clear of that if the opportunity presents itself. Pittsburgh could be a perfect fit for some spring football if the product can show signs of improvement.