USFL, Maulers Reportedly Returning In 2023 — Could They Start ...

AP Pittsburgh Maulers running back Garrett Groshek carries the ball against the Tampa Bay Bandits during a USFL game Monday, April 18, 2022, in Birmingham, Ala. AP Michigan Panthers wide receiver Joe Walker receives a punt during a USFL game this season. The spring pro football league will return in 2023, according to a published report.

The USFL and Pittsburgh Maulers will return in 2023, according to a national report. Could the Maulers be returning to the city of Pittsburgh, too?

According to the Sports Business Journal, the USFL will play a season next spring. That would be a second in this new form of a league that shares a name (and franchise names) with the 1980s spring league that attempted to compete with the NFL. According to the report, the 2023 USFL season will again play on weekends between The Masters and the Fourth of July holiday and will deploy the same eight teams.

That includes the Maulers, who at 1-9 were the worst team in the league. That is not unlike the only other season a Maulers USFL franchise existed — they went 3-15 in 1984 while playing home games at Three Rivers Stadium.

The 2022 Maulers played all of their games in Birmingham, Ala. — as did all of the other seven teams. The made-for-television league saved on travel and administrative costs by having all of its franchises in one locale. That worked to the extent the USFL not only survived its first season but plans on Year 2, which is more than can be said for the three most recent significant spring pro football leagues that preceded it: the XFL in 2001, the Alliance of American Football in 2019 and a new XFL in 2020. The two most recent leagues did not even finish their first seasons (albeit the 2020 XFL was affected by the coronavirus pandemic).

The Sports Business Journal report said the USFL, which is owned by Fox, plans on playing games in two to four markets in 2023. That leaves it on the table that Pittsburgh could host the Maulers or perhaps even multiple franchises.

“We’re talking to those cities now in terms of how many we’re going to be in locally,” Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks told SBJ.

No details were provided on possible sites/venues for games but it is not expected that Heinz Field would be considered. Highmark Stadium perhaps would be the most likely option if the USFL wants Pittsburgh as a host city.

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About the Writers

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at [email protected].

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