A new trademark filing suggests UFL is looking hard at expansion. And it could include a new team in Oakland, as well as the return of the franchise that President Donald Trump once owned.
In 2023, the XFL and USFL decided that competing against each other was no longer in their best interests. So the two spring professional football leagues decided to merge under the defunct UFL banner. The merged league has not been putting up stellar ratings numbers or filling up arenas. But it still offers fresh spring sports content for ABC, FOX, and ESPN.
That is why it is likely the league will be back in 2026. And in a sign of that positive outlook, it looks like the UFL is looking to expand next season. Recently, UFL News Hub reported that USFL Enterprises LLC — which owns the USFL side of the league — filed a trademark for the Oakland Invaders, Philadelphia Stars, New Jersey Generals, and Tampa Bay Bandits.
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Pro Football Talk confirmed the report on the trademark filing and claimed it was made on May 6, 2025.
Some of the above names will be familiar to fans who watched the USFL before the merger. The Stars and Generals were part of the reborn USFL before it merged with the XFL. When the league was originally created back in 1983, the Generals were owned by New York native and current US President Donald Trump. The Bandits were created for the second incarnation of the USFL but were then turned into the Memphis Showboats two years ago.
The Oakland Invaders would be a brand-new addition to the UFL. Many of the home arenas for UFL teams have trouble selling seats. However, the St. Louis Battlehawks have been a huge success. As the league brought pro football back to the city after the NFL’s Rams left for Los Angeles in 2016.
After both the Raiders and Athletics have left Oakland, it is a smart play for the league to see if Oakland could become another hotbed like St. Louis.
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