In the leadup to the Super Bowl, FOX put out the first two 30-second promos for the USFL. The first came during the NFC Championship, which was seen by over 50M viewers. The second was during the highly anticipated NASCAR ‘Clash at the Coliseum’, marking the first time the network expanded their reach beyond football.
The NFL playoffs brought us the first USFL mention on NBC. Rather than getting a full-blown promo, an announcement on the upcoming season was shown in the chyron during the preshow.
During a major media event last month at Protective Stadium, Eric Shanks announced that the debut matchup between the Birmingham Stallions and New Jersey Generals would be simulcast on both FOX and NBC. This marks the first time that two networks have agreed to share broadcasting of an event since Super Bowl 1.
Going into the big game there was a lot of speculation on if we would see a USFL mention on NBC. Most hardcore USFL fans were hoping to see a full-blown promo. Looking back at the AAF and the XFL, both received spots during the Super Bowl. The Alliance only got a mention on CBS, but the XFL was fortunate enough to get an ad during one of the most sought after spots of the year.
Although we didn’t get a mention during the big game, we did see the first promo aired on NBC in the leadup. It wasn’t a new promo, or one of the 30-second promos, rather one of the original spots we saw from the league earlier this year.
We got next 🏈🔥
The USFL is coming this Spring pic.twitter.com/Vd3R7VkYfP
— USFL (@USFL) February 14, 2022
The league capitalized on the exposure after the game concluded, taking to social media to let everyone know that football wasn’t over for the year, the USFL was coming up next.
— USFL (@USFL) February 14, 2022
This can only be good news for the new league. There’s still a couple months left until the USFL hits the field, and at the moment all eyes are on the player selection meeting slated for later this month.
We’ll keep you posted as more information comes out on the upcoming USFL season, stay tuned for more.
Were you hoping to see a new USFL promo during the Super Bowl? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
