Repole Joins UFL As Investor, Promises ‘Aggressive Moves’ Ahead

[Wandering Eyes]

The group behind the United Football League (UFL), which includes RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, ESPN, Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has gained a new investor in Thoroughbred owner Mike Repole. The story first appeared in The Athletic.

In a statement Thursday, the spring football league said Repole's private equity firm, Impact Capital, “will lead the league's business operations” going forward. A UFL spokesperson declined to specify how much Repole paid for his ownership stake, but he did confirm that the billionaire is one of the league's top three investors.

“I think today is the first day of the United Football League,” Repole told Sports Business Journal. “It probably took a couple of years for them to get comfortable and have the right conferences and leagues. I think they learned a lot.”

The UFL, formed when the struggling USFL and XFL spring leagues merged in December 2023, faced a 20 percent decline in viewership during its second season, according to league numbers compiled by Sports Business Journal.

“The UFL is thrilled to welcome a visionary like Mike Repole to our ownership group,” said UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon in a statement. “Mike's entrepreneurial accomplishments are extraordinary, and his dynamic leadership will immediately elevate the league's business and brand trajectory.”

According to the article in The Athletic, game attendance dropped 5 percent from 2024, and was down in seven of the eight cities with UFL teams. St. Louis, the league's strongest market, fueled in part by the Los Angeles Rams's departure from the city, saw a 13 percent drop in attendance this season. Detroit did see attendance increase by a third, however. Individual games, on average, have drawn about 10,000 fans.

“The vibe hasn't been to where it should be,” Repole told ESPN on Thursday. “You can hear a pin drop when someone runs 80 yards. That's not so good. Nobody wants to turn on the TV and see 10,000 fans in a 65,000-seat stadium. It's like watching a COVID game.”

UFL co-owner Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson | Getty Images)

The piece says that Repole also told ESPN the UFL plans to move at least two teams before its next season begins, and that he sees the league's number of teams doubling over the next decade.

“We're going to be aggressive as far as being nimble and scrappy and gritty and making aggressive moves,” the head of Repole Stable said. “If by 2035, if we can't have 16 teams, I'm going to consider it a personal failure. This is it. Other leagues didn't have the capital that this league has, didn't have the media giants that this league has, didn't have the entrepreneurs that this team has.”

The article said that the new owner confirmed long-simmering rumors that Columbus, Ohio, will be one of the relocation destinations, with games played at the Columbus Crew's stadium. However, he did not say which team will move there or which other new markets are under consideration.

The current cities with UFL teams are Arlington, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Detroit; Houston; Memphis; San Antonio; St. Louis and Washington D.C., whose team (the DC Defenders) won the 2025 UFL Championship.

The Athletic piece reported that both of the UFL's first two seasons had 10-game schedules, but the league has not yet said when the 2026 season will begin. It announced on Tuesday that 26 UFL players who appeared during the 2025 season have since signed NFL contracts, one of its key value propositions to attract potential players.

The post Repole Joins UFL As Investor, Promises ‘Aggressive Moves’ Ahead appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article