The United State Football League (USFL) had a successful inaugural year in 2022 and is set to start the second season in 2023. The 2023 season will begin on April 16, 2023, and eight teams will compete against each other to get the trophy. While the tournament will accommodate no expansion, using only eight teams as it did in its premiere year, Tampa Bay Bandits is conspicuously missing from the list of teams playing in 2023, replaced by Memphis Showboats.
Despite the USFL being new, it has gained some ground, and fans are eager to watch and stake their bets as the season opens. Many people have their eyes peeled to know sports analysts’ opinions on the teams and also to know what team may likely win. Regardless of what team triumphs eventually, one thing is clear; the USFL is set to be super exciting in 2023. While one can understand why more attention is paid to leagues like the NFL and the NCAAF by people who like to bet on college football odds or Super Bowl odds, the USFL remains a league to watch.
Thus, in this article, we will examine some of the eight teams participating in this tournament and analyze their chances of winning.
Birmingham Stallions
The 2022 champions, who made history by being the first winners of the game, Birmingham Stallions, seem to want to retain their championship. They opened the league with the best odds of 300+, along with NJ Generals. Stallions have a great chance of winning as they have great talents on both the offensive and the defensive sides. However, they may need to be better to win the tournament this year as other teams already know what they are capable of, and they will not be underestimated. Also, Stallions have lost two of their best players, Osiris Mitchell and Victor Bolden Jnr. who was the 2022 MVP to other teams.
New Jersey Generals
New Jersey Generals is another great team with high prospects for winning the USFL 2023. Unsurprisingly, they opened the season with the same odds as Birmingham Stallions. They had the same record as the Stallions in the last season and even had a nine-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they lost the trophy to Stallions because of their one loss in their 9 – 1 record.
There have been speculations that NJ generals stand a better chance of winning this year, even more than the stallion. They have a line-up of talents ready to help them take the win. And although they lost KaVontae Tupin to the NFL, they signed nineteen new players in the past few months that can conveniently help them make up for the loss.
Memphis Showboats
The Memphis Showboats are Tampa Bay Bandits with a name change. Having performed below expectation in the last USFL season, we can’t help but hope their name change can also be synonymous with a new beginning. The hope is reflected on the game boards as they have 500+ odds, taking the number four spot on the board. +
Philadelphia Stars
Another team competing in the USFL by April 2023 is Philadelphia Stars. Currently, at odds of +500 with Memphis Showboats and New Orleans Breaker, Star has quite several teams to contend with if they want the USFL 2023 trophy. And they seem to have a chance with their new signee, Montana Receiver Samuel Akem who finished as the only receiver.
Houston Gamblers
With a betting odd of +600, Houston Gamblers have a challenging season ahead of them if they hope to take the trophy. However, the possibility of their success cannot be taken lightly. While playing against major teams is a huge challenge, The more challenging part is that the Gamblers will probably be playing without much support as it is unlikely that their cheer squad will be able to make it to where they will play to give them moral support.
Final Thoughts
USFL is a young league with a trajectory that may shift in any direction and, therefore, cannot be easily predicted now. However, three to four participating teams already have their eyes on the trophy and are doing anything to get it. Birmingham Stallion, NJ Generals, and New Orleans Breakers are the top teams currently fighting for the team. It is still early in the year, though, which means a lot of things could change with respect to how these teams perform. It will be interesting to watch how things unfold from here.
