By his own admission, new UFL co-owner Mike Repole is running the spring football league like a start-up company. He has invested money with no clear path to an immediate return, has implemented some experimental changes that extend beyond the traditions of football and on one occasion has changed a rule in midseason following an unusual and dissatisfying conclusion to an overtime game.
How has that approach impacted the ecosystem of spring football? It has been good enough to begin work on an expansion of teams. On the field, the returns are only beginning to register as the UFL opens the second half of its season.
After an overhaul of the head coaching ranks, and the installation of some local heroes with minimal coaching experience, the league's top two teams are coached by the league's most seasoned spring coaches. The D.C. Defenders (Shannon Harris) and Orlando Storm (Anthony Becht) are both 4-1. On the other hand, the league's two 1-4 teams are coached by recently retired quarterback A.J. McCarron (Birmingham Stallions) and receiver Ted Ginn Jr. (Columbus Aviators).
Let's take a closer look at some of the trends, rule changes and other takeaways from the first half of Repole's first season with the league.
Scoring is up
In describing his plans for juicing up scoring in the league, Repole said he wanted to see "34-31" games. The UFL isn't anywhere close to averaging the 65 combined points per game that would require, but it has made a significant jump from both of its previous two seasons.
Even including a slow start, UFL games are averaging 46.3 points per game. That's a 20% rise from their average at last season's midpoint (38.7) and 8% higher than in 2024 (42.7).
For context, the NFL averaged 46 points per game in 2025 and, over a longer range, has averaged 44.2 points per game since the start of the century.
"What's been great is just the progression of the teams and the players from Week 1 when there wasn't a lot of points," said UFL head of officiating Dean Blandino. "Now we're averaging right around where the NFL was at the end of last year, which was a good number. So everybody's getting comfortable."
Punts are way down
One of the primary methods the UFL has used to juice scoring is to prohibit punts when the line of scrimmage is inside the opponents' 50-yard line. Instead, teams either have to go for it on fourth down or attempt a field goal.
Not surprisingly, that has led to a nearly 40% drop in punts (95-league wide) compared to the same time period last season (152). The rule has at times saved coaches from themselves, as there have been only seven touchbacks on punts to this point.
On average, UFL games are averaging 4.8 punts per game. For context, NFL teams averaged 7.1 punts per game last season.
Cautious use of 4-point field goals
In addition to the prohibition on punts, Repole also championed the awarding of four points for any field goal converted from 60 yards or higher. The Defenders are the only team to experiment with it, and kicker Matt McCrane has converted two of his three attempts (both from exactly 60 yards).
Multiple kickers have demonstrated the range. Louisville's Tanner Brown and Houston's John Hoyland have each converted from 59 yards, while St. Louis' Tucker McCann has a 58-yarder and Orlando's Michael Lantz has been good from 57.
Passing games have rebounded, but...
Through five games of the 2025 season, UFL quarterbacks were throwing for 10% fewer yards and had tossed 15 fewer touchdowns than at the same point in the 2024 season. The 2026 numbers (186.5 pass yards per game, 53 passing touchdowns) have rebounded back to roughly 2024, but Repole has acknowledged the league needs to elevate its quarterbacks.
Four weeks into the season, more than half the league was involved in a series of trades to reallocate existing quarterbacks and fill in for injuries. Matt Corral went from Birmingham to Orlando in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Louisville's Jason Bean and D.C's Mike DiLiello swapped spots, and Luis Perez went from Dallas to St. Louis.
The best quarterback performances have come from Dallas' Austin Reed, who opened the season with a 376-yard game. He has fallen off in recent weeks but still leads the league with 1,102 passing yards and 12 touchdowns through five games.
Repole, however, said this week on "The Pat McAfee Show" that upgrading talent at quarterback will be a high priority next season. Before undrafted rookie Diego Pavia signed with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, Repole said he was willing to "sign him tomorrow and start him this weekend." Later, Repole tweeted that in 2027 the UFL will "go bigger. More talent. More big name brand players."
Attendance is flat
Repole biggest first-year initiative has been to shift into smaller stadiums and focus on filling them to create a soccer-like vibe on site. As a result, stadiums might seem less empty even though attendance -- an average of just under 12,000 per game -- is roughly the same as the 2025 and 2024 seasons.
St. Louis has led the way with an average of 25,700 in its two games, while the two Texas teams -- Houston (5,930) and Dallas (6,731) -- rank at the bottom. All eight teams' highest attendance came in their first home games.