UFL fantasy football is, in fact, a thing. The newly formed league following the merger of the XFL and USFL is set to debut on March 30. Fantasy football makes watching the NFL more fun — it can do the same for the United Football League.
For those interested in some spring fantasy football action, let’s have a look at where and how you can play.
Is There UFL Fantasy Football?
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the number of platforms offering UFL fantasy football is much less than for the NFL. Fortunately, though, the answer is not zero.
Currently, AltFantasySports and News Hub Fantasy are the only two platforms we are aware of that offer UFL fantasy football. Neither website will cost you any money, but AltFantasySports does provide more customization options.
As of now, it doesn’t appear as though the mainstream fantasy platforms will offer UFL fantasy football. Yahoo, ESPN, Sleeper, and other sites we’ve all used did not provide fantasy football for the AAF (Alliance of American Football), the second iteration of the XFL in 2020, the USFL, or the third iteration of the XFL in 2023.
However, gamers will almost certainly be able to play daily fantasy sports on DraftKings. While it’s unclear if FanDuel will also offer DFS contests for the UFL, we know DraftKings did for the USFL and XFL last year. Now that the two leagues have merged, we can be quite confident they will once again offer contests for spring football.
How To Play UFL Fantasy Football
Fantasy football managers have no doubt become accustomed to the vast level of flexibility and customization available across the various platforms. Unfortunately, we must temper expectations when it comes to the UFL.
News Hub Fantasy is as basic as it gets. The only option commissioners have is whether to score based on total points or head-to-head. Otherwise, you’re joining a six-team league with seven starting roster spots — QB, RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex, K — and three bench spots.
For those looking to put their spin on a league, AltFantasySports is quite customizable. When creating a league, you can choose from the following options:
- League Type:
- Head-to-head
- Total Points
- Best Ball
- Number of Teams:
- 1-16
- Lineup Settings:
- Lineup spots per position
- Individual or Team QB
- Individual or Team Kicker
- Individual or Team Defense
- Number of bench spots
- Scoring Settings:
- Wide variety of options
The expanded customization may seem appealing, but for a league like the UFL with only eight teams, you can’t treat it like NFL fantasy football. UFL fantasy is going to be much more random and luck-based given the talent of the players, as well as fantasy managers not being as knowledgeable about the league.
If the UFL can thrive, it will no doubt expand in the future. More teams would go a long way toward making fantasy football more viable. For now, though, the absolute maximum number of teams you can have in a league is eight. Simply put, you can’t have more fantasy teams than UFL teams.
MORE: 5 Best Fantasy Football Apps
You also can’t have managers draft individual quarterbacks like we do in the NFL. Even if your league only has six or four teams, there are still only eight starting QBs in the UFL.
You can’t create a situation where fantasy teams can be without a quarterback. As a result, you have to use team QB instead of the individuals. The same goes for kicker and defense.
As for a final note, I would highly recommend implementing a Best Ball format. We’re all operating with limited information when it comes to the UFL. Lineup decisions would largely be random anyway. With no clear idea of depth charts or player roles, we don’t want fantasy managers accidentally benching their best players.