The UFL is enlisting legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady to award the league's championship game MVP trophy this weekend.
According to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal (h/t Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio), the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star will hand out the MVP award following the title game between the San Antonio Brahmas and Birmingham Stallions at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis on Sunday evening.
Since the UFL championship game is airing on Fox, Brady is a natural choice to be involved with the post-game ceremony, as he will begin his role as Fox's lead NFL analyst during the 2024 season.
Also, Brady knows a thing or two about winning championships and MVP awards, as his seven Super Bowl wins over the course of his 23-year NFL career are the most by any player in NFL history.
Brady was also named Super Bowl MVP on five occasions, along with his three NFL MVP awards.
The Dome at America's Center will be packed with plenty of star power on Sunday since WWE legend and Hollywood acting sensation Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson figures to be in attendance as well due to his status as part-owner of the league.
After the revamped XFL folded, The Rock headed a group that purchased the league in 2020, and it returned to the field for the 2023 season.
While the XFL and USFL were spring football competitors last year, they decided to merge, forming the UFL for the 2024 campaign and beyond.
Former University of Nebraska and Kansas State University quarterback Adrian Martinez has a chance to go for the clean sweep of MVP awards if he manages to play well in a Birmingham win.
Martinez was named the inaugural UFL MVP after leading the Stallions to a 10-1 record, and he may add UFL championship game MVP to his list of accolades if the Stallions can get revenge against the only team that beat them this season in the Brahmas.
Popular YouTuber Deestroying announced Tuesday that he is out for the remainder of the 2024 UFL season after suffering a fractured neck.
Deestroying, whose real name is Donald De La Haye, suited up as the kicker for the San Antonio Brahmas. He suffered the injury in the team's Week 2 matchup against the Memphis Showboats when he tried to make a tackle while defending a kickoff return.
The Brahmas placed De La Haye on injured reserve. Per TMZ, he was attempting to make a football comeback after the NCAA forced him to end his career at Central Florida for monetizing his YouTube channel. He appeared to be well on his way to achieving his goal, as he was reportedly "one of the top-performing kickers in Week 1."
The Brahmas will be back in action on Sunday against the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Donald De La Haye, better known as YouTuber Deestroying, made his UFL debut as a placekicker Sunday for the San Antonio Brahmas.
De La Haye played college football at UCF but was kicked off the team after the NCAA barred him from profiting from his YouTube channel, which was rising in popularity at the time. His channel now has 5.8 million followers, making him one of the most popular sports content creators in the world.
The Toronto Argonauts of the CFL previously signed De La Haye in 2019, but he never appeared in a regular-season game for the team.
De La Haye beat out former NFL kicker Matt Ammendola for the job with the Brahmas, so him living out his NFL dreams may not be entirely out of the question.
The first day of the United Football League's inaugural season ended with a bang as Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates drilled a 64-yard field goal to lead his team to an 18-16 win over the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Remarkably, it was Bates' first made field goal since high school:
Bates actually made two 64-yarders on Saturday, but his first attempt didn't count after St. Louis called timeout before the snap. Bates wasn't rattled, though, and he smoked the next one through the uprights.
He spoke about the moment afterward:
Bates' kick is made even more remarkable when considering his story. He started his collegiate athletic career as a Central Arkansas soccer player for two seasons before transferring to Texas State. He was a kickoff specialist there for two years before moving on again to Arkansas, where he was First-Team All-SEC in 2022 as a kickoff specialist.
Bates landed with the Houston Texans in training camp last year before being waived in mid-August. He made 2-of-3 extra-point kicks and totaled two touchbacks in one preseason game against the New England Patriots before he was released.
To put Bates' accomplishment in historical context, only two kickers have ever made field goals of 64 or more yards in the NFL's 104-season history. The Baltimore Ravens' Justin Tucker holds the all-time record with a 66-yarder in 2021, while Matt Prater (then of the Denver Broncos) hit a 64-yarder in 2013.
Bates and the Panthers will be back at it on Sunday, April 7 when they face the Birmingham Stallions.
It was quite the UFL debut for Matt Corral.
The 2022 third-round NFL draft pick was given the starting nod for the Birmingham Stallions and did not disappoint, leading the defending USFL champions to a 27-14 victory over the defending XFL champion Arlington Renegades.
The Stallions totaled 409 yards. of offense and went 8-of-11 on third down. The defense limited Arlington to just 262 yards, forced two turnovers and recorded two sacks.
However, Corral's performance shined brightest. He went 12-of-21 for 201 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He added four rushes for 25 yards.
Prior to making his UFL debut, Corral was cut by both the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots in 2023 and he was not rostered by an NFL team beyond the middle of September.
Fans took to social media and campaigned for Corral to get another shot in the NFL:
Corral will need to string together several strong performances to make a real push for an NFL roster spot in 2024, but Saturday's performance certainly put the former Ole Miss quarterback back on the radar.
Corral and the Stallions will return to action on April 7 when they face the Michigan Panthers.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson addressed the crowd Saturday prior to the opening game of the 2024 United Football League season between the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades.
The Rock, who is part-owner of the UFL, thanked the league's players and coaches before placing extra emphasis on his gratitude for the fans:
A group led by The Rock purchased the XFL from former WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon in 2020, and the league completed its first season under new ownership in 2023.
However, a decision was made between the XFL and USFL to merge the two leagues, thus forming the UFL for the 2024 spring season.
The Rock remains part of the ownership group, and he was on hand at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday to witness a clash between the 2023 XFL champion Renegades and the 2023 USFL champion Stallions.
Johnson has mostly been in the spotlight over the past several years due to his success as a Hollywood actor, but he has recently gone back to his roots.
The WWE legend recently joined the board of directors for TKO Group Holdings, which is the name of the new company formed by the merger between WWE and UFC.
Also, The Rock made his return to WWE programming in February and before long, he shocked the WWE Universe by turning heel and aligning himself with undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns and The Bloodline.
At WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia next weekend, The Rock will compete in his first true match in 11 years when he and Reigns team up to face Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of Night 1.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.
University of Colorado head football coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders was in attendance for the opening game of the 2024 United Football League season on Saturday.
The UFL's official X account posted video of Coach Prime on the sidelines for Saturday's matchup between the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas:
Sanders' former Dallas Cowboys' teammate, Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, was also in attendance:
After both the XFL and USFL played their own seasons in 2023, the leagues decided to merge and for the UFL for the 2024 campaign.
The XFL was owned by a group headed by Hollywood acting star and WWE legend Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, while the USFL was owned by the Fox Corporation.
Now, the two groups co-own the league, which is made up of eight teams. Four of them played in the XFL last season and four played in the USFL.
The season opener is a significant game in that it pits the reigning XFL champions in the Renegades against the reigning USFL champions in the Stallions.
Sanders and The Rock are longtime friends, so it comes as little surprise that Coach Prime was on hand Saturday to support Johnson's venture.
The Rock spoke to Sanders' players when he was coaching at Jackson State in 2022, and he did the same last season after Sanders made the move to Colorado.
Sanders' name holds a ton of weight in the world of football, as he was an eight-time Pro Bowler, six-time first-team All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion as one of the greatest corners in NFL history.
He has also enjoyed enormous success during his short time as a coach, turning around Jackson State from a cellar-dwelling program to one that won 11 games in 2021 and 12 games in 2022.
The Buffaloes went just 4-8 in Sanders' first season as head coach, but they were 1-11 the previous year and should only get better as more of Coach Prime's recruits arrive.
