UFL Adds Thoroughbred Owner Mike Repole as Major Investor
Thoroughbred owner Mike Repole has joined the ownership group behind the United Football League, the spring football league announced Thursday. Repole’s private equity firm, Impact Capital, “will lead the league’s business operations” moving forward.
A UFL spokesperson confirmed that Repole ranks among the league’s top three investors but declined to specify the financial terms of his ownership stake.
“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 was formed through the December 2023 merger of the struggling USFL and XFL spring leagues. According to league data compiled by Sports Business Journal, viewership declined 20 percent during its second season.
UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon welcomed the addition in a statement: “The UFL is thrilled to welcome a visionary like Mike Repole to our ownership group. Mike’s entrepreneurial accomplishments are extraordinary, and his dynamic leadership will immediately elevate the league’s business and brand trajectory.”
Game attendance dropped 5 percent from 2024 and declined in seven of the eight UFL markets, according to The Athletic, which first reported Repole’s investment. St. Louis — the league’s strongest market, fueled partly by the Los Angeles Rams’ departure — saw a 13 percent attendance drop this season. Detroit bucked the trend with a one-third increase in attendance.
Individual games have averaged approximately 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.”
The head of Repole Stable also revealed plans to relocate at least two teams before next season begins. He envisions doubling the league’s number of teams over the next decade.
“We’re going to be aggressive as far as being nimble and scrappy and gritty and making aggressive moves,” Repole 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.”
Repole confirmed long-rumored plans that Columbus, Ohio, will serve as one relocation destination, with games to be played at the Columbus Crew’s stadium. He did not specify which team will move there or identify other markets under consideration.
Current UFL teams are based in Arlington, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Detroit; Houston; Memphis; San Antonio; St. Louis; and Washington D.C., home of the DC Defenders who won the 2025 UFL Championship.
Both of the UFL’s first two seasons featured 10-game schedules, though the league has not announced when the 2026 season will begin. On Tuesday, the league reported that 26 UFL players from the 2025 season have signed NFL contracts — one of its key value propositions for attracting talent.
The UFL ownership group includes RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, ESPN, Dany Garcia, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
