So the USFL is coming back in April.
8 team league, first season will be played entirely in one hub city (Birmingham) and then they'll try to get to their home markets next year.
They're owned by a combination of Fox and Brian Woods, the guy who has run The Spring League, that touring-only league, these last few years.
They will have 20 games on broadcast TV (Fox, NBC), 19 games on cable (USA Network, Fox Sports 1), and 4 on streaming (Peacock).
Birmingham Stallions - head coach TBA
Houston Gamblers - head coach Kevin Sumlin (former NCAA head coach at Texas A&M, Houston, and Arizona)
New Orleans Breakers - head coach TBA
Tampa Bay Bandits - head coach Todd Haley (former head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs)
Michigan Panthers - head coach TBA
New Jersey Generals - head coach Mike Riley (former head coach in NFL, CFL, AAF, NCAA, WLAF)
Philadelphia Stars - head coach Bart Andrus (former NFL assistant, head coach in CFL, UFL, NFL Europe, The Spring League, XFL 2.0)
We'll see if they become the first alternative league (besides the AFL and CFL) since the third (of four) UFL season to actually play a whole year. The UFL shut down in the middle of season 4 in 2012, the AAF and XFL 2.0 shut down in the middle of season 1 .
If they do make it, it'll be interesting to see what the Rock does with the XFL. He bought it and claims he will relaunch it in 2023. It's hard enough to imagine one of these leagues surviving, let alone two at the same time.
Alternative leagues since the NFL/AFL merger (the ones big enough to get a TV deal, anyway):
World Football League (1974-1975)
United States Football League (1983-1985)
Arena Football League (1987-2008, 2010-2019)
World League of American Football (1991-1992)
CFL USA Expansion Era (1994-1995)
NFL Europe (1995-2007)
XFL (2001)
UFL (2009-2012)
AAF (2019)
XFL 2.0 (2020)
There's also The Spring League, which will now act as a feeder for the USFL, but that's technically not a pro league. Players actually pay to play in it, just so they can get games on TV and hopefully get signed by NFL/CFL teams (and, to be fair, a lot of players have been signed by both leagues).