Football is arguably the most popular sport in America. The NFL has been around for almost 100 years, and it’s still going strong without a major competing league. The United Football League, USFL and the 2001 XFL were just a little shy of popularity to be full-fledged organizations. But there is now an uprising in American football, as two new professional leagues join the fray. I’ll let you think out the insanity of THREE football games on at the same time.

The XFL is coming back in January of 2020. Its debut in 2001 wasn’t one to remember. The second association is the Alliance of American Football. This is a new league that will debut on February 9, 2019, one year before the XFL.

“The initial outlay of money [for the XFL] is expected to be around $100 million,” wrote Darren Rovell of ESPN.com.

The XFL is a creation returning from Vince McMahon, a former wrestler and founder of the WWE. He originally created the football league in 1999, but made multiple mistakes in its foundation. The league will start with eight teams (each with a 40-man roster) and a 10-week regular season. The playoffs will include two semifinal games and a championship. The 2020 teams will be announced in 2019.

“It is the latest in a string of attempts to create a new pro football league,” wrote Jacob Bogage of The Washington Post.

The Alliance of American Football is set to debut on the week after the 2019 Super Bowl. The league’s founder, Charlie Ebersol, hopes to play shorter games than the NFL. To accomplish this, they will bend some of the traditional rules. There will be no kickoffs or extra points (only two-point conversions) and a 30-second play clock opposed to the NFL’s 40-second play clock.  

“The Alliance of American Football, though, will have to overcome the obstacles that others could not, including runaway expenses, limited media exposure and a lack of fans,” wrote Ken Belson of The New York Times.

The race to national popularity is coming to a start as two new football leagues attempt to gather a US following. Vince McMahon and the XFL plan to come back on a better note while Charlie Ebersol and the Alliance of American Football hope to get a headstart. Will these leagues compete with the NFL? Or will they simply run out of gas just like all their past competitors?