The USFL hasn’t exactly lit the football world on fire after three weeks in its inaugural season. In order to improve the experience and, hopefully, attract more viewers, they’re making a change to gameplay.
USFL head of officiating Mike Pereira announced Thursday that, starting in Week 4, the USFL will have a running clock after incomplete passes during the first and third quarters. The point of the move is to try to keep game lengths to under three hours.
“We believe this change will achieve the desired game length,” Pereira said, “while still providing the number of plays you’ve come to expect in a professional football game.”
RULES UPDATE: In order to maximize fan enjoyment and keep games under 3 hours, during the 1st and 3rd quarters we're moving to a running clock after an incomplete pass.
Head of Officiating @MikePereira breaks down the latest rule change that will begin in Week 4 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JPsuC5Rfoy
— USFL (@USFL) May 5, 2022
The average NFL game lasts a little over three hours, so this move is an attempt by the USFL to make their product feel a little sleeker, at least in terms of how long it goes on.
The reaction to the news appears to be mixed. There are some who find the change intriguing and applaud the league for taking action early on to make the product more appealing.
The USFL saw a problem and presented what they hope will be something to correct it ASAP. Not waiting a year, no weird small steps to get to the ultimate goal. They took action. I like https://t.co/NgU9xlGXgy
— AJ Spurr (@SpurrFM) May 5, 2022
This is a great job by the @USFL #USFL and @MikePereira. I like that they evaluated this topic and then made a change! https://t.co/8Qs1W0HaBz
— Mark Halbach (@Mark_Halbach) May 5, 2022
Solid move https://t.co/GWfWIeRVoB
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) May 5, 2022
However, many others found the decision strange, considering it means they’re literally trying to entice you to watch the USFL by giving you less USFL. Not to mention, it might be indicative of the poor quarterback play that has made their games less appealing so far. Others still wondered if this is due to a TV partner mandate to make games shorter.
Running clock = less football
Rules that "maximize fan enjoyment" by reducing the product only please fans who do not enjoy the product. https://t.co/Eu7aX5h7Yd
— Kevin Boilard (@KevinBoilard) May 5, 2022
…Wait, what?
This is an odd change to make in Week 4 of 10. https://t.co/RtAaq62bT7
— Bryan Knowles (@BryKno) May 5, 2022
I'm rooting for spring football to succeed, but literally every move the USFL has made has been a disaster
This is either a pointless gimmick that no one asked for, or the TV networks saying we're cutting you off after 3 hours XFL 2001 style https://t.co/vqVxQ2ucgZ
— JaguarGator9 (@JaguarGator9NFL) May 5, 2022
Maximizing fan enjoyment by giving fans less USFL to watch 😂😂😂 https://t.co/VX7a8bjcIO
— Eliot Crist 🏆 (@EliotCrist) May 5, 2022
We’ll see if this moves the needle in the rating department for the league. Viewership fell off a cliff in Week 2, as it tends to for spring football leagues, but Week 3 rating numbers held relatively steady. If the league can find a way to maintain that interest across the season, there’s a decent chance it could return for a second season, which is quite the accomplishment for something like this.
