| 2026 UFL dispersal draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Date | January 9–14, 2024 |
| Location | UFL HQ (Arlington, TX) Remote |
| Overview | |
| League | United Football League |
The 2026 UFL draft is the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2026 UFL season.
The 2024 UFL draft had largely been unsuccessful, as it was restricted to rookie players who had gone undrafted in that year's NFL Draft and most of the drafted players refused to sign with the UFL. [1] To address this, the league indicated plans to hold the 2025 draft in September 2025, after NFL rosters and practice squads were set, to better assess who was actually available and would be realistically willing to sign. [2] By summer 2025, with continued uncertainty about which teams would still be in the UFL and where they would be playing, this draft was indefinitely suspended.
Following Mike Repole's acquisition of the UFL and the relocation of the Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats, and San Antonio Brahmas, UFL representatives had initially promised that he would honor the contracts teams had signed with its existing players and not liquidate their rosters. [3] Repole disregarded that promise and announced that every team's rosters would be dissolved and a draft would occur to create new teams. [4] One of the goals of this process was to move the teams to a have more regional centered rosters. [5]
On January 9, 2026 quarterbacks would be selected remotely. The results of this would be announced on January 12. [6]
On January 10, 2026, regional college allocation would occur. In this process, coaches are allowed to select a maximum of 3 players from their allocated colleges. These selections will also be announced on January 12. [5]
On January 13-14th the draft will be held at the UFL HQ in Arlington, Texas. On the 13th, UFL players from the 2025 season will be able to be drafted in six positional groups. [7] Offensive lineman, running backs and tight ends, wide receivers, defensive front seven (defensive tackles, ends, and linebackers), defensive backs, and specialists. Teams may protect 12 players from their 2025 rosters on a reserve list that will not be available to draft. [5]
On January 14, the free agents draft will be held. This will also be broken into positional groups with an additional open draft section at the end. [5]
Draft order will be determined by a virtual lottery and the draft will be conducted in a snake format (Round 1: 1 through 8, Round 2: 8 through 1). [8]
Teams are allowed to select a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 62 players in the draft including 3 quarterbacks, a maximum of 3 college allocations, and a maximum of 12 protected players. [9]
To be eligible for the UFL Players draft, a player must have ended the 2025 UFL season on an active roster or injured reserve [9] .
To be eligible for the free agent draft a player must not have been signed to a UFL active roster in 2025 and fall into one of the following categories: [10]
Teams are allowed to protect up to 12 players from their 2025 rosters. [7] The three new teams will draw from the rosters of the now defunct teams. The Columbus Aviators will draw from the Michigan Panthers roster, the Louisville Kings from the Memphis Showboats, and the Orlando Storm from the San Antonio Brahmas.
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Deonte Brown | G | Alabama |
| Deon Cain | WR | Clemson |
| Tae Crowder | LB | Georgia |
| Tyrion Davis-Price | RB | LSU |
| Steven Gilmore | CB | Marshall |
| Mario Goodrich | CB | Clemson |
| Tre Norwood | S | Oklahoma |
| Ronnie Perkins | LB | Oklahoma |
| Armani Taylor-Prioleau | T | South Carolina State |
| Jordan Thomas | TE | Mississippi State |
| Marlon Williams | WR | UCF |
| Marvin Wilson | DT | Florida State |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Cohl Cabral | C | Arizona State |
| Noah Dawkins | LB | The Citadel |
| Akeem Dent | S | Florida State |
| D.J. Miller | CB | Kent State |
| Jaylon Moore | WR | UT Martin |
| Ryan Nelson | T | Virginia |
| Gunnar Oakes | TE | Eastern Michigan |
| Walter Palmore | DT | Missouri |
| Devin Ross | WR | Colorado |
| Toa Taua | RB | Nevada |
| Kedrick Whitehead Jr. | S | Delaware |
| Kenny Willekes | DE | Michigan State |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Akingbulu | T | Fresno State |
| Deontay Burnett | WR | USC |
| Taco Charlton | DE | Michigan |
| Myles Dorn | S | North Carolina |
| Seth Green | TE | Houston |
| Ajene Harris | CB | USC |
| Dae Dae Hunter | RB | Liberty |
| Steven Jones Jr. | CB | Appalachian State |
| Marcus Minor | G | Pittsburgh |
| Donald Payne | LB | Stetson |
| Willie Taylor III | DE | Eastern Kentucky |
| Tyler Vaughns | WR | USC |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Deandre Baker | CB | Georgia |
| Michah Baskerville | LB | LSU |
| Trey Dean | S | Florida |
| Tykem Doss | G | Southern Miss |
| Mason Fairchild | TE | Kansas |
| Deon Jackson | RB | Duke |
| Michael Maietti | C | Missouri |
| Andre Mintze | LB | Vanderbilt |
| Cornell Powell | WR | Clemson |
| Derick Roberson | LB | Sam Houston State |
| Ty Scott | WR | Missouri State |
| Bryce Thompson | CB | Tennessee |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Allen | LB | Alabama |
| Israel Antwine | DT | Oklahoma State |
| Damon Arnette | CB | Ohio State |
| Justin Hall | WR | Ball State |
| Keenan Isaac | CB | Alabama State |
| Avery Jones | C | Auburn |
| Lawrence Keys III | WR | Tulane |
| Jack Kramer | C | Bowling Green |
| Kirk Merritt | RB | Arkansas State |
| Marvin Moody Jr. | LB | Tulane |
| Markel Roby | S | Pittsburgh State |
| Geor’Quarius Spivey | TE | Mississippi State |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Adams | WR | Arkansas State |
| Jaylon Allen | DE | Memphis |
| Josiah Bronson | DT | Washington |
| Steele Chambers | LB | Ohio State |
| Cameron Dantzler | CB | Mississippi State |
| Keaton Ellis | S | Penn State |
| Eric Garror | CB | Louisiana |
| Nate Gilliam | T | Wake Forest |
| Jalen Jackson | RB | Villanova |
| Kwamie Lassiter II | WR | Kansas |
| Alec Lindstrom | C | Boston College |
| Chris Pierce Jr. | TE | Vanderbilt |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Tavante Beckett | LB | Marshall |
| Isaiah Buggs | DT | Alabama |
| Jashaun Corbin | RB | Florida State |
| Zuri Henry | T | UTEP |
| Steven Stilianos | TE | Iowa |
| Jacob Sykes | DE | UCLA |
| Player [11] | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Bradley Ashmore | T | Vanderbilt |
| Ryan Coll | T | Richmond |
| Frank Darby | WR | Arizona State |
| Travis Feeney | LB | Washington |
| Jarveon Howard | RB | Alcorn State |
| Myles Jones | CB | Duke |
| Kam Kelly | DB | San Diego State |
| Jahcour Pearson | WR | Ole Miss |
| Myles Sims | CB | Georgia Tech |
| Pita Taumoepenu | LB | Utah |
The Quarterback Draft marked the first phase of the UFL’s player selection process. Head coaches, working in collaboration with the league’s centralized scouting department, evaluated all eligible quarterbacks and submitted a ranked list of their top five candidates to the league. The draft took place on Friday, January 9, and all selections were announced three days later. Not every team was assigned three quarterbacks. [12] [13]
(*) indicates a player returning to the same team as held his rights in 2025.
Each head coach selected up to three players from local colleges to protect. This process was completed on January 10 and published two days later.
Player allocations for each UFL team were determined based on the league’s regionalization map, as outlined below: [14]
{*} School wasn't on the original regionalization college assignment by the league.
Source: [15]
Three veteran players—St. Louis's Jaryd Jones-Smith, Birmingham's Amari Rodgers and Michigan's Kai Nacua—rejected their selections and retired from the UFL the day of the draft. [16]
| Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Stallions | Steven Gonzalez | G | Penn State |
| Noah Johnson | C | Kansas State | |
| Noah Henderson | T | East Carolina | |
| Avery Gennesy | G | Texas A&M | |
| Columbus Aviators | Noah Atagi | G | Weber State |
| Chuck Filiaga | G | Minnesota | |
| Matt Farniok | C | Nebraska | |
| Aaron Monteiro | G | Boston College | |
| Dallas Renegades | Keaton Sutherland | G | Texas A&M |
| Chim Okorafor | T | Benedictine | |
| Abdul Beecham | G | Kansas State | |
| DC Defenders | Adrian Ealy | T | Oklahoma |
| Houston Gamblers | Christian DiLauro | T | Illinois |
| Kellen Diesch | T | Arizona State | |
| Jaryd Jones-Smith | T | Pittsburgh | |
| Dohnovan West | C | Arizona State | |
| Cam Carter | T | Murray State | |
| Louisville Kings | J. D. DiRenzo | G | Rutgers |
| Nash Jensen | G | North Dakota State | |
| James Tunstall | T | Cincinnati | |
| Gunner Britton | T | Auburn | |
| Orlando Storm | Jarrid Williams | T | Miami (FL) |
| Teton Saltes | T | New Mexico | |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | Mike Panasiuk | C | Michigan State |
| Spencer Rolland | G | North Carolina |
Source: [17]
| Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Stallions | Jonathan Garibay | K | Texas Tech |
| Colby Wadman | P | UC Davis | |
| Rodrigo Blankenship | K | Georgia | |
| Columbus Aviators | Payton Bunch | LS | Virginia |
| Dallas Renegades | Antonio Ortiz | LS | TCU |
| Colton Theaker | K | Washington State | |
| Brendan Hall | K | Montana State | |
| Houston Gamblers | John Hoyland | K | Wyoming |
| Marco Ortiz | LS | Nebraska | |
| Mike Rivers | P | Troy | |
| Louisville Kings | Tanner Brown | K | Oklahoma State |
| Mac Brown | P | Ole Miss | |
| Orlando Storm | Alex Matheson | LS | Cal Lutheran |
| Michael Lantz | K | USC | |
| Jack Browning | P | San Diego State | |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | Matthew Hembrough | LS | Oklahoma State |
| Ryan Sanborn | P | Texas | |
| Tucker McCann | K | Missouri |
| Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Renegades | Tramel Walthour | DE | Georgia |
| Rodrick Daniels Jr. | WR | SMU | |
| Shaun Wade | CB | Ohio State | |
| Te’Rai Powell | DB | UMass | |
| DC Defenders | Maliq Carr | TE | Houston |
| Maceo Beard | S | International | |
| Niles Scott | DI | Frostburg State | |
| Kyle Phillips | EDGE | Tennessee | |
| Davin Bellamy | EDGE | Georgia | |
| Josh Ball | T | Marshall | |
| Nicholas Petit-Frere | T | Ohio State | |
| Grant DuBose | WR | Charlotte | |
| Louisville Kings | RJ Oben | DE | Notre Dame |
| Dez Fitzpatrick | WR | Louisville | |
| Florian Bierbaumer | TE | International | |
| Orlando Storm | Mark Gilbert | CB | Duke |
| T. J. Pesefea | DI | Arizona State | |
| Lyle Santos | G | Southern Utah | |
| Kole Taylor | TE | West Virginia | |
| Josh Minkins | S | Cincinnati | |
| Jayden Peevy | DT | Texas A&M | |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | Tariq Carpenter | LB | Georgia Tech |
| Kelly Akharaiyi | WR | Mississippi State | |
| Dillon Johnson | RB | Washington | |
| Nevelle Clarke | CB | UCF | |
| Morin Taylor | WR | Wake Forest | |
| Jonathan Sutherland | LB | Penn State | |
| Ozzie Hutchinson | G | Albany | |
| Luke Masterson | LB | Wake Forest |