The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The Brahmas play their home games at the Alamodome. The Brahmas have a franchise regular season record of 11-11 (.500).
The XFL played its first season in 2020 with eight teams, as a reboot to the league of the same name that played in 2001.[1] After five games, it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Prior to the league's April bankruptcy, the XFL had begun discussions with San Antonio to relocate one of its eight teams there.[3] It had been unavailable as a market at the time of the league's launching due to the Alliance of American Football placing the San Antonio Commanders (that league's best-attended team) there, and because of the XFL's policy at the time of preferring cities that already had NFL franchises.
After XFL founder Vince McMahon sold the league to a consortium led by businesswoman Dany Garcia and her ex-husband, business partner, and former WWE wrestler Dwayne Johnson, and the league did not play in 2021 or 2022, it was announced the league would return for the 2023 season.[4] In March 2022, rumors of a San Antonio XFL team again emerged after the league hired Reggie Barlow, reportedly to serve as the team's coach;[5] Barlow instead would be assigned to the DC Defenders. The league announced in July 2022 that three teams from the 2020 would be replaced, and five would return, and that San Antonio would be among the three new cities, ultimately replacing the LA Wildcats.[6]
The July announcement revealed San Antonio's head coach as Hines Ward and their stadium as the Alamodome.[7] On October 31, 2022, the logo was revealed and the team name was announced as the San Antonio Brahmas.[8] The Brahma name is of Hindu origin, coming from the Hindu creator god; more directly, the Brahmas name comes from the American Brahman, a hybrid species cross-bred from sacredzebu and American cattle that Johnson has long used as a personal mascot.[9] The XFL Brahmas team jerseys were revealed on December 8;[10] their uniforms will be yellow-gold and grey.[11] In the 2023 XFL Draft, the Brahmas were allocated quarterbacksJawon Pass and Anthony Russo and used their top pick to select running backJacques Patrick.[12][13] On February 22, 2023, the XFL's director of communications Jeff Altstadter announced the firing of team executive Mike Sheehan.[14]
A game between the Brahmas and Houston Roughnecks during their inaugural season in 2023
The 2023 XFL season began on February 18, 2023, and featured 40 regular season games.[15] The Brahmas compiled an overall record of 3–7 during their inaugural season, missing the playoffs.[16]
On December 28, 2023, Ward resigned from the Brahmas after finishing with a 3–7 record in 2023, in response to a change in contract structure. Houston Roughnecks Head Coach Wade Phillips replaced Ward, a maneuver that would allow the Roughnecks identity to be cleared and used for the former Houston Gamblers.[17]
In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the two leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons.[18] On September 28, 2023, the XFL and USFL announced their intent to merge with details surrounding the merger to be announced at a later date.[19] The merger would also require regulatory approval.[20] In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League".[21] On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a "combined season" to begin March 30, 2024.[22] The merger was made official on December 31, 2023.[23]
Daryl Johnston, the UFL's vice president of football operations, had been on the Commanders' staff in 2019 and had seen the potential of the market, one that could rival the UFL's strongest, the St. Louis Battlehawks, if properly managed. It remains one of the UFL's stronger markets despite declines in attendance since the Commanders' time in the city, Johnston noted the decline was partly due to business issues on the league's end that "didn’t come together the way we wanted them to at the time" of the USFL/XFL merger.[26]
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