UFL betting works like NFL betting: every game has a point spread, a total and a moneyline, in a spring season of 10 games per team. The difference is the market. In 2026 the favorite won exactly half of the 36 UFL games with a DraftKings line listed by ESPN, and the underdog covered 22 of them.

The United Football League has eight teams, a regular season from late March to the end of May, and a four-team playoff in June that ends with the United Bowl. The 2026 title went to the Louisville Kings, who beat the DC Defenders 27-20 on June 13 at Audi Field in Washington.

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The eight UFL teams

The 2026 league, with regular-season records:

The league changed shape for 2026, so check the team list before you use any older trend. Columbus, Louisville and Orlando were new teams, the Arlington Renegades became the Dallas Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks became the Houston Gamblers, and Memphis, Michigan and San Antonio did not return. Michigan had played in the 2025 title game.

What 2026 did against the number

Using the DraftKings line ESPN lists for each game (36 of the 43 games, regular season and playoffs, had one; the first seven did not):

The totals were close to right on average. The 36 posted totals averaged 45.6 points and the 43 games averaged 45.5, and the overs and unders split 19 to 17.

The sides were not. Favorites lost as often as they won, and the biggest favorite of the season, DC at -10.5 at home on May 9, lost 30-13 to Louisville, the team that went on to win the title. One season of 36 lined games is a small sample, so read it as a record of 2026 only.

UFL bet types

The menu is shorter than for the NFL:

• Point spread: one team gives points, as in the NFL.
• Moneyline: pick the winner. In 2026 the favorite won 18 of the 36 lined games.
• Total: over or under the combined score.
• Player props: passing yards, rushing yards and touchdowns, where a book posts them.
• Futures: the United Bowl winner, which a book may post before the season.

For a futures price, convert it to a chance first. A +300 price implies 25% and a +700 price implies 12.5%, and with eight teams an even share is 12.5% each. A futures bet is worth making only when you rate the team’s chance higher than the price does.

How the UFL playoffs work

The top four teams in the standings make the playoffs, seeded by record, with first playing fourth and second playing third in the semifinals, and the winners meet in the United Bowl.

The 2026 bracket:

• Semifinal, June 7: DC Defenders 28, Orlando Storm 22, at Daytona Stadium. Orlando, at 8-2 the best team of the regular season, was a 3-point favorite.
• Semifinal, June 7: Louisville Kings 29, St. Louis Battlehawks 20, at The Dome at America’s Center. St. Louis was a 2.5-point favorite.
• United Bowl, June 13: Louisville Kings 27, DC Defenders 20, at Audi Field. Louisville was a 1.5-point favorite and covered.

Both semifinal favorites lost. The top seed also had to play its home semifinal away from its own stadium: Orlando moved the game to Daytona because of a schedule conflict at its home ground, so check where a UFL playoff game is actually being played before you give a team home field.

The UFL title games so far

The league has crowned three champions since it began play in 2024:

• 2024: Birmingham Stallions 25, San Antonio Brahmas 0, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
• 2025: DC Defenders 58, Michigan Panthers 34, at The Dome at America’s Center.
• 2026: Louisville Kings 27, DC Defenders 20, at Audi Field in Washington.

DC reached two of the three and scored 58 in one of them. Louisville won the 2026 title in its first season in the league.

What to check before a UFL bet

A 10-game season leaves little data, and three of the eight 2026 teams were new. The things that settle a UFL price are the ones you can check in the week of the game:

• The quarterback: Jack Plummer was the 2026 league MVP, so check who starts before you bet, since a starter change can move a spread by more than a season’s trend.
• The venue: in 2026 a playoff game moved away from the home team’s own stadium.
• The line against the market: with favorites 14-22 against the spread in 2026, lay points only when you can say why the favorite is better by more than the number.

For the terms used above, see our betting terminology guide. For the pick services that cover spring football, see our handicapper site reviews, and for the NFL season, our NFL predictions.