Here are the best attendance figures I have been able to come up with for the United States Football League, which mounted a brief and unsuccessful challenge to the NFL from 1983-1985. (NOTE: The current league that uses this name is just a TV show and bears only superficial resemblance to the original. You will not find any of their numbers here, in part because the league rarely announces them, and in part because I don’t care about their nonsensical “hub” system.)
These numbers have been compiled on a game-by-game basis using USFL media guides and contemporaneous news reports and are about as accurate as you’re going to find, though you will find USFL numbers at other sites that differ slightly from these, for various reasons. As with any league, these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, but this will give you an idea of some numbers to work with in case any discussions of the original USFL or alternative leagues come up. Feel free to contact me with any additions or corrections.
1985 USFL | G | Total | Average |
Jacksonville Bulls | 9 | 398,961 | 44,329 |
Tampa Bay Bandits | 9 | 395,653 | 43,961 |
New Jersey Generals | 9 | 372,133 | 41,348 |
Birmingham Stallions | 9 | 288,585 | 32,065 |
Memphis Showboats | 9 | 278,473 | 30,941 |
Orlando Renegades | 9 | 229,562 | 25,507 |
Portland Breakers | 9 | 179,175 | 19,908 |
Houston Gamblers | 9 | 170,739 | 18,971 |
Arizona Outlaws | 9 | 160,895 | 17,877 |
Oakland Invaders | 9 | 157,489 | 17,499 |
Denver Gold | 9 | 130,113 | 14,457 |
Baltimore Stars | 9 | 128,478 | 14,275 |
San Antonio Gunslingers | 9 | 101,015 | 11,224 |
Los Angeles Express | 9 | 75,733 | 8,415 |
USFL TOTALS | 126 | 3,067,004 | 24,341 |
1984 USFL | G | Total | Average |
Jacksonville Bulls | 9 | 420,571 | 46,730 |
Tampa Bay Bandits | 9 | 415,425 | 46,158 |
New Jersey Generals | 9 | 339,445 | 37,716 |
Birmingham Stallions | 9 | 331,783 | 36,865 |
Denver Gold | 9 | 305,573 | 33,953 |
Michigan Panthers | 9 | 292,126 | 32,458 |
New Orleans Breakers | 9 | 275,013 | 30,557 |
Philadelphia Stars | 9 | 258,007 | 28,667 |
Houston Gamblers | 9 | 253,372 | 28,152 |
Memphis Showboats | 9 | 248,388 | 27,599 |
Arizona Wranglers | 9 | 230,115 | 25,568 |
Oakland Invaders | 9 | 205,897 | 22,877 |
Pittsburgh Maulers | 9 | 205,724 | 22,858 |
Oklahoma Outlaws | 9 | 183,926 | 20,436 |
Los Angeles Express | 9 | 148,615 | 16,513 |
San Antonio Gunslingers | 9 | 138,987 | 15,443 |
Washington Federals | 9 | 69,243 | 7,694 |
Chicago Blitz | 9 | 67,094 | 7,455 |
USFL TOTALS | 162 | 4,389,304 | 27,094 |
1983 USFL | G | Total | Average |
Denver Gold | 9 | 375,620 | 41,736 |
Tampa Bay Bandits | 9 | 359,195 | 39,911 |
New Jersey Generals | 9 | 304,396 | 33,822 |
Oakland Invaders | 9 | 275,594 | 30,622 |
Arizona Wranglers | 9 | 232,005 | 25,778 |
Michigan Panthers | 9 | 200,258 | 22,251 |
Birmingham Stallions | 9 | 198,417 | 22,046 |
Philadelphia Stars | 9 | 173,558 | 19,284 |
Los Angeles Express | 9 | 171,013 | 19,001 |
Chicago Blitz | 9 | 162,814 | 18,090 |
Washington Federals | 9 | 124,636 | 13,848 |
Boston Breakers | 9 | 114,617 | 12,735 |
USFL TOTALS | 108 | 2,692,123 | 24,927 |
Franchise | Year(s) | G | Total | Average |
Jacksonville Bulls | 1984-1985 | 18 | 819,532 | 45,530 |
Tampa Bay Bandits | 1983-1985 | 27 | 1,170,273 | 43,343 |
New Jersey Generals | 1983-1985 | 27 | 1,015,974 | 37,629 |
Birmingham Stallions | 1983-1985 | 27 | 818,785 | 30,325 |
Denver Gold | 1983-1985 | 27 | 811,306 | 30,048 |
Memphis Showboats | 1984-1985 | 18 | 526,861 | 29,270 |
Michigan Panthers | 1983-1984 | 18 | 492,384 | 27,355 |
Oakland Invaders | 1983-1985 | 27 | 638,980 | 23,666 |
Houston Gamblers | 1984-1985 | 18 | 424,111 | 23,562 |
Arizona Wranglers/Outlaws | 1983-1985 | 27 | 623,015 | 23,075 |
Pittsburgh Maulers | 1984 | 9 | 205,724 | 22,858 |
Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers | 1983-1985 | 27 | 568,805 | 21,067 |
Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 1983-1985 | 27 | 560,043 | 20,742 |
Oklahoma Outlaws | 1984 | 9 | 183,926 | 20,436 |
Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades | 1983-1985 | 27 | 423,441 | 15,683 |
Los Angeles Express | 1983-1985 | 27 | 395,361 | 14,643 |
San Antonio Gunslingers | 1984-1985 | 18 | 240,002 | 13,333 |
Chicago Blitz | 1983-1984 | 18 | 229,908 | 12,773 |
USFL ALL-TIME TOTALS | 1983-1985 | 396 | 10,148,431 | 25,627 |