Editing United States Football League (section)

==Teams==
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:700 height:auto barincrement:25
PlotArea = left:290 bottom:20 top:10 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat  = yyyy
Period = from:1983 till:1987
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1983

Colors =
  id:copper    value:rgb(0.72,0.45,0.20)
  id:ablue     value:rgb(0.26,0.44,0.75)
  id:bblue     value:rgb(0.37,0.62,0.88)
  id:rblue     value:rgb(0.25,0.41,0.88)
  id:dblue     value:rgb(0.05,0.08,0.30)
  id:nblue     value:rgb(0.00,0.00,0.50)
  id:gold      value:rgb(0.85,0.82,0.35)
  id:garnet    value:rgb(0.52,0.16,0.30)
  id:scarlet   value:rgb(0.99,0.15,0.00)
  id:crimson   value:rgb(0.90,0.08,0.23)
  id:plum      value:rgb(0.55,0.27,0.50)
  id:kgreen    value:rgb(0.20,0.70,0.20)
  id:gray      value:gray(0.90)

BarData =
 bar:Arizona       text:Arizona Wranglers ('83, '84) / Arizona Outlaws ('85)
 bar:Stallions     text:Birmingham Stallions
 bar:Breakers      text:Boston ('83) / New Orleans ('84) / Portland Breakers ('85)
 bar:Blitz         text:Chicago Blitz ('83, '84)
 bar:Gold          text:Denver Gold
 bar:Express       text:Los Angeles Express
 bar:Panthers      text:Michigan Panthers
 bar:Generals      text:New Jersey Generals
 bar:Invaders      text:Oakland Invaders
 bar:Stars         text:Philadelphia ('83–84) / Baltimore Stars ('85)
 bar:Bandits       text:Tampa Bay Bandits
 bar:WasOrl        text:Washington Federals ('83–84) / Orlando Renegades ('85)
 bar:Gamblers      text:Houston Gamblers
 bar:Bulls         text:Jacksonville Bulls
 bar:Showboats     text:Memphis Showboats
 bar:Outlaws       text:Oklahoma Outlaws
 bar:Maulers       text:Pittsburgh Maulers
 bar:Gunslingers   text:San Antonio Gunslingers

PlotData =
 width:15 textcolor:black align:left fontsize:L anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Arizona      from:start         till:1985    color:copper
 bar:Arizona      from:1985          till:1986    color:black
 bar:Arizona      from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:Stallions    from:start         till:1986    color:red
 bar:Stallions    from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:Breakers     from:start         till:1984    color:bblue
 bar:Breakers     from:1984          till:1985    color:rblue
 bar:Breakers     from:1985          till:1986    color:bblue
 bar:Blitz        from:start         till:1985    color:red
 bar:Gold         from:start         till:1986    color:gold
 bar:Gamblers     from:1984          till:1986    color:black
 bar:Bulls        from:1984          till:1986    color:garnet
 bar:Bulls        from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:Express      from:start         till:1986    color:dblue
 bar:Generals     from:start         till:1986    color:scarlet
 bar:Generals     from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:Invaders     from:start         till:1986    color:ablue
 bar:Showboats    from:1984          till:1986    color:scarlet
 bar:Showboats    from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:Panthers     from:start         till:1985    color:plum
 bar:Outlaws      from:1984          till:1985    color:black
 bar:Stars        from:start         till:1985    color:crimson
 bar:Stars        from:1985          till:1986    color:scarlet
 bar:Stars        from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:Maulers      from:1984          till:1985    color:purple
 bar:Gunslingers  from:1984          till:1986    color:rblue
 bar:Bandits      from:start         till:1986    color:red
 bar:Bandits      from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
 bar:WasOrl       from:start         till:1985    color:kgreen
 bar:WasOrl       from:1985          till:1986    color:nblue
 bar:WasOrl       from:1986          till:1987    color:gray
}}
Projected 1986 teams in gray

===List===
* [[Arizona Wranglers]] (1983, 1984; Arizona and Chicago traded players)
** [[Arizona Outlaws]] (1985; result of Arizona/Oklahoma merger)
* [[Birmingham Stallions]] (1983–1985)
* [[Portland Breakers|Boston Breakers]] (1983)
** [[New Orleans Breakers (1984)|New Orleans Breakers]] (1984; moved from Boston)
** [[Portland Breakers]] (1985; moved from New Orleans)
* [[Chicago Blitz]] (1983, 1984; Arizona and Chicago traded players)
* [[Denver Gold]] (1983–1985)
* [[Houston Gamblers]] (1984–1985)
* [[Jacksonville Bulls]] (1984–1985)
* [[Los Angeles Express (USFL)|Los Angeles Express]] (1983–1985)
* [[Memphis Showboats]] (1984–1985)
* [[Michigan Panthers]] (1983–1984; merged with Oakland for 1985 season)
* [[New Jersey Generals]] (1983–1985)
* [[Oakland Invaders]] (1983–1985; merged with Michigan for 1985 season)
* [[Oklahoma Outlaws]] (1984)
* [[Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars|Philadelphia Stars]] (1983–1984)
** [[Baltimore Stars]] (1985; moved from Philadelphia)
* [[Pittsburgh Maulers (1984)|Pittsburgh Maulers]] (1984)
* [[San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL team)|San Antonio Gunslingers]] (1984–1985)
* [[Tampa Bay Bandits]] (1983–1985)
* [[Washington Federals]] (1983–1984)
** [[Orlando Renegades]] (1985; moved from Washington)

===Playoff appearances===
::'''3''': Philadelphia (83, 84) / Baltimore (85) Stars
::'''2''': Michigan Panthers (83, 84), Oakland Invaders (83, 85), New Jersey Generals (84, 85), Birmingham Stallions (84, 85), Tampa Bay Bandits (84, 85), Houston Gamblers (84, 85)
::'''1''': Chicago Blitz (83), Arizona Wranglers (84), Los Angeles Express (84), Memphis Showboats (85), Denver Gold (85)

===1986 proposal===
Prior to the jury award in ''USFL v. NFL'', the league had planned to go forward with a 1986 season with eight teams, divided into an "Independence Division" and a "Liberty Division":
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
* '''Independence Division'''
** [[Arizona Outlaws]]
** [[Jacksonville Bulls]]<sup>1</sup>
** [[Orlando Renegades]]
** [[Tampa Bay Bandits]]
{{Col-2}}
* '''Liberty Division'''
** [[Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars|Baltimore Stars]]
** [[Birmingham Stallions]]
** [[Memphis Showboats]]
** [[New Jersey Generals]]<sup>2</sup>
{{Col-end}}

<sup>1</sup> merged with [[Denver Gold]]<br />
<sup>2</sup> merged with [[Houston Gamblers]]

Due to the legal aftermath of the failed lawsuit against the NFL, the USFL folded and this divisional format never came to fruition.

Out of the 23 USFL teams, only five played for the league's entire three-season duration without relocating or changing team names: Denver Gold, Los Angeles Express, Birmingham Stallions, New Jersey Generals, and Tampa Bay Bandits. Only the latter three teams would have remained on this list if the league had continued in 1986.