J O E L K L A T T
Photography { John Russo
Interview{ Ken Waller
Grooming { Debbie Gibson
Styling { Treena Brown
Video{ Ken Waller Media
Location { Fox studios, Los Angeles
KW: Joel, as returning lead analyst for Fox’s Sports Coverage of the United Football League, could you tell the Gio Journal audience what to expect in the 2026 season?
JK: This is the most excited I’ve been for any season that we’ve had, even when we came back, years before when there was the USFL and the iterations kind of popped up into the UFL. The level of excitement, in particular with the changes that have been made for this season, the cities that we are going to be in, some of the new rules that will be implemented and just the energy behind the entire league, feels different. So I couldn’t be more excited. I think it’s the cities and the sites and the venues that I am most excited for, because I think that there’s going to be more energy in game than maybe we’ve seen before.
KW: How do you go about not only entertaining a nationally televised audience, but also educating them so they remember if they watched a UFL game on FOX?
JK: Well I don’t think you can miss it to be honest. And the reason is, is just because of the access the league gives us from an audio standpoint. I think it’s the absolute best part of the league, in particular from a football nerd. What I love about it is that we can hear the coaches communicate, we can hear the quarterbacks communicate live on the air and then I act as a translator, whereas in my normal fall game on a college football weekend, I don’t have that. And so I am trying to basically guess or unlock the game and decipher what’s going on, while in the UFL we know exactly what’s going on. And so I can act as translator, which means that the fans are closer to the game than any other football product that they can possibly consume. That is the best part and that’s how you know you are watching UFL on Fox, is one, the audio product, the quality of the broadcast and we are going to bring you closer than anybody has ever brought you into a football game.
KW: If we could only hear what you say about UFL games, what would be the number one takeaway you would hope we were left with?
JK: Access. I think in general, we are in the business of access and discovery. And whether the fan at home realizes that that’s what they want or not, I believe that that’s when they’re the most entertained or they have the most enjoyable experience as if you are giving them access into things that they normally don’t have access to or discovery of things that they don’t know. And this gives you a great chance to have both on a scale that’s just larger than the NFL product or the college football product, I think to me that’s the best part. And that’s what I love most about it, is I feel, it’s almost like being a teacher of a subject that everyone is really eager to learn about, everyone loves football, very little people, very few people I think really know the game. But in the UFL you get a much closer bit of access and discovery than you ever would anywhere else.
KW: What impacts your role as an analyst for a UFL game as opposed to a college football game?
JK: I think that in College, I am there to navigate what’s happening, and so you are really watching the game through my brain. Because I am one calling for the replays, the commentary is what I’m seeing in the game. But in the UFL, I take a little bit more of a backseat because of all the audio that we have, because of the access that we have from a camera perspective, we can get right in there with the players, interview them on the bench, hear the playcalls. And so I view my role much more as just a translator, as if you went to an awesome place internationally and you didn’t really know what was going on and hearing all these terms but you knew it was a really cool place to be, well wouldn’t it be great if you could have someone that could help you translate what’s going on in that awesome restaurant internationally, well that’s kind of my role on a UFL game. And to be honest, it’s challenging and that’s the most fun part about it I would say.
KW: Are there any returning UFL players in your mind who could or should have good seasons this year?
JK: Oh gosh. There’s a couple of quarterbacks, I am going to pass on that one. I haven’t studied the league yet because we’re about a month away, and so I don’t want to miss somebody that I should hit on.
KW: What’s your broadcast preparation both before the start of the UFL season and during on a week-to-week basis?
JK: Before the season, in the next month, from this point on, I’ll be studying the rosters, making sure that I’ve got a good basis of the bios and what we think as far as the quality of each team, talk with the coaching staff, what is going to be their philosophy, what is the blueprint, the fingerprint if you will for each coach and each organization. And then during the week, what I try to do is every single week, I try to watch all the games so that I have a good basis of what’s being said and the language that’s being used so that I know each week alright, this is how they call plays, this is their operation, so that when I step into the booth and call one of their games, these teams, I have a good idea of what’s going on and how they operate. The operation of a football team is always really vital, and so from my standpoint is, I am trying to study their operation more than anything else week-to-week.
KW: How important is Spring professional football to the overall evolution of the sport for aspiring professional football players in the United States?
JK: Oh man I think the level of opportunity for a football player now has been enhanced tenfold over what it used to be. It’s similar to what the old NFL in Europe used to be and we saw some great players go through there, get their chances in the National Football League. But now, just the opportunity to play in a league that is pushing the development of the sport, I think that the UFL has impacted the global brand of football positively in a huge fashion, in particular from a rule standpoint, pushing the envelope from a kick off, clock rules, all those different things. I think College Football and the NFL has had to take a hard look at their game and realize like hey, the UFL is doing some things that are better than us and they’ve adopted some of those rules or at least pieces of them.
KW: Is there one UFL rule that you are aware of where you say wow that’s pretty good and why?
JK: Yes. I love the fourth down instead of an onside kick. So you get the fourth-and-twelve if you want to take that option, let’s say it’s a two score game, you go down and you score and then you just say okay, we are going to try fourth-and-twelve and if you get the conversion then you stay on the field and your offense stays on the field, it provides a level of excitement in a ten point game, a thirteen point game, a fourteen point game, that you don’t normally get in a normal football game, that’s the one rule that I think impacts the game the most, in particular late. That is my favorite.
KW: What would you tell your first year self as a broadcaster, of a Spring professional football game, that you wish you could have done sooner?
JK: That’s a really good question. I think it would be understand the role. I had called traditional football for so long and when I first stepped into the booth, that was the rhythm that I was under, was unlock the game, talk about the philosophy. And as I’ve done it more, again I am there to translate and offer insights on the access that we are getting. So just to make sure that you are talking that backseat to what I think should be at the forefront, which are our camera access, our microphone access, audio access, all of those things. And so if I would have known that earlier, I certainly would have been better off.
KW: Which UFL team or teams in your mind should be in the thick of the championship hunt come of the end of the season?
JK: St. Louis always has a good team, I would start with them, they are always a very good football team. And I think Birmingham is always going to be a team to be reckoned with. I know that there are some coaching changes and things of that nature. But it’s the support that those teams get from those cities that I think makes it so tough, in particular from a home field advantage standpoint. But I would start with St. Louis and then you kind of go from there.
KW: Please finish this sentence in your own words, “I want the UFL on Fox to ____”
JK: I want the UFL on Fox to be different, I want it to be entertaining and I want you to leave that game thinking to yourself I really loved everything that I just got. Because again, it’s not just entertainment, you are going to be entertained, but you are going to learn about the sport that you love and from my standpoint I think that’s the best part of the league.
To learn more about Joel follow him @Joel_Klatt