The 2025 Michigan Panthers season was the fourth season for the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

as a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

franchise and the second season in the United Football League (UFL). The Panthers played their home games at

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

and were led by third year head coach

Mike Nolan Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive c ...

. The Panthers began the season 6–2 with quarterback

Bryce Perkins Bryce Perkins (born December 20, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Arizona State, Arizona Western, and Virginia before signing w ...

winning UFL Offensive Player of the Week three times from weeks three through six. Perkins had an ankle injury that kept him out the final three weeks of the season. In week eight, quarterback

Danny Etling Daniel Patrick Etling (born July 22, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and LSU Tigers, and was selected ...

had a three touchdown performance in a 30–18 playoff clinching victory over

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Michigan dropped its final two games to finish 6–4. However, even if they won those games, they would not host the USFL Conference Championship Game due to a scheduling conflict. Michigan then went to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

to play the

Stallions A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

in the USFL Conference Championship Game for the second consecutive year. Despite being 0–7 against the Stallions since 2022, the Panthers won 44–29, and clinched their first championship berth in team history. In the

UFL Championship Game The UFL championship game is the annual championship game for the United Football League (2024), UFL at the end of its season in order to determine its league winner for that season. It began in 2024 and has continued ever since, usually taking pl ...

the Panthers played the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

and lost, 34–58. Wide receiver Malik Turner, who led the Panthers with four touchdown receptions in the regular season was dominant in the postseason. Against Birmingham, Turner had six receptions for 99 yards including a 76-yard touchdown. In the championship, Turner had a game high ten receptions for 168 yards and three touchdowns. On the season, quarterback Bryce Perkins won UFL Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year and was named All-UFL Team. Running back Toa Taua led the league with six rushing touchdowns despite playing in just seven games. Wide receiver

Siaosi Mariner George Siaosi Mariner (born January 25, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Utah and Utah State. He has also been a member of the ...

led the league with 528 receiving yards. Offensively, the Panthers also had tight end Gunnar Oakes and lineman Ryan Nelson and

Cohl Cabral Cohl Cabral (born February 11, 1998) is an American professional football center for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Early life Cabral attended Los Osos ...

named All-UFL. Return specialist Xavier Malone led the league with 516 kick return yards while safety Kedrick Whitehead Jr. was named Special Teams Player of the Year and All-UFL. The Panthers won Special Teams Player of the Week three times, which led the league. Devin Ross,

Samson Nacua Samson Lionel Nacua (born January 20, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes and the BYU Cougars. Early life Nacua att ...

and Xavier Malone were all recipients. Defensively, cornerback Arnold Tarpley III was named All-UFL while cornerback DJ Miller earned Defensive Player of the Week. Through the 2025 season, the Panthers are 13–7 in two seasons of UFL play. Overall, the Panthers are 19–21 in their four year history. Head coach Mike Nolan has a 17–13 record over his three year stint since taking over a 2–8 Panthers in 2022.

Final Roster

Schedule

''All times

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Standings

Postseason

Schedule

References

{{2025 UFL season

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan Panthers (2022) seasons