The Houston Roughnecks are 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 ...

team based in

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 ...

, Texas. The Roughnecks compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the USFL Conference. The team is owned-and-operated by

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

's Alpha Acquico and

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. The team was a founding member of the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

, as the Houston Gamblers in 2022, named after the 1980s USFL team of the same name. Though named after the city of Houston, the 2020s Gamblers never played there under that brand, instead playing its home games as the guest of other USFL teams in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

in 2022 and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

in 2023. When the USFL and XFL merged to form the UFL in 2024, the Gamblers took over the branding of the original Houston Roughnecks that had played the 2020 and 2023 seasons in the XFL and played in Houston at Rice Stadium and will play at Space City Financial Stadium (previously TDECU Stadium, the home of the 2020 and 2023 Roughnecks) for the 2025 season.

History

Houston Gamblers (2022–2023)

The Houston Gamblers were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on ''

The Herd with Colin Cowherd ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' (or simply ''The Herd'') is an American sports talk show hosted by Colin Cowherd. A simulcast, it airs as both a sports talk radio show and television broadcast on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1, respectively. ...

'' on November 22, 2021. On January 6, 2022, it was announced on ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' that former NCAA Football Head coach

Kevin Sumlin Kevin Warren Sumlin (born August 3, 1964) is an American football coach who is the associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach for the University of Maryland. Sumlin served as the head football coach at the University of ...

was named the Head coach and General manager of the Gamblers. Houston was the only city in the USFL nominally based west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and the only city that had a representative team in both professional spring football leagues, the USFL (the Gamblers) and the XFL (the Roughnecks), though the Gamblers never set foot in Houston, instead playing as a

traveling team In professional team sports, a traveling team (also called a road team) is a member of a professional league that never competes in a home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team as a barnstorming team competes in exhibition games ...

under the USFL's hub model. On January 6, 2022, former college head coach,

was named the head coach and general manager for the Houston Gamblers. The Gamblers' first season game was on April 17, 2022, against 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 ...

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. Kicker Nick Vogel made a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter (the first points for the franchise). The Gamblers defeated the Panthers 17–12, winning their first game in franchise history. The Gamblers lost their next seven games before winning for their final two games of the season, and failing to qualify for the USFL playoffs. In September, 2022, the Gamblers announced that Robert Morris was named their new general manager. In November 2022, the USFL announced that the Gamblers will play at

Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The ...

for the 2023 season. In February, 2023, Sumlin announced his plans to join the coaching staff of the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

, this led to the Gamblers hiring former

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

assistant coach, Curtis Johnson as their new head coach.

Houston Roughnecks (2024–present)

On January 1, as part of the merger with the XFL, the Gamblers merged with their XFL counterpart, the Roughnecks. The merged team took on the Roughnecks name and identity (including history and social media presence), while maintaining the Gamblers' coaching staff, player rights and position in the USFL Conference. UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE REVEALS TEAM MARKETS AND HEAD COACHES FOR 2024 SEASON
Press release. Retrieved January 1, 2024. The team will play in Houston as the Roughnecks did, but renovations to

TDECU Stadium John O'Quinn Field at TDECU Stadium is an American football stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. The stadium serves as the home of the Houston Cougars football team, which represents the University of Houston in collegiate ...

, the Roughnecks' home in 2020 and 2023, required the use of a different venue; Rice University Stadium was approached about the possibility prior to the merger. On February 1, 2024, the Roughnecks announced an agreement to play the 2024 season at Rice Stadium. The Roughnecks announced their return to TDECU Stadium on September 13, 2024. Four days later, the stadium announced it would be renamed Space City Financial Stadium as soon as signage was replaced in the first quarter of 2025, in time for the Roughnecks' return to the venue.

Current roster

Players

Staff

Player history

Current NFL players

Notable players

USFL Offensive Player of the Year award winners

USFL Defensive Player of the Year award winners

Coach history

Head Coach history

Offensive Coordinator history

Defensive Coordinator history

Records

Starting Quarterbacks

Regular season – ''As of June 2, 2025'' Most games as starting quarterback

Statistics and records

Season-by-season record

Rivalries

Double Down Derby

The Houston Roughnecks have shared a rivalry with the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

since 2022. This rivalry was called the Double Down Derby. As of 2024 the Roughnecks hold a 2–4 record against Birmingham.

Memphis Showboats

The Houston Roughnecks shared

in Memphis, Tennessee with the Memphis Showboats during the 2023 season. In 2024, the two teams played against each other in the season finale for the number one overall pick in the 2025 UFL draft. The winner would get the number one pick, the Showboats won the game 19–12 and earned the 2025 number one pick. Currently the Roughnecks have a 1–3 record against the Showboats.

Franchise matchup history

* Defunct teams in light gray.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2021 establishments in Alabama American football teams established in 2021 American football teams in Houston United States Football League (2022) teams United Football League (2024)