The New Jersey Generals are a professional

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

team based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The Generals compete in the

United States Football League 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 ...

(USFL) as a member club of the league's North division. The team plays its home games in

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, formerly Fawcett Stadium, is a football stadium and entertainment complex in Canton, Ohio. It is a major component of ''Hall of Fame Village'', located adjacent to the grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ...

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. The stadium is shared with the

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

. The Generals were one of eight teams that joined the USFL in 2022, and they are one of seven of that group still existing. They currently are the only team to have a

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) award winner,

KaVontae Turpin KaVontae Turpin (born August 2, 1996) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at TCU before joining the second iteration of the New Je ...

(2022).

History

The New Jersey Generals were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on ''

The Herd with Colin Cowherd ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' is a sports radio, sports talk radio show hosted by Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1. The show features commentary on the day's sports news, perspective on other news stories, and interviews with ce ...

'' on November 22, 2021. USFL co-founder Brian Woods had been using the Generals brand for teams in

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

since 2019. On January 6, 2022, it was announced on ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' that former NFL, AAF, and NCAA Football Head coach Mike Riley was named the Head coach and General manager of the Generals. The team was placed to select fourth overall in the

2022 USFL Draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

, where they selected

Ben Holmes Ben Holmes (November 6, 1890 – December 2, 1943) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 56 films and wrote for 35. Selected filmography * ''So This Is Harris!'' (1933) * ''Too Many Wives'' (1937); directed * ''There ...

. Holmes was injured in training camp and ultimately released, but this allowed for the Generals to sign Luis Perez, who impressed during the season, starting only 6 games, finishing in the top 5 in passing yards and touchdowns. The Generals also selected

as their top receiver, who lead the USFL in receiving yards (540), coupled with 4 touchdowns. He was also selected as to the All-USFL Team, alongside fellow teammates

Darius Victor Darius Vito Victor (born March 6, 1994) is a Liberian professional gridiron football running back for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Towson University. Victor was named 2022 Of ...

, Terry Poole,

Garrett McGhin Garrett McGhin (born October 13, 1995) is an American football guard for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He played college football at East Carolina. Professional career Buffalo Bills McGhin was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted f ...

Toby Johnson Toby Johnson (born 1945 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American novelist and writer in the field of gay spirituality. Life After leaving seminary in 1970, Johnson moved to San Francisco and lived in the Bay Area throughout the 1970s. While a stu ...

and

Shalom Luani Shalom Luani (born August 5, 1994) is an American football safety for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL). He is better known worldwide for his soccer career, having scored against Tonga in American Samoa's first- ...

in addition to winning

USFL Most Valuable Player Award The United States Football League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual United States Football League (USFL) award given since the 2022 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The inaugural recipient of the award was K ...

. The Generals won the top seed in the North Division with a 9–1 record. Despite the top seed in the North Division, the Generals were upset by the Philadelphia Stars, 19–14 in the North Division Championship Game. On October 18, 2022, the team hired

Billy Devaney William Joseph Peter Francis Devaney (born March 7, 1955) is a professional American football analyst on ESPN. Prior to that Devaney was a football executive. He was the general manager for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League from ...

as the team's general manager.

Championships

Division championships

Players

Current roster

Initially, each team carried a 38-man active roster and a 7-man practice squad, but the rosters were increased to 40 active players and 50 total in May, 2022.

USFL MVP award winners

USFL Offensive Player of the Year award winners

Coaches

Current staff

Statistics and records

Season-by-season record

''Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.''

Records

References

2021 establishments in Alabama American football teams established in 2021 New Jersey Generals (2022) American football teams in New Jersey United States Football League (2022) teams {{amfoot-team-stub