The United States Football League reaffirmed its...

The United States Football League reaffirmed its commitment to resuming play next fall by approving the Houston-New Jersey merger that will bring together the league’s three highest-profile stars and by injecting new money into the champion Baltimore Stars franchise.

The action solidified the USFL teams in the league’s two biggest markets, the only two of the eight remaining franchises outside the Sun Belt. Six of the teams are in the Southeast.

In a third move, the Jacksonville Bulls officially absorbed the defunct Denver Gold.

The merger between the Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals had been pending for more than six months. It will bring Houston’s Jim Kelly, the league’s top quarterback, to New Jersey to join running back Herschel Walker and quarterback Doug Flutie.

That merger cleared the way for Steven Ross, former owner of the Gamblers, to buy into the Stars. Ross will be a co-owner with Myles Tanenbaum, the last original USFL owner left with an active franchise.