The USFL's franchise in Tampa was one of the strongest in the league. The team was owned by John Bassett who was a veteran when it came to fighting the NFL.

The Canadian born business man owned the Memphis Southmen in the World Football League, a previous upstart league that tried to go head-to-head with the NFL in the 70's. Like he had in 1974, Bassett wanted to place the team in Canada, but the Canadian Government threatened to pass a bill that would protect the CFL by prohibiting any other league to play in Canada.

At the time the USFL started Bassett was still tied up in a lawsuit against the NFL. One of Bassett's minority partners was the actor Burt Reynolds.

Burt Reynolds had stared in the "Smokey and the Bandit" series of movies, his involvement in the USFL franchise helped give the team its name the Tampa Bay Bandits. Country Singer Jerry Reed a close friend of Reynolds, even gave the team a fight song called Bandit Ball.

The Bandits were one of the most popular teams in the USFL as they were at the top of the league in attendance with an average 39,896 fans per game at Tampa Stadium. Tampa would hire former Heisman Winner Steve Spurrier as their head coach.

At 37 Spurrier was the youngest coach in the USFL, who came up with a fresh approach in offensive schemes. The Bandits played fast and loose with the ball, which resulted in a high amount of interceptions as they topped the league with 4,580 yards in passing.

Jimmy Jordan and John Reaves shared the duties for most of the season, with Jordan passing for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and 14 picks, while Reaves passed for 1,726 yards with nine touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Danny Buggs and Eric Truvillion were the Bandits leading receivers, Buggs led the team in yards with 1,146 yards and five touchdowns, while Truvillion led the team in touchdowns with 15, while collecting 1,080 yards.

The Bandits rushing attack was led by Greg Boone who gained 694 yards with five touchdowns. On defense Fred Nordgren led the way with 15 sacks, as Ken Times was close behind with 11 quarterback takedowns.

The Bandits run and gun approach worked early in the season, as they won their first four games. The Bandits appeared to be racing towards the postseason with a record of 9-3.

However, injuries down the stretch hurt the Bandits, as they lost four of their last six games and finished with a record of 11-7.