ХФЛ

ХФЛ

Links
Wikipedia

Wikipedia - XFL (2020–2023)

The XFL was a professional American football minor league consisting of eight teams located across the United States in mid-sized to major markets. It is now one of the two-component conferences of the United Football League (UFL), along with the United States Football League (USFL). The league headquarters were in Arlington, Texas.

The league was founded by WWE executive Vince McMahon in 2018, as a successor to the league of the same name he founded in 2001. McMahon founded the new XFL to create a league with fewer off-field controversies and faster, simpler play compared to the bigger National Football League (NFL), and one without the features inspired by professional wrestling or entertainment elements of its predecessor. The league and its eight teams were originally owned by McMahon's Alpha Entertainment. Seasons ran from February to May, with each of the league's teams playing a ten-game regular season, and four progressing to the playoffs to crown a season champion.

After only five weeks of play in its inaugural 2020 season, the league abruptly ceased play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and filed for bankruptcy on April 13. In August 2020, actor and professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson, along with longtime business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, led a consortium to purchase the XFL for $15 million. The league returned to play on February 18, 2023, positioned as a minor league.

The XFL operated in the winter and early spring months, after the end of the NFL season and before the start of the USFL season. The league had a player personnel partnership with the Indoor Football League (IFL), with the IFL functioning as the XFL's de facto minor league.

On September 28, 2023, the XFL announced its intention to merge with the USFL. On November 30, 2023, the leagues issued a statement that they "completed the antitrust review process in connection with the proposed merger of the XFL and USFL and intend to play a combined season this spring kicking off on Saturday, March 30. We are now finalizing terms of the definitive agreement". On December 31, the name of the combined league was confirmed as the United Football League, with each component league surviving as a conference within the UFL.

History

Original XFL (2001)

Vince McMahon, the founder of Alpha Entertainment, LLC

The original XFL ran for a single season in 2001, as a joint venture between the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and NBC spearheaded by Vince McMahon and NBC executive Dick Ebersol. The league attempted to be a competitor to the National Football League (NFL)—the predominant professional league of American football in the United States (and where NBC had lost its broadcast rights to CBS three years earlier), running during the late winter and early spring to take advantage of lingering desire for football after the end of the NFL season. It featured various modifications to the rules of football in order to increase its intensity, as well as on-air innovations such as Skycams, placing microphones on players, and in-game interviews with players. The league was criticized for relying too heavily on "sports entertainment" gimmicks similar to professional wrestling. Despite strong ratings for its first games, viewership eventually nosedived, and the league folded after the conclusion of the inaugural season. Both partners lost $35 million on the XFL, and McMahon eventually conceded that the league was a "colossal failure".

Rebuild

In the 2017 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary This Was the XFL, McMahon openly mused about reviving the XFL, noting that changes would need to be made compared to 2001 to make it viable and relevant in the modern era. McMahon had purchased the trademarks of the defunct United Football League (UFL) and an alternative brand, "UrFL" (Your Football League), in early 2017. The following year, the director of the documentary, Charlie Ebersol (son of Dick Ebersol), would go on to help form the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2018, hoping to beat the revived XFL in being the first to play (by a year). While the league was able to launch in 2019, a year before the XFL's first season, it went bankrupt before its first season finished after it twice lost its major investors. On December 15, 2017, Bleacher Report columnist Brad Shepard reported that McMahon was seriously considering a revival of the XFL, with an expected announcement on January 25, 2018. In a statement to Deadspin, WWE did not confirm or deny the rumors, but did state that McMahon was establishing a new company known as Alpha Entertainment, which would "explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football." On December 21, 2017, WWE issued a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, stating that McMahon had sold $100 million worth of WWE stock to fund Alpha Entertainment. Alpha Entertainment was headquartered next door to WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

On January 25, 2018, Alpha Entertainment announced a new incarnation of the XFL, which would begin with a 10-week inaugural season beginning in January or February 2020. In a press conference, McMahon stated that the new XFL would be dissimilar to its previous incarnation, stating that "There's only so many things that have 'FL' on the end of them and those are already taken. But we aren't going to have much of what the original XFL had." McMahon stated that the league would feature eight teams as a single entity owned by Alpha (the previous XFL was also a single-entity league), which had been revealed in 2019. Alpha Entertainment was established to keep the league's management and operations separate from that of WWE. McMahon is prepared to invest as much as $500 million, five times as much as his investment in the 2001 XFL. He liquidated an additional $270 million in WWE stock (representing a 4% stake in WWE) in March 2019 to provide additional funding for the league.

Oliver Luck, former commissioner of the XFL

The XFL under McMahon discouraged political gestures by players during games such as, for example, taking a knee in protest. McMahon also planned to forbid any player with a criminal record from participating. Commissioner Oliver Luck later walked back the latter decision, noting that the policy had not yet been finalized, and stated in April 2019 that it would allow its teams to sign Johnny Manziel, who was convicted of domestic violence in 2016. Manziel nonetheless was excluded from the inaugural draft and player allocations, with the league later stating that it had "no interest" in him. Felony convictions are still a disqualification. McMahon justified his intentions by stating that the XFL would be "evaluating a player based on many things, including the quality of human being they are", and that "people don't want social and political issues coming into play when they are trying to be entertained". He suggested that players who wish to express political opinions should do so on their time. Luck stated in October 2018 that the ban on protesting during the national anthem would be written into player contracts as a condition of employment and that the stipulation was McMahon's idea; Luck agreed that the league aimed to be as non-political as possible. Players were not barred from using cannabis, as the league did not test for the drug.

McMahon did not initially reveal any specific details on rule changes that the new XFL would feature but did state that he aimed to reduce the length of games to around two hours (in contrast to the standard in American football, which generally runs slightly over three hours). The league later revised this to a two-and-a-half-hour target length. Later, when announcing new changes to overtime rules, it was implied that television broadcasts would have three-hour time slots, into which the entire game and overtime would fit. Test games resulted in an average game time of 2 hours and 40 minutes with a comparable number of plays to an NFL game. Halfway through the first season, the average length of a regular-season game clocked in at 2 hours, 50 minutes, the same as the Canadian Football League. He also noted that by announcing it two years in advance (unlike the original XFL, which was only announced one year in advance), there would also be more time to prepare the league to deliver a more desirable product. McMahon said the timing of the announcement was not meant to coincide with a recent ratings downturn being experienced by the NFL, adding, "What has happened there is their business, and I'm not going to knock those guys, but I am going to learn from their mistakes as anyone would if they were tasked with reimagining a new football league."

On June 5, 2018, Oliver Luck was named the league's commissioner and chief executive officer. Luck left his previous positions with the NCAA to take over the operations of the XFL. Doug Whaley, most recently general manager of the Buffalo Bills, was hired as the league's senior vice president of football operations on November 8, 2018. On January 22, 2019, Jeffrey Pollack was named the president and chief operating officer, coming from his previous role as the chief marketing and strategy officer and special adviser for the Los Angeles Chargers.

McMahon stated that he wanted to play in existing NFL markets but did not identify potential cities specifically and did not rule out any specific cities. McMahon also did not rule out playing on artificial turf. The original XFL avoided artificial playing surfaces (as most such surfaces then were more carpet-like); however, the technology advanced considerably since 2001, with modern artificial turfs mimicking real grass more closely. John Shumway from KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh and local media from Orlando and San Diego both inquired about potential teams in their respective cities, but McMahon (while stating that "I love Pittsburgh") declined to name any cities for teams. McMahon also stated that teams would have new identities compared to recycling old identities from the old league. The league sent solicitations to thirty metropolitan areas as potential locations for a team.

Commissioner Luck announced the eight host cities and stadiums for the first franchises on December 5, 2018, and also announced the starting date of February 8, 2020, the weekend after Super Bowl LIV, the date on which its first two games were later played. Its first head coach and general manager, Dallas's Bob Stoops, was announced February 7, 2019, with the coaches for Seattle (Jim Zorn), DC (Pep Hamilton), and Tampa Bay (Marc Trestman) following later in the month. The last of the inaugural head coaches, Houston's June Jones, was hired May 13 and introduced May 20. The emergence of the Alliance of American Football created issues selecting cities to host XFL teams, as many potential candidates became home to AAF teams (notably Orlando, the next largest city without an NFL team and an acceptable stadium. Orlando was also one of the original XFL's most successful markets and second in attendance for the 2019 AAF season). Not wanting teams to compete against other spring football teams in the same market, the XFL chose different cities than the AAF.

The league chose to focus on placing teams in large media markets, selecting five of the top seven largest media markets in the U.S.; based on 2017 census bureau estimates, all eight 2020 XFL markets had over 2.9 million residents each (the smallest being St. Louis). This was seen as a stark contrast to the other emerging spring football league, the Alliance of American Football, which primarily chose markets without NFL teams, seen as a decision to avoid competing with existing fan bases; two of the AAF's markets (Birmingham and Memphis, which both had teams in the first XFL) had populations less than half that of St. Louis's. The only 2020 XFL market that did not host an NFL team was St. Louis, which in 2015 saw its NFL team (the Rams) return to Los Angeles.

In May 2019, the XFL placed a bid on some of the AAF's former assets as part of that league's bankruptcy proceedings. The league was outbid by former Arena Football League executive Jerry Kurz. Several months earlier in December 2018, Charlie Ebersol asked Vince McMahon about merging the AAF (which had then yet to start its ultimately-aborted sole season) with the XFL. McMahon turned him down.

The league signed its first player, quarterback Landry Jones, on August 15, 2019. The XFL revealed team names and logos on August 21, 2019. Players were assigned to each team in the 2020 XFL Draft from October 15 to 16, with schedules released October 22 and ticket sales opening to the general public October 24. Uniforms were revealed December 3.

In the week leading up to the kickoff, the XFL secured sponsorships from Gatorade and Anheuser-Busch. The Anheuser-Busch sponsorship was used to promote Bud Light Seltzer; the "seltzer chug" became a postgame locker room tradition in part because of the product placement deal. After averaging 3.1 million viewers in its first week, average ratings for the XFL would drop to 1.5 million viewers during its fifth and final week.

Former logo of the XFL, used for their 2020 season

Mid-season cancellation

On March 12, 2020, the league canceled the remainder of its regular-season games over concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic; similar concerns led other major sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB, MLR seasons and NCAA to suspend or cancel games. The announcement came after a Seattle Dragons player, who self-reported symptoms to his team's medical staff, had been tested for coronavirus but had not yet received his results (the unnamed player eventually tested positive). Although teams only played five games, the league announced it would pay all players their base salary for the rest of the season; players who received legitimate offers from the NFL or Canadian Football League (CFL) would be allowed to sign with those teams but with a clause requiring them to return to their XFL teams if the league were able to hold its championship game. At the time, the league still planned on having a 2021 season; it was exploring relocating as many as three of its teams, with the league contacting authorities in San Antonio, Texas, in early April about potentially placing a franchise there. Other potential 2021 actions included moving the Tampa Bay Vipers to Orlando and the New York Guardians to a smaller New Jersey stadium, Red Bull Arena.

On April 10, 2020, league president Jeffrey Pollack informed employees on a conference call that the league was suspending operations and that all employees would be terminated. Three days later, on April 13, the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, stating that the coronavirus pandemic had deprived the league of tens of millions of dollars in revenue. With the bankruptcy filing, the league put itself up for sale and began the process of seeking a buyer to maximize the value of its assets to pay off creditors. Luck, who had returned home to Indiana March 13, was fired from his position before the bankruptcy filing, which led him to sue McMahon personally for wrongful termination on April 21.

On May 20, 2020, the league made its first actions toward resuming operations by asking authorities in St. Louis, Houston and Seattle to reinstate stadium lease agreements that it had previously been attempting to discharge in the bankruptcy.

On May 26, 2020, court filings in the XFL bankruptcy case revealed key dates surrounding the possible sale of the league. As part of the bankruptcy agreement, McMahon agreed not to buy back the XFL. The deadline to file as a bidder was set for July 30, the auction was scheduled to take place August 3 and the sale hearing was set for August 7 at 10 am. However, court documents which were made public on July 28, 2020, revealed that the XFL would not sell unless they successfully negotiated a new broadcasting agreement.

On July 1, 2020, ESPN filed a motion in court stating that they would be willing to consider broadcasting the XFL again under new ownership, but also made clear they would not hold any stake in XFL assets. ESPN even stated that the XFL's "services, skills and talents are not fungible." On July 23, 2020, Fox also filed a motion in court which signaled a willingness to broadcast the XFL as well, but only under the condition that a new league owner could negotiate a new broadcasting agreement. Fox described the XFL as a "Debtor". On July 28, 2020, it was revealed that ABC had joined Fox and ESPN in calling for new television deals via the court system. It was also reported that ESPN, which is also connected to ABC, wanted to sever ties with the XFL. However, Fox was still open to continuing negotiations with the XFL, but wanted new terms for any future broadcasting agreement and was noncommittal.

Sale and relaunch

Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson led the consortium that purchased the XFL out of bankruptcy in August 2020.

On August 3, 2020, it was reported that a consortium led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (through Cardinale's fund RedBird Capital Partners) purchased the XFL for $15 million just hours before an auction could take place; the purchase received court approval on August 7, 2020. The XFL's parent company originally listed the league with assets and liabilities in the range of $10 million to $50 million. Johnson, who previously worked for McMahon as WWE wrestler The Rock, played collegiate football with the Miami Hurricanes in the 1990s and as a professional with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League; he and Garcia were married from 1997 to 2007 and have remained business partners since their divorce. Cardinale's previous investments included the New York Yankees' side projects (such as YES Network and Legends Hospitality) and Suddenlink Communications. On August 21, 2020, the transition of ownership was completed, with Johnson stating "The deal is officially closed and 'the keys' to the XFL have been handed over." On October 1, 2020, the XFL announced its return in spring 2022. Johnson and Garcia both stated that they would rescind the policy forbidding kneeling during the national anthem and would instead openly support and encourage such behavior in an October 14 interview with Vice.

CFL merger talks

On March 10, 2021, it was announced that the XFL and CFL had entered into formal talks ahead of "opportunities for the leagues to collaborate, innovate, and grow the game of football". According to XFL President & CEO Jeffrey Pollack, the league had decided to hit the pause button on their planned 2022 season, so they could focus on talks with the CFL. Both sides have declined to rule out any particular outcome from their talks which could have theoretically included a merger or acquisition. On July 7, 2021, both leagues ended the discussions with no agreement; in the same statement, the XFL cancelled its 2022 season, intending to return in "Spring 2023".

On October 14, 2021, it was revealed that the XFL and Jeffrey Pollack had parted ways, leaving the role as president vacant. On November 8, 2021, in its first substantial public actions since its sale, the league announced the hiring of an executive team; five of the nine hires, including Doug Whaley, returned from the McMahon era. The league named NFL Network Analyst Marc Ross as its new EVP, as well as Russ Brandon, under whom Whaley had worked in the Buffalo Bills organization, as its new president, replacing the outgoing Pollack. On December 21, 2021, the XFL announced six new additions to the football operations department; two of the six hires returned from the McMahon era.

2023 season

On December 2, 2021, it was revealed on Dany Garcia's Instagram page that the 2023 XFL Season would start on February 18, 2023. It was later revealed on January 4, 2022, on Dwayne Johnson's and Dany Garcia's social media pages that training camp was set to begin on January 4, 2023.

On March 11, 2022, multiple news reports indicated that the XFL had hired Reggie Barlow away from the Virginia State Trojans to serve as a head coach. Virginia State confirmed Barlow had taken a job with the XFL. On April 6, 2022, multiple news reports indicated that the XFL had hired their second head coach in former NFL defensive back Terrell Buckley. The reports indicated Buckley would coach a team in Orlando, Florida; Orlando was not among the eight cities that hosted an XFL team in 2020 but had begun discussions with the XFL during the 2020 season about relocating the Tampa Bay Vipers there. Orlando had hosted the Orlando Apollos, the second top-attended team in the Alliance of American Football in 2019 and the Orlando Rage, one of the most successful teams in the original XFL in 2001.

On April 6, 2022, a report came out that sources close to the league had mentioned that XFL would be keeping five teams in their original 2020 locations (DC Defenders, St. Louis BattleHawks, Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks and Seattle Dragons), following through with the Vipers proposed move to Orlando, and adding two new teams in San Antonio and Las Vegas. The teams in San Antonio and Las Vegas would replace the New York Guardians and the Los Angeles Wildcats, respectively. According to the same report, the league was looking to re-hire Renegades head coach Bob Stoops and potentially bring back former Vipers head coach Marc Trestman in another capacity, while noting that in regard to coaches, "the situation (was) fluid" at the time and that several other former NFL players were being considered for coaching positions. Seattle and St. Louis, the XFL's two highest-attended teams in 2020, were long expected to return.

On April 6, 2022, the XFL announced a new brand identity from a partnership with R/GA, including streamlining its logo to distance itself from the original XFL even more; the X in the logo represents the "intersection of dreams and opportunity". Togethxr, a media and commerce company founded by athletes Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Chloe Kim, and Simone Manuel, issued a legal notice to the XFL over similarities between Togethxr's logo and a promotional image that the XFL produced with the word "together" between a vertically split letter X. Both Togethxr's company name and the word "together" in the XFL image are rendered in all caps.

On April 13, 2022, the XFL confirmed the hirings of Stoops, Buckley and Barlow, along with the league's five other head coaches, without identifying which teams they would coach. The other head coaches hired were Wade Phillips, Rod Woodson, Anthony Becht, Jim Haslett and Hines Ward.

On May 17, 2022, the official kickoff date for the 2023 season was announced to be on February 18. It was also announced that all XFL games would be broadcast on ABC as well as the networks of ESPN, ESPN2 and FX as part of a deal with The Walt Disney Company that lasts until 2027.

On May 18, 2022, two separate reports indicated that The Dome at America's Center had left 5 open dates anticipating the BattleHawks' return, and that TDECU Stadium would host XFL games in 2023.

On June 9, 2022, directors of player personnel and offensive and defensive coordinators were announced. Among the announcements was the confirmation of June Jones joining Haslett's staff, as well as Gregg Williams on Barlow's staff.

A game between the DC Defenders and St. Louis BattleHawks in 2023

On July 18, 2022, Kevin Seifert announced that cities and stadiums, which would largely be on the same scale as college, NFL, and Major League Soccer (MLS) venues the league had used in 2020, would be announced by the end of July, and implied that teams that did not have trademark disputes and were returning from their home cities would retain their 2020 brands.

On July 25, 2022, Johnson and Garcia held an XFL Townhall at Texas Live! where they confirmed team locations, venues, and staff allocation. All 2020 XFL teams except the Los Angeles Wildcats would return. They would be replaced by a team in San Antonio, with the Tampa Bay Vipers and New York Guardians relocating to Las Vegas and Orlando respectively.

On August 8, 2022, it was first reported that the XFL was looking for new equity investors in the league. The league had retained PJT Partners to help with the search and raise $125 million in equity funding, while new investors could own up to 35%-45% of the XFL.

Forbes reported in June 2023 that the XFL had spent approximately $140 million in expenses over the course of the 2023 season and earned $80 million in gross revenue, roughly $20 million of which came from its broadcast contract with ESPN. The league estimated an increase in revenue to $100 million for the 2024 season and profitability by 2026. Johnson confirmed that ESPN had become a "stakeholder" in the league after sports journalist Andrew Marchand claimed the XFL was not receiving a rights fee, which Johnson stated was "not true." The XFL also revealed they have capital commitments through Year 4, including ESPN's annual rights payment and sponsorship deals with Progressive Corporation and Under Armour.

XFL–USFL merger

On March 27, 2023, Garcia said in a USA Today interview that XFL started planning for the 2024 season and declared: "absolutely, there will be a 2024 XFL football season."

In May 2023, the XFL made league-wide cuts affecting up to 30 people, including key personnel CMO Janet Duch and VP of Marketing Anthony Zucconi. The league would later state it was part of a restructuring strategy "to transition into a dual full-time and seasonal-based employment model to improve efficiency and drive sustainable business performance across all markets, given the seasonal nature of the business". In July 2023, league President Russ Brandon also assumed the role of CEO of the organization.

In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the two leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons. On September 28, 2023, the XFL and USFL announced their intent to merge with details surrounding the merger to be announced at a later date. The merger would also require regulatory approval. In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League". On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a "combined season" to begin March 30, 2024. The merger was formally announced on Fox NFL Sunday on December 31, 2023, with both leagues cancelling their planned season while surviving teams will play the 2024 season in the newly formed United Football League.