In a plot twist that could have come out of a WWE storyline, the XFL has been sold to an investment group that includes actor and former WWE star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Johnson and his business partner/ex-wife Dany Garcia teamed up with RedBird Capital Partners to pay $15 million for the currently inactive football league whichlaid off its staffearlier this year.
This was the only bid for the league previously owned by Johnson’s former employer and wrestling co-star Vince McMahon who set up Alpha Entertainment, a private company formed independently of WWE. The transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval on August 7 and, assuming that closing conditions are satisfied, is expected to close on or shortly after August 21. Both the XFL and WWE have been considerably affected bythe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” said Johnson in a statement released on Monday. Johnson played college football for the University of Miami, where he won a national championship in 1991. He later entered the 1995 NFL Draft, but went undrafted. As a result, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League and was cut from the team in the middle of his first season.
In the same statement, XFL President and COO Jeffrey Pollack referred to the ownership group of Johnson, Garcia and RedBird Capital as “a dream team” and stated that “the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward.” The league wasforced to cancel its inaugural seasonafter five weeks of play due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing mandates.
This is exciting news for fans of the alternative football league which attempted to differentiate itself from the original XFL by not relying on professional wrestling-inspired elements and from the NFL by offering a faster and simpler game. Like the original XFL, there were instances of innovation as seen withthe usage of an Xbox controllerby league officials to review game footage.
While the original announcement of the league laying off most of its employees came with additional news that there would be no plans to return in 2021, the new ownership group may be able to find space for the league’s return. However, this will be contingent on developments with COVID-19; other sports leagues such as theNBA and NHL are housing teams within bubble communitiesto prevent the spread of the virus. This may not be a viable strategy for the XFL due to the large size of teams which consist of coaches, front office staff and players, for which there is a maximum roster size of 57 players.
