http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22213241/vince-mcmahon-gimmick-free-xfl-return-2020 WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon announced Thursday he is giving a professional football league another go. It will be called the XFL, the same name of the league McMahon and NBC tried for one season in 2001, but it won't rely on flashy cheerleaders and antics as its predecessor did, he said. Features of Returning XFL • 8 teams to start • 40 man rosters • 10-game season beginning in January • Two-hour game-time goal • Any player with a criminal record precluded from playing • Players won't receive forum to take personal stance on social issues on playing field McMahon said he is the sole funding source for the league, which is slated to begin in January 2020. Its first season will have eight teams around the country playing a 10-week schedule. The initial outlay of money is expected to be around $100 million, the same amount of WWE stock McMahon sold last month and funneled into Alpha Entertainment, the company he founded for the project. "I wanted to do this since the day we stopped the other one," McMahon told ESPN in an exclusive interview. "A chance to do it with no partners, strictly funded by me, which would allow me to look in the mirror and say, 'You were the one who screwed this up,' or 'You made this thing a success.'" McMahon told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he has had no initial talks with media entities. One mark of the new league, McMahon said, will be faster games. The ideal running time, he said, would be two hours.
It will only work if he can buy big name players from the NFL to come join him. The players have more power than they probably realize and could make more if they collectively walked out and started a new league of their own. The amount the players give up financially is pretty big as is the NBA, but I don't believe it's as bad as other pro sports like tennis.
Won't rely on flashy cheerleaders?!? ☹️ Vince trying to tap into NFL dissatisfaction due to anthem controversy, slow games, etc. T
I don't see it. But I do want them to bring back nicknames on the jerseys! Image Unavailable, Please Login
The only way this would work is if the league goes to cities who want NFL but can't get it. Some candidates (for obvious reasons) would be cities that lost their teams: Oakland, St. Louis, San Diego. Other candidates might be Portland, Salt Lake City, or San Antonio.
Its a ploy for McMahon to gain leverage to be a partner in an NFL team. Mark my words the XFL won't return in 2020
Why would he do that, instead of simply just trying to buy the Panthers right now (who are for sale)?
Much cheaper this way. I read that he's using $100 million to fund this. Forbes has Panthers valued at ca. $2.4 billion. 20x less dough and full control could be his motivation. T
I really feel he is leveraging for ownership. He can't afford a team but as a part of a partnership he could but he needs other owners to take him serious. It tough to become an owner in the NFL, just ask people like Bon Jovi. Its not just the money to be accepted. What better way then threatening to take money out of other owners pockets. I could be totally wrong but if I am right down the road I will point to this day.
They would cast him out of he was a threat to dip into their profits, and would never have a chance as the owning a team. Just ask Kaepernick how quick and decisive owners are to ostracise.
The XFL brought innovation to the game back in their time. Their day has passed. It's sad when McMahon (who is a great promoter) falls for the #metoo crap regarding edgy cheerleaders. If he wants an NFL team......all he has to do is wait a few years. The knucklehead owners at the NFL are killing the appeal and future of the game. With mommy's not wanting their kids to play football and former NFL players backing them up.....the game is doomed. Year over year revenue will continue to drop.....the major networks smell blood in the water and are planning to pay a lot less for airtime in 2018. Former NFL players are walking around like they have mad cow disease and they blame the NFL. I wouldn't put a dime into that sport. In less than 5 years, the price of a team will be half of what it was at the beginning of 2017.....maybe less.
If the NFL could not work there before, why would these work now? The effort should be in markets with strong support of football in general, maybe strong college support but without a pro team. With the old XFL, not everyone had a piece of the football pie. Now everyone does, including the NFL's own network There's a huge issue with raising an entire league: MONEY. You need a bunch of guys to get together and spend a lot of money on something that has a good chance to fail. Then you need a TV contract that brings in fans and money. I can see the NFL putting pressure on some of their existing networks to not carry them. But to me the biggest problem is that football ratings and attendance is dropping. Unless that changes I see anyone with half a billion dollars not risking it.
I see the NFL taking its lumps and then figuring out in the off season how to come back. I don’t see this as permanent.
I'm curious why you think this. The NFL, in my opinion, has reached the top of their revenue pyramid. Without significant management/leadership changes the product will continue struggling in all age markets. Internally, there are major problems behind the NFL iron curtain between the owners and the players. All the BLM crap did was have it spill into the open and accelerate viewership loss. The NFL has managed to keep the CTE issues contained but having more and more players with the problem will require billions more. That money comes from the fans and advertisers. I just think there product is dated, its owners and players are privileged and they don't think the gravy train will ever stop. Well, its coming.....2018 will be a down year for NFL revenue. It could be as high as 20% down maybe more. There will be more player issues because the contracts will get smaller. Nobody will want to take home less money and they will feed on each other. In the DC market we have the Redskins who have had a sub-standard product since Dan Synder bought the team. He has owned the team for 19 years and accumulated a win record of 132 games and 171 losses. Yet, it is the second most valuable franchise in the NFL. I owned Club level seats for six years and the last thing you want to do is take clients to a game where the home team loses over and over. Half way through a losing season....you can't take clients or families to the game without seeing a number of fights and obnoxious drunks. I just don't see how this product gets better.
^Well, like I said, 5 years ago they said the same thing about baseball and now it's the opposite. They made some rule changes, sped up the game, had some unbelievable new talent come in, some of the established fan large based teams started winning again (aka the Cubs and Dodgers) and bingo. I believe with research you can find almost every problem. And with every problem there is a solution. It may be a painful solution, but it can be solved.
Your right that MLB had become a poster boy for performance enhancing drugs which cratered the sport and ruined statistics for a long time. They had their own Congressional hearings on the subject and the owners and players were forced to clean it up over the last 10 years. The new stadiums are fan friendly for the entire family. Their revenues depend on fans coming to the stadium. I see the NFL as a different business model. With 16 games.....TV revenue is the entire story if you are an owner. Goodell believes that their revenue will almost double over the next 10 years to $25B. I don't see it. I could see a scenario that becomes: what is bad for the NFL is good for other sports. As baseball discovered.....it takes a long time to bring fans back to the game. I also believe that some NFL players won't let the race issue go regardless of what the league does. The owners think keeping the players in the locker room until after the anthem or not broadcasting the anthem it will make the problem go away. They simply do not understand the problem. Image Unavailable, Please Login
