Vince McMahon officially announced the return of the XFL this afternoon. After teasing a major announcement from his Alpha Entertainment company, McMahon did indeed do as several fans speculated: confirm the return of his football league which had been defunct since 2001. McMahon confirmed in a live video conference that the league will officially be returning in two years. Reports of the league’s return was originally broken last year. McMahon later launched Alpha Entertainment to invest in other sports, and he then took out over $100 million in WWE stock to invest in the XFL’s return. McMahon has now finally confirmed that the XFL will return to give football back to the fans starting in 2020.
McMahon answered some questions during his announcement. Several important details concerning the return of the XFL were revealed:
– McMahon promised that the new XFL will be a family friendly, fan-driven sport. He promised that the games will be innovative, easier to understand, and faster (possibly eliminating half-time.) The league will start off with 8 teams and a 40-man roster. A 10-week season will be followed by a postseason, eventually culminating in a championship game.
– While the league was originally announced in 2000, it premiered back in 2001. McMahon now has two years to research and work with experts in order to make the show better and more groundbreaking than its original run.
– No talks as to where the XFL will end up have taken place yet, but Vince says that there is definitely interest from several areas. He wants to deliver the games through several different outlets, including through television and social media.
– As far as his role in WWE is concerned, McMahon claimed that the return of the XFL will not cause any change to his current role as Chairman and CEO of WWE. He also stated that there will not be any WWE crossovers of any sort once the XFL returns.
– He said that he does not want to be “in front” of the XFL, meaning that he plans on hiring executives to oversee the operations of the league.
– McMahon promised that he will be working with medical experts on developing methods to prevent CTE and to keep the players safe.
– The recent protests over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem did not influence McMahon to bring back the XFL. He did not state whether or not he would punish those who kneel during the anthem or who speak out, but he did say that the anthem is a “time-honored tradition” and that players who do not follow the rules will not play in the XFL. McMahon said that the XFL will have nothing to do with politics or other world issues.
– McMahon did not reveal which cities the XFL could be hosted in. He said that the games could be played in football stadiums, but they could also be held in baseball stadiums. He is looking at a few NFL cities, but he said that “every city” is on his radar.
– ESPN’s recent documentary on the XFL did not influence McMahon to bring back the XFL.
– He is not sure whether or not players will be allowed to add nicknames onto the back of their uniforms at the moment.
– Despite initial plans to change the name of the league, McMahon decided that he liked the XFL name and decided to keep it.
– New teams will be developed, but McMahon is not opposed to the idea of bringing back former XFL teams.
– Criminality of any kind (even a DUI arrest) will disqualify players from working in the XFL. Any player will be allowed in the XFL as long as they play by the rules.
Once again, McMahon said that he will be working with experts to develop a new take on one of America’s favorite games. He is currently asking for feedback, ideas, and suggestions from those experts and from fans before the XFL’s planned relaunch in two years. Get ready to see the return of the XFL in 2020.