WWE’s Vince McMahon is bringing back the XFL
Wrestling mogul interested in bringing in Johnny Manziel
Is the country ready for XFL version 2.0?
It looks as if WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon will test that theory beginning at 3 p.m., when ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports that McMahon will announce the launch of a new pro football league. CBS Sports reports that the league is not expected to start play until 2020.
WWE all but confirmed the news Thursday morning, announcing that Alpha Entertainment, a new investment company launched by McMahon, “will make a major sports announcement” at 3 p.m. A screen-capture from a test of the livestream revealed XFL branding.
Watch the press conference live:
According to Cleveland.com’s Glenn Moore, former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel will be McMahon’s top target for talent. Manziel, whom the Browns selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, had his brief NFL career overshadowed by multiple off-the-field controversies. The Browns cut Manziel at the end of the 2015 season, and he has yet to receive much interest from other NFL teams.
Brad Shepard, a freelance journalist based in North Carolina, was first to report that McMahon was looking to bring back the XFL. He even nailed the date, indicating on Dec. 15 that the official announcement might come Jan. 25.
McMahon set up Alpha Entertainment separate from WWE and sold 3.34 million shares of WWE stock (worth about $100 million) to fund the company, which, according to paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commissions, will make investments “including professional football.” A separate LLC linked to McMahon and Alpha Entertainment filed for trademarks for “For the Love of Football,” “UFL,” and “United Football League.”
Deadspin’s David Bixenspan suggested McMahon’s new league could position itself as the conservative alternative to the NFL, which has been criticized by President Trump and conservatives over players’ protests of racial injustice during the national anthem. McMahon is a longtime Trump ally, and his wife, Linda, works in the White House running the Small Business Administration.
McMahon talked about his interest in rebooting the XFL to former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol during ESPN’s 30 for 30 on the shuttered league.
“I don’t know what it would be. I don’t know if it’s gonna be another XFL or what it may be or how different I would make it.” McMahon said “I don’t know what else we could do that the NFL isn’t doing now, but I’m sure we could find a way.”
The XFL was a partnership between WWE and NBC, which broadcast the league’s entire 10-game season (with help from UPN and TNN) beginning in February 2001. Despite the hype surrounding the XFL, including an edginess that included an “opening scramble” in place of a coin toss and the elimination of fair catches, the league was a financial failure and ended play after just one season.
NBC, which cited poor viewership when it pulled out of its two-year broadcast contract with the XFL early, has yet to show any interest in partnering with McMahon this time around. The network did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two former XFL players — running back Rod “He Hate Me” Smart and quarterback Casey Weldon — made their way onto the Eagles roster. Neither saw much actual playing time.