The investment group Redbird Capital and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are buying the XFL out of bankruptcy for $15 million, Sports Business Journal’s Ben Fischer reported Monday.
“This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and a start of a fantastic new beginning for the XFL with the best possible ownership group going forward,” XFL President Jeffrey Pollack said of the deal.
“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,” added Johnson, a former defensive lineman at the University of Miami and WWE superstar. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”
The XFL season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, among other concerns, and the league officially suspended operations nearly four months ago. No announcement was made surrounding the announcement of the purchase regarding any future plans for league operations, or reversing the planned cancellation of the 2021 campaign.
I hope the Rock can full fill the role of the XFL being an entertaining minor league pro football league with better ratings than Pro Bowling and March PGA events.
Johnson can pivot them now into a couple of the cities that the XFL was initially locked out of because of the formation of the AAF. If they can pick up the remainder of those assets cheap, between the locations and franchise names, they’ve got some decent-looking identities to go forward with.
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Definitely good news for St Louis, San Diego, Orlando, Memphis, and San Antonio, which between the AAF and XFL all showed decent support for spring pro football.