XFL sale to Dwayne Johnson’s ownership group officially complete
The XFL has officially has new ownership.
The XFL was off to a promising start earlier this year and it seemed like the league might actually make it to a second season. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the league was forced to declare bankruptcy after canceling the remainder of the season.
However, the new XFL had more life than the original iteration and news broke earlier this month that a group including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was buying the entire league for a sum of $15 million. The former WWE star made an official announcement Friday.
The deal is official closed and “the keys” to the XFL have been handed over. I humbly accept and promise to put my callouses to hard work building our new brand. Congrats to my partners @DanyGarciaCo & #GerryCardinale and our sharp, hungry team. #XFLOwner #ForTheLoveOfFootball pic.twitter.com/ctwRlewxxA
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 21, 2020
The XFL is in new hands
The new ownership group also includes Dany Garcia, who has worked closely with Johnson even after the two announced their divorce back in 2007. The two clearly make a great business team and now have a chance to give the XFL new life.
Getting someone like Johnson in charge gives the league star power from the top on down. He can even potentially lure in top college players and pay them high salaries to directly compete with college football. The current movement by players in 2020 makes that an even more realistic possibility.
Vince McMahon started the league twice and it failed both times. However, the second time was all his fault. He actually built up a proper system and put Oliver Luck in charge to make it more about football and less about theatrics.
Johnson and his partners can work with those who had jobs with the league and can avoid trying to do a total overhaul. The main issue in the first place was not having enough money to operate. The actual employees, or those willing to come back, could be used as valuable voices to say what was and what wasn’t working under McMahon.
Next. Dwayne Johnson just bought the XFL. dark
A properly run XFL could serve as a legitimate second football league in the country. The NCAA has shown its lack of leadership this summer and that only helps Johnson and those in the XFL. The deal being official could go down in history as a turning point in American professional football.