By CultureBanx Team
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s third iteration of the XFL kicking off in 2023 revealed its new team names and logos
- The XFL averaged 1.9 million television viewers per game and generated nearly gross revenues of $20M in 2020
One of football’s biggest sensations is on its way back with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s resurgence of the XFL in February 2023, and its providing more details on its eight new team names and logos. With Johnson’s new iteration of the XFL comes new rules, new television contracts. All 43 games of the 2023 season will air across Disney-owned networks including ESPN, ESPN+, FX, and ABC as part of a five-year domestic media rights deal.
Why This Matters: The second iteration of the XFL folded in 2020, but things will hopefully be different this time around. The revamped league’s teams include the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, San Antonio Brahmas, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, and the Vegas Vipers. It’s important to note that as the XFL expands it could potentially challenge the NFL’s nearly $9.8 billion in national revenue, with 32 teams receiving a record $309 million each during 2021.
Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital completed their $15 million acquisition of the once bankrupt pro football league last year. Specifically, The Rock wants to make the league focused on the players and their goals to achieve success in their football careers. The XFL, like the NFL, is more than 70% Black when it comes to players, with two of the league’s eight teams being helmed by Black head coaches/general managers.
Player contracts are directly correlated to how successful a league is, so The Rock and crew’s new television contract is a big win ahead of teams returning to the field. Prior to the XFL’s shutdown it was projected to bring in $46 million in gross revenues for the 10-game season, but suspended play after five weeks, according to court filings. In reality the league averaged 1.9 million television viewers per game and generated nearly $20 million in gross revenues in 2020.
As a single-entity league, Sports Illustrated reported that all revenue from television rights, ticket sales and endorsements went straight to the XFL to be distributed. This is drastically different from how privately-owned NFL teams mix league-wide revenue sharing with local revenue.
What’s Next: Back in June, the league announced its new football operations hub would be located in Arlington, Texas at Choctaw Stadium, which is the former home field of MLB’s Texas Rangers. The XFL kicks off in February 2023, will you be watching?
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