The XFL is an American professional minor league football league that recently teamed up with the National Football League (NFL). It will see the two leagues collaborating on a variety of areas within the sport, such as innovative programs that may involve necessary changes to the rules, as well as the development of equipment, health and safety issues and concerns, and other initiatives and programs.
The aim is to expand and grow the game of American football, make the sport more exciting to watch, and give football fans a chance to carry on watching their favourite sport during the NFL’s off-season. But what does it all mean for the players? How will they be affected?
What exactly is the XFL, and who came up with the idea?
Quite simply put, it’s American Football, and the upcoming launch in 2023 is not the first time they have tried to have a successful XFL. After two previous attempts to launch the XFL, it looks set to make a serious return in 2023 after teaming up with the NFL. The XFL first launched in 1999 after partnering with the WWF (World Wrestling Federation), and it consisted of eight teams who initially played their first games against each other in 2001. Ratings started out better than anticipated, and there was much excitement surrounding the league, but people quickly lost interest, and it didn’t even last until June 2021.
The WWE owner at the time, Vince McMahon, then tried and failed to launch the league again two decades later, as recently as February 2020, but it couldn’t have happened at a worse time, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit and governments around the world imposed tough lockdown restrictions. The league declared bankruptcy after just a few short months of the season starting.
The third attempt to launch the XFL looks set to be more promising, with a training camp scheduled to commence in January. Among the coaches are Anthony Becht, Bob Stoops, Hines Ward, Jim Haslett, Reggie Barlow, Rod Woodson, Terrell Buckley, and Wade Phillips. It looks as though players will get paid somewhere in the region of $2,000 per week, plus an extra $1,680 for each game a player is actively involved in.
They can also receive more than $2,000 in bonuses if their team wins. In short, XFL players can potentially pocket up to around $5,000 per week or up to around $55,000 per season. The XFL will also work with the NFL on officiating, approve beneficial changes to certain rules, and work on health and safety and other important areas of the sport that can be developed. You will also soon find odds for XFL games when you check out betting odds and lines for football betting on Unibet and other similar sports betting platforms which also have betting markets available for almost every other sport in the world.
What are the main differences between the XFL and the NFL?
Some of the most notable differences relate to kickoffs, how the clock runs, certain gameplay styles, the points earned after touchdown, punting and overtime. To find out how each of these compares between the two leagues, the best thing to do would be to visit the official XFL website. Although there will be different locations for the games, it looks as though there will be one central training ground for all eight teams.
Can the XFL ever seriously compete with the NFL?
In short, no, and the main reason is down to the lack of star power. The XFL does little to attract the biggest names from the sport, and the big reason is that there’s just not enough money involved at the time of writing. However, partnering with the NFL on a number of topics is a shrewd move, as they never intended to compete with the NFL, as such, but just to attract more people and shed more light on the upcoming XFL. It has been designed to fill the void when pro-season football and college football ends, and nothing more, so it should have a reasonable amount of success, but nothing in terms of the success the NFL regular records year in, year out.
