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XFL Buyers Want To Start League in 2021, 12-Week Tournament

Today’s court filing by Vince McMahon revealed more than just Vince is out as a potential buyer. It also showed that there are plenty of interested parties in the upstart league.

XFL News Hub’s Mike Mitchell obtained a copy of today’s filing. This is what we know.

“the Debtor’s investment banker, Houlihan Lokey, is currently in active discussions with dozens of potential purchasers, and substantially all potential purchasers have indicated that the potential for an XFL season in spring 2021 is important to them.”

Whoever buys the league is interested in restarting it for the 2021 season, which is great news for XFL fans. But time is running out for a return next season. They would like to finalize the sale date by August 1st and get the league quickly restarted.

“The Debtor has negotiated for an extension of the sale process until the first week of August, for a total process of 115 days”

XFL President Jeffery Pollack comments were part of the court filing as well.

“[I]f we are to resume playing in 2021, we would need to be in a go mode ideally by August 1st of this year, and I think there is the chance for us to be in a position to play next year, and so doing would, I think, be good for the business on an ongoing basis.”

Jeffery Pollack

The court filing goes on to talk about the need to get the sale done soon and not delay a season till 2022.

“Their reasons include a desire to generate revenue and to further establish the league in a content-starved environment in spring 2021 and to avoid leaving space out to 2022 that would allow others to act on the opportunity.”

At this point, McMahon was not the only one interested in buying the XFL.

“As of May 25th, 2020, Houlihan Lokey had distributed teasers to 235 potential purchasers. As of that date, 20 potential purchasers had executed NDAs and gained access to a data room containing extensive diligence materials, including a Confidential Information Memorandum that Houlihan Lokey added to the data room on May 21st, 2020. As of May 25th, 2020, six more potential purchasers were in the process of executing NDAs to gain access to the data room. Based on preliminary feedback, there is a robust market for the Debtor’s assets, including a number of potentially interested private equity firms and other strategic and financial sponsors.”

The XFL could survive and play even without fans in attendance for a 2021 season.

“The Debtor has modeled for 2021 a “made-for-TV,” 12-week tournament-style approach to its business. The XFL is also well positioned to, if necessary, deliver a crowd-free experience that could thrive in the current environment, given the XFL’s existing innovations such as in-game audio from players and coaches and live on-screen sports wagering information.”

What we know so far, the door is closed on Vince McMahon being part of the return of the XFL, which in some eyes is a good thing. McMahon’s name in NFL circles is not a good one at this point. Oliver Luck is well respected in NFL and college ranks, McMahon’s is not.

The second is despite what is going on in the world. There are plenty of interested parties vying for the XFL. It looks like we will know August 1st if the XFL will indeed return.


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Mark Perry, a devoted sports journalist and founder of XFL News Hub, has been a key figure in XFL coverage since its 2018 revival. Launching XFL News Hub soon after the league's return announcement, Mark has established the platform as a primary source for comprehensive XFL updates. Renowned for his in-depth knowledge and commitment to sports journalism, Mark actively engages the XFL community, welcoming interactions at mark.perry@xflnewshub.com.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. GantizDragond

    May 26, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    I hope so, I’m more hopeful of an XFL season next year than an NFL one this year

  2. Tom

    May 27, 2020 at 10:51 am

    What would a 12 week tournament look like with 8 teams? 7 game round robin tournament with the a 3 week all 8 teams playoff is still just 10 games?

    Getting all 8 teams to come back would be rather difficult at this point come to think of it.

    • Tony

      May 27, 2020 at 5:52 pm

      Getting any teams to come back by the spring of 2021 would be near impossible. We need to remember that all the teams were shut down and none of them have any coaches or players at this point. Not to mention the majority of people behind the scenes was let go as well.

      THe 2021 idea is just wishful thinking. If the idea of returning for 2021 is indeed being pushed around it is probably just being used to show enthusiasm for the league.

  3. Tony

    May 27, 2020 at 11:49 am

    Let’s see. The league commissioner was fired, the majority of the league office was let go, the teams were all shut down, the coaches and players were all released from contract. Yeah sure it is going to come back in 2021. What we are hearing now is a whole lot bad business and poor journalism.

  4. Dude

    May 29, 2020 at 3:08 am

    3/4 of these players will come back. Any assistant coach would gladly take a shot leading a team in the spring. Most of the team management would likely come back if they don’t have new jobs. People always want to prove themselves to move up the ladder…finding people won’t be hard. I don’t know if Feb of 2021 is doable either. April might be a better target, getting fans to buy in will be tough without a blitz of excitement and promises. XFL name probably needs to go too.

    • Tony

      May 29, 2020 at 10:19 am

      Even if everything you said it is true there would still be a ton of steps to go through before they could start another season. All of which would take time. The coaches would all have to be re-hired, they would need to have an entirely new initial draft in order to fill out a team, the teams and coaches would need some time to practice together. And on top of all that they would need to rehire many of the league office positions.

      There would not be a 2021 season no matter how you slice it with all those things (and more) to do to get the league going again. This isn’t a situation like they have with other more stabile leagues that called off the season where they have all those things still in place and simply need to agree to start playing again.

  5. Parker

    July 29, 2020 at 2:43 pm

    Season Ticket Holder – Dallas

    Still need my refund for the 2020 season!

    No email response and telephone response.

    Any suggestions?

    • Mark Perry

      July 31, 2020 at 9:33 am

      Wait for the new buyers. They want to pay season ticket holders back first

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