Recently XFL co-owner Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson responded to a tweet about the CFL and mentioned something about a ‘smart season’. The full quote was.
“We’ll figure out a smart season that’ll create phenomenal opportunities for players and be the best experience for fans.”
TSN’s Jim Mullin tweeted about comparing a potential XFL/CFL schedule to ones used by soccer.
“If the soccer world can play for different national and continental competitions at the same time, why can’t two football leagues? Leave the rule discussion on the side for a second. Is this achievable? #CFL #XFL. For discussion purposes only, please no wagering.”
If the soccer world can play for different national and continental competitions at the same time, why can’t two football leagues? Leave the rule discussion on the side for a second. Is this achievable? #CFL #XFL. For discussion purposes only, please no wagering. pic.twitter.com/Tfa6HzTVF0
— Jim Mullin (@Jim_MullinTSN) March 27, 2021
Could something like this be what Johnson was referring too when he said ‘smart season’?
As Mullin said, taking out the rules discussion this could work. This type of schedule would solve a host of problems for both sides and create excitement for both leagues.
Assuming that July was playoff month for the XFL. This would be flex scheduling for the CFL and games won in the playoffs could count towards the CFL’s regular season. CFL teams not in the playoffs could use this time as bye weeks.
CFL teams performing well in the XFL/CFL playoffs would get their bye weeks in August. For CFL players, this could mean extra money not part of their regular salary.
The XFL and CFL could play a handfull of games against each other during the April through June months. With the XFL season stopping in August, just before the college football and NFL season.
The CFL, with a new interest in their league from US fans, could continue as they normally do, with the Grey Cup in November.
This would be a win-win for both sides, without having a full-blown merger. Package this deal to a TV partner and you have a full football schedule during the spring and summer months. This would occur right after March Madness in the US and that US TV money would flow into Canada.
Would this idea fit the criteria mentioned in The Rock’s tweet?
“that’ll create phenomenal opportunities for players” – players will get paid extra for playing in the playoffs on top of their salaries. Both CFL and XFL players would get exposure to US TV with primetime playoff games.
“be the best experience for fans.” – the fan buzz and betting around a CFL vs XFL playoffs would be huge. This would also keep the XFL a US property and CFL a Canadian property.
This, of course, is all just speculation. The question is, Do We Smell What The Rock’s Got Cookin?
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Gregory Marino
March 30, 2021 at 12:43 am
Hey guys truth be told the Rock and his partners aren’t going to spend a dime how much they can get a television deal XFL is dead and buried the Rock and his Partners wasted 15 million dollars
Kury
March 30, 2021 at 7:19 am
I can’t wait for the season.sick of the nfl!I have been watching the the CFL for years and love the xfl
David Tress
March 30, 2021 at 10:58 am
The XFL won’t make as much money without an 18 game schedule. Only a full blown merger will create the kind of excitement they’re hoping for.
Eddie
March 30, 2021 at 12:01 pm
From April til June Stanley Cup Playoffs are on.(Normal times) Most Canadians will have litte interest in watching early season football at this time. For me the tv is fixed tp the Stanley Cup playoffs and my other programs are pvrd. There is years where in this time the only 2 reasons to touch the remote. Power and volume. Good luck trying to compete with the Stanley Cup.
David Tress
March 30, 2021 at 12:51 pm
The XFL should play a full 18 game schedule culminating in a playoff run for the Grey Cup.
Martin Boser
March 30, 2021 at 2:31 pm
This format is just plain silly. There’s no need for anything that complicates the CFL season in this way. Besides, the XFL will still want to start their season in February, something obviously not feasible in Canada. The way I see this working is for the CFL to move back the start of its season to late spring like they’ve been talking about doing for a few years, so they can award the Grey Cup in late October when the weather is still decent. That leaves ample time for four interleague games – two home and two away per team, before the XFL playoffs. As for the rulebook, just follow the precedent of the DH in baseball – use CFL rules in Canada and use XFL rules in the USA. That way, everyone’s happy – in particular the fans buying tickets, who understandably are expecting that they will be paying to watch games under the rules they grew up with.
Dude
March 31, 2021 at 3:24 pm
I’m sure someone at Redbird is thinking…”It would be easier and cheaper if we just let the CFL fold and buy them up too.” No debt, new rules, total control. But I would expect if the CFL did fold, the prairie teams would create their own 6 team league, leaving out Montreal, Toronto, and maybe BC, but that would kill a TV-TSN deal without those markets, so now they’d want the XFL TV merger money anyway.
Of course none of this matters until 1) Redbird/Rock/Garcia say how much money they are going to front to get the XFL up, and keep it going 2) What XFL cities are staying or moving or expanding 3) TV deals are sketched out. Personally, I would dump the XFL name also and rebrand if you merge or play interleague games. Right now the XFL is seen by Canadians as a twice failed league they don’t want to partner with.
Lots of speculation, we really have zero info even on the XFL plans yet. There’s a big present under the XFL-Xmas tree, but we can’t even shake the box, so it’s pretty frustrating as a fan to have to be told we can’t open it for maybe 2 years.