California hosted XFL teams in both the 2001 and 2020 seasons. The Los Angeles Xtreme won the only championship in original XFL history. The Los Angeles Wildcats played five games before COVID-19 ended their season. Here is the complete history of XFL football in California.
The Los Angeles Xtreme (2001)
The Los Angeles Xtreme played in the XFL’s Western Division during the 2001 season. The team played home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Al Luginbill served as head coach.
The Xtreme finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, earning first place in the Western Division. Only the Orlando Rage (8-2) had a better record that season. The team featured the league’s top passing offense.
Quarterback Tommy Maddox led the XFL with 2,186 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. He won the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Maddox had been a first-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 1992 but had been out of football for several years before joining the XFL.
The Xtreme defeated the Chicago Enforcers 33-16 in the playoff semifinal on April 15, 2001. Running back Saladin McCullough rushed for 164 yards in that game. Maddox threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
The Million Dollar Game took place on April 21, 2001, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Xtreme defeated the San Francisco Demons 38-6 to win the championship. A crowd of 24,153 attended the game.
Kicker Jose Cortez earned game MVP honors after making four field goals from 26, 34, 38, and 42 yards. Maddox completed 16 of 28 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. The winning players split a $1 million bonus, with each player receiving approximately $22,000.
The championship was Los Angeles’ first professional football title since the Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII in 1984. Online sports betting in California was not yet legal during the XFL’s 2001 season, though fans across the country followed the Xtreme’s championship run.
Maddox signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the season. He won NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2002 and earned a Super Bowl ring with Pittsburgh in 2005.
The Los Angeles Wildcats (2020)
The XFL returned to Los Angeles in 2020 with a new team called the Wildcats. Winston Moss, a former Green Bay Packers assistant, served as head coach. The team played home games at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Quarterback Josh Johnson led the offense with 1,076 passing yards in five games. Johnson had previous NFL experience with multiple teams. Nelson Spruce led the team with 20 receptions, while Tre McBride accumulated 271 receiving yards.
The Wildcats started the season 0-2 with losses to Houston and Seattle. They turned things around with back-to-back wins over the DC Defenders (39-9) and Tampa Bay Vipers (41-34). The Tampa Bay game on March 8, 2020, was the final XFL game before the league suspended operations.
The team finished 2-3 when COVID-19 ended the season. The Wildcats allowed 122 points, the most in the league through five weeks.
Why California Lost XFL Football
When the XFL returned in 2023, the Wildcats did not come back. The San Antonio Brahmas took their spot in the league. The Los Angeles market presented challenges with competition from the NFL’s Rams and Chargers, plus multiple other professional sports teams.
California remains without spring football. The UFL does not have a team in the state as of the 2025 season.
