In a video that was put out on social media on Thursday, XFL owners Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia announced the spring football league would be returning to the field in 2022.
Johnson and Garcia, who bought the league in late August for $15 million along with RedBird Capital, are attempting to finalize a TV deal for the XFL and plan to unveil more details about the relaunch in the coming weeks and months, according to Sportico.
“The XFL represents the idea of ultimate opportunity; it’s a league of soul and culture, anchored by the pursuit of dreams and love for the game, that we couldn’t be more proud to lead,” said Garcia and Johnson. “Every XFL player, coach, city and fan is our top priority and we couldn’t be more excited to champion them in an electrifying 2022 season. We are the new XFL — hungry, humble, and no one will outwork us.”
First launched in 2001, the XFL returned for a second try in February of 2020 after WWE founder Vince McMahon spent more than $200 million to bring the eight-team league back from the dead. But, despite generating a little more buzz than expected, the XFL couldn’t withstand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the spring.
If the third iteration of the XFL is going to be a success, sports-industry consultant Lee Berke said Johnson and Garcia should attempt to capitalize on the window of time between the Super Bowl and NBA playoffs.
“They’ve learned from what didn’t work, and they’ve got a decent shot to make it work going forward,” Berke told Bloomberg. “The ratings were relatively good, particularly in the first part of the season.”
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