Bleacher Report – The Rock partnered with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital to purchase the XFL for $15 million Monday.
With my trail blazing partner @DanyGarciaCo & Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL.
With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our @xfl2020 brand.
Excited to create something special for the fans! #XFL #fullcircle pic.twitter.com/LprJ6HjglD— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 3, 2020
Scott Soshnik of Sportico broke terms of the deal, which came just before the league and its assets were set to go up for auction. Vince McMahon’s football league filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the inaugural season of the upstart’s return.
XFL President Jeffrey Pollack confirmed the news to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal.
The XFL launched with eight teams in February, with impressive viewership (3.1 million) that quickly dwindled. By the time the league ceased operations five weeks into the season, the league had dropped below one million viewers for some broadcasts.
McMahon filed for bankruptcy protection in April, a month after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the league to stop play. It is not believed that existing television contracts with ESPN/ABC and Fox will be honored, though that could change with Johnson at the helm of the new group.
The XFL said it had between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities at the time of its bankruptcy filing.